Springs Eternal

Built in 1948, Miracle Manor has just six rooms, making it a swell choice for those who truly want to get away from the bustle of modern urban life.

Ten miles from Palm Springs a hardscrabble little desert town has none of its neighbour’s stylish eateries, luxury hotels or Starbucks, but Desert Hot Springs has authenticity. Today it still channels the hot mineral water that originally brought people-from the first settlers at the turn of the century to leisure-seekers in the 1950s-to the area: water rich in silica, calcium and magnesium.

As one L.A. weekend refugee told me in a steaming spa pool late one night, "Desert Hot Springs is more of a retreat atmosphere, laid-back, healthier," she said. "You go to Palm Springs for a festive time, for going out." Here are our favourite hideaways.

Miracle Manor: Rest and Retreat
A cool cactus-green-script neon sign marks this 1948 motel, a jazzy boomerang-shaped structure with just six vintage rooms (two of them with kitchens). In the parking lot is a bold architectural experiment in steel and cinder block called the Cube, which is emblematic of what Miracle Manor stands for: a contemporary retreat overlaid on a lovely modernist foundation. The motel is on a hilltop just steps from where the town’s original hot and cold mineral wells were excavated, but its hot mineral spa is a tribute to modern ingenuity: a glass cube enclosure keeps in the heat, but preserves fresh airflow and glorious night-sky views. Even though it’s directly across the road from Cabot’s Desert Pueblo, a major tourist attraction, the hotel feels completely secluded. A tall wooden fence protects it from the street on one side; sunken into a hillside as it is, it melds into the desert landscape it borders.

The blend of old and new is appealing: in the office a vintage watercolour-tinged rendering of the hotel shares space with books on the cutting-edge design, architecture and photography of the owners. A black-and-white photo shows the late previous owner, a beloved local icon and purveyor of "psychic facials" named Lois, whooping it up with a crowd of friends on the pool deck. Today Miracle Manor is a quieter spot, a monastic-feeling retreat, whether for gazing at stars or looking inward.

Pools Two: an outdoor body-temperature soaker and a hot and steamy 104°F enclosed hot pool. Spa treatments There are no psychic facials today, but guests can pamper themselves in plenty of other ways. Try an acupuncture facial, or a desert stone massage, both a full hour of bliss ($140 U.S.). Rates Rooms start at $125 (U.S.) per night, but special Cube rates for students and professors give a nod to archi-groupies. Want more than just a weekend? Miracle Manor offers month-long retreats, too, from $1,600 (U.S.).12589 Reposa Wy., Desert Hot Springs, 877-329-6641, miracle
manor.com

Hope Springs: Retro Hip
The vintage Cactus Springs totem-style signpost makes this 1962 motel, refurbished by two L.A. creatives, feel like a hip secret. It’s a period restoration that has a comfy, well-worn feel over a museum-like vibe.

The lobby-complete with an Eames schoolteacher desk and mosaic pool filled with gerbera daisies instead of goldfish-is the hub of a v-shaped complex of 10 rooms. It has lollipop-yellow cushions around a conversation pit and a spacious sitting area with bright blue and orange chairs making it the most collegial of the town’s vintage motels. A kitchen off to the side is stocked with tea and cucumber water and the fedora-sporting manager, Chloe, puts on a vast continental breakfast spread (boiled eggs, berries and fruit, yogurt, pastries and breads) that includes the day’s New York Times and Los Angeles Times.

My room, like most others, has French doors overlooking three mineral pools. A low platform bed of dark wood and a large white paper lantern hanging in the corner give the spare, concrete-floored room an almost Shinto feel, though two bright-red saucer chairs keep the vibe modern. There are no closets, but lots of spots for hanging everything from evening wear to wet bathing suits. A spacious bathroom (and Malin+Goetz body wash and lotion) is a treat, though the frosted-glass shower is vintage-scale and doesn’t hose you down 12 different ways, as a modern one would. A roomy, mint-green, eat-in kitchen has plywood cabinets with vintage Russel Wright dishes on the open shelves and cheerful Formica counters. Equipped with toaster oven and mini-fridge (the two-burner Tappan Fabulous 400 chrome stove is an artifact) allows you to be self-sufficient here for a good, long stay.

There’s no TV, no iPod hookup (there is a CD player) and though WiFi is available throughout the motel, its use is discouraged ("You’re here to relax, right?" explains the website). The word HOPE embroidered on the back of the robes indicates what we’re all here for: to recharge and have fun.
Pools Three: an enclosed whirlpool at 105°F, a pleasant lap pool at 87°F and a "just right" soaking spa that’s kept at 98°F. Spa treatments Rejuvenate and exfoliate for an hour with a botanical mud wrap ($100 U.S.), or stimulate the senses with an aromatherapy salt glow, using fine Australian sea salts and rosemary ($75 U.S.). Rates Rooms from $100 (U.S.). 68075 Club Circle Dr., Desert Hot Springs, 760-329-4003, hopespringsresort.com

Sagewater Spa: Creature Comfort
What other hotel greets you with a close-shorn schnauzer named Sage and a fresh-baked Gramma B’s coffee cake? Proprietors Rhoni Epstein and Cristina Pestana pay attention to the little details that make this the most homey of the stays in the area: find TVs and a vast stash of DVDs and magazines, buttery Frette linens, and a pitcher of lemon water and a small bottle of fresh coffee cream in the mini-fridge of your snug, well-equipped kitchen.

Seven cool, fresh, white-painted suites form an L-shaped courtyard; opaque glass panels provide privacy and give the aqua-tiled pool area a fresh, luminous glow. There’s a built-in gas barbecue and a covered picnic area, plus plenty of sunny deck space for lounging.

Nestled in one corner of the rectangular pool is a hotter whirlpool; ask the proprietors to point out where the naturally hot source water flows in before being cooled to a perfect 90 degrees. Though the structure is vintage, the comforts are contemporary (save the little jar of old-fashioned pink and white Good ’n’ Plenty candy on the kitchen table). Aveda amenities and Ikea-ish furnishings, like the storage bins that wheel out from under the bed and jaunty striped barrel deck chairs, say with a wink that you can appreciate the 1950s without going back to them.

Sagewater is perched at the top of Miracle Hill, where Desert Hot Springs’s mineral waters were first harnessed. Massive, aluminum-framed windows provide each room with panoramic views of a landscape reaching from Joshua Tree National Park to the San Jacinto Mountains, giving a real sense of place to a stay here. "When we first visited this spot it had a special feeling. This place is like stepping up into nature," says Epstein. Pools The aforementioned 90°F lap pool and a 105°F hot pool. Spa treatments A cranio-sacral treatment ($125 U.S.) by Sagewater’s expertly trained spa staff will bring you to "a profound level of meditation," says Pestana. For a more classic spa experience, treat yourself to the Safewater Fusion ($145 U.S.), a medley of luxurious massages. Rates Rooms available from $175 (U.S.) per night. 12697 Eliseo Rd., 800-600-1668, sagewaterspa.com wl