It is a well-known bit of desert lore how Cabot Xerxa created Desert Hot Springs by his discovery of both cold and hot water near his homestead. More likely, Xerxa was shown the source of water by a member of the Aqua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, whose ancestors had known the location of springs throughout the valley for several thousand years. In any event, Xerxa has become the Johnny Appleseed of the Valley’s mineral springs.
However, it was during one of Xerxa’s absences from the desert when he was operating a grocery store in Moorpark that he met a developer named L.W. Coffee. Coffee was convinced the area would be ideal for a ‘health community’ and by 1933, he was in the desert selling 1 acre lots and building his bathhouse. Though he would later build a spa, the original bathhouse had no accommodations and visitors had to sleep in their cars. Coffee literally created the town of Desert Hot Springs in 1941. He named it and laid out a one square mile city with its center at the intersection of Palm and Pierson. Coffee, who might legitimately be called the father of Desert Hot Springs, passed away in 1957. His bathhouse was torn down in 1991.
Coffee died six years before Desert Hot Springs incorporated in 1963. There were 1000 residents, though by most accounts, the city’s population tripled during high season.
They came for the waters.
Xerxa called the site of his discovery “Miracle Hill’ because he had dug a well near his homestead that yielded hot water. A short distance away, he dug another well that yielded cold water. There are very few places on earth where such a phenomenon occurs. The water emerges from the earth due to the Mission Creek Fault, which is an offshoot of the San Andreas. The Mission Creek Fault bisects the area causing the waters to rise on either side of it. Richard Lambakis, Director of Marketing for Azure Palm, told me that “the water begins its journey as snow melt on top of Mount San Gorgonio. It takes seven years to reach the fault, where geothermal pressure forces it back to the surface.”
Azure Palm, in fact, created one of the most elucidating websites on the subject (palmspringshotsprings.com) which shows in a simple illustration the distribution of the hot springs in and around Miracle Hill. It looks like a giant snail with its head stretching toward Mission Lakes Boulevard, its belly skirting Palm Drive, and the top of its shell between Mountain View Road and Long Canyon Road. The extremities of the hot spring field range between 90 to 120 degrees Fahrenheit, but the center—a four block area which includes Xerxa’s famous multi-room pueblo as well as the Azure Palm Hot Springs Resort & Day Spa Oasis—has waters in excess of 150 degrees. The Azure Palm’s hot springs measure at a scalding 174 degrees, making it necessary to cool the water before it flows into the resort’s pools. The water has its own unique texture: it feels silky on the skin. There’s also no smell. The water is odorless. Most natural hot springs I’ve visited in the world have distinct odors, usually from the high sulfur content. But Lambakis explained that Miracle Hill water here is so hot that it actually boils away the sulfur smell.
Why then is taking an extremely hot bath on Miracle Hill so good for you? The answer is in the unique mineral content. The Azure Palm site lists the principal minerals as sodium chloride, sulfur, bicarbonate, magnesium, sodium and potassium, silica, boron, calcium, iron. Not listed on the site is lithium, a mineral that is used to treat mania and bipolar episodes. Some of the benefits of the minerals include blood building (iron), hormone regulation (boron), digestion and metabolism balance (bicarbonate), protection against environmental toxins (sulfur). Magnesium is thought to “play a role in over 300 chemical reactions in the body and sodium chloride helps regulate the flow of fluids in and out of body cells”.
And it’s not just the hot water that is the star in Desert Hot Springs. In 2020, the cold water that is pumped out of the Mission Creek Fault and distributed by the Mission Springs Water District won Best Municipal Water at the Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting, the oldest and most prestigious event of its kind in the world. Mayor Scott Matas says that efforts by water companies have been rebuffed and “our water will never be sold to a private company. I grew up drinking water out of the tap. It’s the best tasting water in the world.”
And the water contains all those healthy minerals.
It’s not difficult to see why resorts and spas sprang up all over Miracle Hill. Robert Griffith, the manager El Morocco Inn & Spa, says “There were once 140 spas in the spa district. Some were small, but they were all booked during the high season.”
Estimates vary, but today there are around 25 spas operating in and around Miracle Hill. A variety of factors contributed to the decline in numbers. In the seventies and eighties, year- round residents and snowbirds began moving to new east valley communities like Rancho Mirage, La Quinta, and Indian Wells. Vacations based on ‘taking the waters’ declined in relation to active vacations centered around golf and tennis. Griffith also points out an unfortunate truism about Desert Hots Springs, “It seems in an economic downtown, we’re the first to get hit and the last to come back.” In 2000, the city declared bankruptcy, though the passage of a municipal bond in 2004 helped them emerge from a particularly dark period. The city seemed to be in a slow decline, not helped by a (largely) unfair stigma for having high crime and unsafe conditions. Efforts by civic leaders like Mayor Matas to attract new businesses and create a vibrant downtown area with walking streets and small, hip businesses have been stymied by a lack of funds and outside investment.
Nonetheless, Desert Hot Springs is on the rise. Yes, it’s in hot water…the best kind.
Many of the hot springs spas that have survived have done so with new ownership, investment, and upscale renovations. Unlike the scene sixty years ago before skin cancer awareness, most visitors were content with two goals: Soaking and tanning. Now, most spas offer an array of spa treatments such as massage, skin care, detox programs, and yoga sessions. Thehealing waters have been combined with health and wellness programs. Two Bunch Palms offers three Spa Series programs that include the Detox Boost ($665), a four-hour commitment that begins with lymphatic massage (60 minutes), a Superfood Facial (60 minutes), and an Abdominal Detox Wrap (120 minutes) and El Morocco offers a variety of massages from a pregnancy massage to one called The Marrakesh Melting Massage which combines Swedish and Deep Tissue massage with Lomi Lomi, a Hawaiian massage technique. The Azure Palm’s superb, multi-million dollar renovation has resulted in facilities such as their Himalayan Salt Room and private Oasis Villa tubs that rival or surpass anything else in the valley. In addition to one of the most extensive menus I’ve ever read for massages, facials, and body wraps, the Azure Palm offers 6 day/5 night juice cleanses once a month throughout the year.
Maria Lease, who transformed The Spring before completely reimagining and renovating the Azure Palm, firmly believes that Desert Hot Springs’s Spa District is poised to lead the way for growth and evolution for the entire community. “Whereas here we have an opportunity to create a “center” for tourism and you need to have a nucleus if you’re going to have something grow and I see Hacienda being that nucleus of the tourist destination,” she says. “Soon we will be providing space here on Hacienda Avenue for someone to do a vintage clothing pop up, and hopefully a farmer’s market too. When the upcoming Hacienda Avenue street improvement begins, the city will be giving incentives to businesses—such as TOT inventive programs—not to mention this is an Opportunity Zone (federal stimulus program that provides tax relief on capital gains income). I envision Miracle Hill and Hacienda Avenue being the nucleus of tourism for Desert Hot Springs—not only with our own event space, but with restaurants and entertainment augmenting the numerous spas already on Miracle Hill that attract people from all over the world.”
(Sidebar)
A Short List of Desert Hot Springs Resorts & Spas
Two Bunch Palm: Its cameo in The Player shined a spotlight on this oasis that’s never quite left it. The irony is that a hundred and ten years ago before Xerxa dug his wells, the few locals in the area or those passing through would fill up their canteens from a scummy pond here. The fabulous grotto pool is a long cry from that. Combining a stay at the Capone or Villa suites with daily spa treatments is the ultimate luxury.
El Morocco: Every inch of this intimate property is decked out in Moroccan furnishings and antiques…you’ll literally feel as if you are at a small resort outside Casablanca. They offer both overnight accommodations and day spa use. Many of the offerings on their spa menu are a bargain. Next visit I’m going for the 90 Minute Moroccan Clay Body Mask which includes a preliminary skin exfoliation, then your body is wrapped in Rhassoul clay. While the clay dries, you are treated to a scalp massage. After the clay wrap, you rinse off in a mineral water shower before a 45 minute Swedish massage.
Azure Palm: Three of my favorite things about the renovation of the Azure Palm are the private tubs in the Oasis area beyond the swimming pool, the Himalayan Salt room (where the walls are actual salt and you can see the crystals floating in the air), and the Spa Suites. In the suites are deep tubs where you can soak in mineral water to your hearts content…all the while gazing toward Mount San Gorgonio and the source of the resort’s amazing water.
The Spring: The Spring was built in 1957 and was known for decades as The Moors Hotel. A smaller property, the midcentury buildings surround the long, rectangular pool. It offers a number of unique spa treatments such as colon hydrotherapy and abdominal massage (recommended prior to colon cleanse). Like the Azure Palm, The Spring offers a juice cleanse package that includes yoga, mineral pools, sauna, chromatherapy, 3 daily supplements, and a colonic.
Miracle Manor: One of the earliest spas in Desert Hot Springs, Miracle Manor opened in 1949. Though it still retains its midcentury buildings, the property has been completely updated. The rooms are spare and simple and it’s a great place to spend a few days, though if you are looking for a day pass, it has one of the best deals in the Spa District. The Deluxe Day Pass ($55) is offered every Thursday until December 15. It includes a 9:30 yoga session, use of mineral water pool and tubs, free coffee and teas, mineral water refill station and free locker.
Also highly recommended: Mi Kasa, 21+, clothing optional, and 420 friendly; Tuscan Springs Hotel & Spa, 21+ and offers fun couples packages; Sagewater Hotel & Mineral Springs, another restored midcentury gem from 1954, this small (7 guest rooms), the Sagewater has Ayurvedic offerings on its very reasonable spa menu; Lido Palms Resort and Spa has both indoor and outdoor mineral pools, mineral water therapy treatments, and yoga retreats.
