Soak in mineral hot springs and experience a wellness getaway.

Everyone goes to Palm Springs or Joshua Tree. What about Desert Hot Springs? 

If you like relaxation and a serene atmosphere, add Two Bunch Palms resort in Desert Hot Springs, California to your travel bucket list. Two Bunch Palms is a hidden gem that offers the perfect blend of relaxation, wellness, and natural beauty. It’s an adults-only wellness resort nestled in a grove of palm trees in the middle of the arid desert. The focus of this bucket-list resort are the mineral soaking tubs with waters from a 600-year old spring. 

Where is it?

Two Bunch Palms is in Desert Hot Springs, California, which is a neighbor to Palm Springs. It’s about a 3-hour drive east of Los Angeles. As you approach the resort, you pass through an industrial section of Desert Palm Springs and will be scratching your head wondering where this oasis of serenity is. There is no sign for the entrance so drive slowly and keep your eyes peeled for a guard tower, which is the entrance.

What are the rooms like?

Opened in the 1920s, this wellness oasis has gone through a renovation and expansion over the last three years so it has a lot of new upgrades and increased capacity. The resort has a variety of rooms and suites spread throughout the 77 acre property, some of which come with their own firepits or private mineral soaking tubs. Check out a map of the property.

Also, four stand-alone suites can be rented alone or together. They’re connected by a communal patio, which is a great option for a group trip.

Check-in begins at 4pm and check-out is at 11am. The rooms come with individual robes that you wear around the resort property to go to the soaking tubs, mineral pools, spa, and even the restaurant. It’s a very relaxed atmosphere so comfort-wear is key.

You will be given a number to text with any questions or assistance. We texted to ask them to come and light our fire pit and order room service and ask where the ice machine was and all requests and questions where answered within minutes. Tip: you can also ask the reception for sandals if you forget yours which is a nice touch since you definitely want a pair to walk around the hot springs, pools, and spa areas.

We stayed for three nights in Desert Suite #300 which has a firepit.

What are the mineral pools like?

There is a large mineral hot springs soaking area called The Grotto which is surrounded by a series of smaller concrete and teak mineral soaking tubs. These are all first come, first serve, and you may have to share some of the larger ones depending on how busy it is that day. For ultimate privacy, there are a number of mineral hot springs soaking tubs on the other side of the property that you can reserve online for free so that you are guaranteed to get a tub to yourself and do no have to share it with anyone.

For the reservable tubs, the concrete tubs are always full of the mineral waters and are reserved in 90 minute increments. The teak tubs are smaller and must be filled up and can be reserved in 60 minute increments.

The hot springs mineral pools and soaking tubs are open 22 hours a day and are only closed from 6am-8am for cleaning and sanitizing.

Hydration and towel stations are located around the property so you can fill up your water bottle and grab a towel.

What are the benefits of the mineral waters?

The mineral waters at Two Bunch Palms come from a 600-year-old hot spring that recharges itself every 24 hours and provides therapeutic and restorative health benefits. The geothermal waters are over 100 degrees and what is unique about them is that they are low in sulfur (no rotten egg smell!) and high in lithium. Lithium is said to boost your mood, promote feelings of calmness, happiness and joy, and leave you with a general feeling of well-being. It can also help ease arthritis and improve circulation.

What is the spa like?

The spa area is completely new – there are a handful of standalone spa rooms and one that is for couples massages.

We booked 60-minute massages in the couples room. Jason chose the Balancing Massage and I chose the Lymphatic Massage. Each was $213 for 60 minutes. They also have body treatments and facials. Click here to take a look at the full spa menu.

After our massages, we made our way to the bar to choose from three complimentary non-alcoholic wellness cocktails. We both chose the Turmeric Spritz and it was delicious.

What other amenities and activities does the resort have?

Besides soaking in the mineral hot springs and indulging in spa treatments, Two Bunch Palms has a variety of other amenities and activities to take advantage of.

There is a cold-water pool that is heated during the winter months.

Pickleball, tennis, and basketball courts are located at one end of the property. A beautiful pond with turtles and ducks is next door and has lounge chairs in front of it so you can relax and read in the scenic environment or star-gaze at night.

There is a yoga dome that features yoga classes and sound baths. And a glass house that holds paint and sip classes. The classes and activities change but you can click here to see the ones that were available when we visited.

What is the food situation like?

Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are served in the main restaurant and there’s also room service. Click here to peruse the menus.

Breakfast: 7am to 11am

Lunch: 11am to 2pm

Pool: 10am – 5pm

Dinner: 5pm – 9pm [Friday + Saturday: 10pm]

A cafe called The Twine serves complimentary tea and coffee in the mornings. This cafe hosts a 5-course communal dining event every other Friday and we were fortunate to visit the weekend one of these special dinners was held. If you want to know more about this phenomenal tasting menu and wine pairing, take a look at our blog entry about the Two Bunch Palms’ Twine Dinner Series.

We ordered room service the first night, attended the Two Bunch Palms’ Twine Dinner Series the second night, and ate dinner at the main restaurant the last night.

What should you bring?

Sandals – I like these memory foam sandals because they’re easy to walk in and super comfortable. They can be indoor or outdoor sandals.

Swimsuit – I have these in a few different colors. They’re cute and cheeky (😉).

SPF – I like to bring a tinted SPF as well as a stick SPF which is easy to apply on the go as well as a spray SPF which works great to spray on your head.

Swimsuit coverup – you can walk around the resort in the robes you’re provided in the room but I like to have options, especially if the robe is already wet from being in the soaking tubs.

Sunglasses – these are my favorite oversized ones that I have in multiple colors.

Hair clip – I like these oversized 5 inch hair claws, which keep my long hair secure.

Pool bag – I like this rubber bag that can get wet since you’ll want a bag to carry around your books, towel, sunglasses, etc., since the property is pretty spread out.

Anti-chafe stick – I love this MegaBabe anti-chafe stick to rub on the inside of my thighs. It’s compact and easy to apply with no white cast.

Face mist – the air is dry and my skin would dry out after soaking in a mineral tub so I like to have this travel face mist on hand to hydrate my face on the go.

Face masks – I would do a rich face mask at night after my shower to help increase the hydration to my face.

Thick moisturizer – Nivea is my go-to for face and body moisturization.

Eye drops – the air is dry in the desert and my eyes needed some relief.

Click on the shoppable collage below to see my go-to items from Amazon:

A few things to be aware of:

It gets chilly at night if you go in the winter and spring so bring a hat and warm jacket or sweater. We visited in the winter and temperatures were in the 40s F at night so a hat and a sweater or jacket was handy to have.

The floors in the rooms are stone so you may want to bring slippers since they don’t provide any in the rooms. We visited in the winter and the floors were cold so it would have been nice to have slippers to walk around the room in. Also, since the property walkways are made out of sand it can get dusty so tracking dust and sand into the room makes it even more useful to have slippers. I like to bring a pair of these disposable slippers whenever I travel just in case a hotel room doesn’t provide their own.

No glassware is provided in the rooms, bar or pool area. I assume this is to prevent broken glass accidents but for a luxury resort, drinking wine or champagne out of a plastic glass meant for water feels strange. You get real stemware at the restaurant but otherwise, you must use plastic glasses.

There is no coffee machine in rooms/suites. While there is complimentary drip coffee at the restaurant and you can purchase specialty coffees at the restaurant or through room service, it was surprising that there were no Nespresso machines inside the rooms.

For more videos and photos from this trip, check us out on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, or BlueSky.