Miracle Springs Resort & Spa

What to expect

Miracle Springs Resort & Spa is a full-service hotel on Palm Drive, the main street through Desert Hot Springs. Compared with the many small spa motels in town, it is a bigger and busier operation: a hotel with standard rooms, suites and villas, an Italian restaurant, a spa and four meeting and event spaces. The heart of it is a central courtyard with eight mineral water pools and spas, overlooking Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley.

The water comes from the same deep aquifer that supplies the rest of Desert Hot Springs. According to the resort, it rises at an average of about 140°F60°C from about 300 feet down and is cooled to between 90°F and 104°F32°C and 40°C before it reaches the pools. The flow is about 200 gallons a minute, which keeps the water turning over. The resort also says its water has a mild scent rather than the strong sulphur smell of some springs, and it has entered and won water-tasting competitions with its drinking water.

The draw for most day visitors is simple value. For about the price of a lunch, you get the whole afternoon in eight pools, with food and drinks served poolside. Recent reviews are mixed on the rooms, with some describing worn furnishings, but the pools are the consistent highlight.

The pools

The resort does not publish a temperature for each pool, but the eight pools and spas cover the full range from about 90°F32°C to about 104°F40°C. The cooler, larger pools are for swimming and floating. The smaller spas run hotter for soaking. Moving between them is the usual routine: a long float in a warm pool, then a short stretch in the hottest spa.

Several ground-floor rooms open straight onto the pool courtyard, and upper-floor rooms look down on it, so the courtyard is a busy, social space rather than a private one.

History

The Cahuilla people knew the hot water under this valley long before settlers arrived. The modern story starts in 1914, when homesteader Cabot Yerxa dug a well on his land a little over a mile from where the resort now stands. One well produced hot mineral water at 132°F56°C and a second, nearby, produced cold drinking water, a pairing that later made Desert Hot Springs known as a spa town. His adobe home is now Cabot’s Pueblo Museum, a short drive from the resort. The resort’s own history records a visit in 1938 by a travelling geologist and chemist who praised the water in his analysis.

Getting there

Miracle Springs is at 10625 Palm Drive, Desert Hot Springs, CA 92240, about 20 minutes north of Palm Springs International Airport. From I-10, take the Palm Drive exit and drive north on Palm Drive into Desert Hot Springs. The resort sits right on Palm Drive in town. Self-parking is available, and the resort notes that a parking fee may apply.

Joshua Tree National Park’s west entrance is to the northeast via CA-62.

When to go

Winter and spring, roughly November to April, are the peak months, with warm days and cold nights that make the hottest spa feel right. This is also when the courtyard gets crowded, especially on weekends and holidays. Because day passes are walk-in only, the best time to arrive is soon after 10 AM on a weekday.

Summer is very hot in Desert Hot Springs, and the hottest spas are hard to enjoy in the afternoon. Day visitors who come in summer tend to stick to the cooler pools and the shade. Spring can be windy.

Prices and booking

• Pool day pass: $20 for adults, $15 for seniors 65 and over, $15 for military with ID. This covers the courtyard and all eight mineral pools from 10 AM to 6 PM.
• Age limit: 21 and over for day passes.
• Booking: walk-in only. The resort cannot reserve day passes.
• Towels: $10 to buy. Bring your own towel and a lock for the lockers, because neither is provided.
• With a spa treatment: a day pass is included. Spa services are by appointment only. Book at least 3 days ahead for Friday, Saturday or Sunday by calling the spa at (760) 251-2069. Cancellations inside 24 hours are charged in full.
• Food: poolside dining from the Capri Italian Restaurant and Bar.

The resort’s older FAQ page still lists the day pass at $18, and a regional tourism blog from May 2026 gave the hours as 9 AM to 6 PM. The resort’s dedicated day-pass page, used here, shows $20 and 10 AM to 6 PM. If it matters, call the hotel at 760-251-6000 before you go.

Rules and etiquette

• Smoking: not allowed in rooms, on balconies or patios, on the pool decks or on the restaurant patios. The rule covers e-cigarettes too.
• Spa etiquette: arrive 15 to 20 minutes before a treatment, leave jewellery and valuables at home, and keep your phone off and in your locker in the spa.
• Pool courtesy (common sense, not posted rules): share the hot spas, keep soaks short when people are waiting, and keep music to headphones.

Where to stay nearby

Staying at the resort gets you the pools without the walk-in gamble. Rooms have a king bed or two double beds, with poolside and pool-view options, and there is a two-bedroom Presidential Suite with a full kitchen. Check-in is 4 PM and check-out is 11 AM. One night’s deposit is taken at booking and refunded if you cancel at least 72 hours before arrival, and a $100 security deposit is collected at check-in by card.

Desert Hot Springs has many small spa hotels within a few minutes’ drive, including adults-only Mi Kasa Hot Springs a few blocks away and Miracle Manor on Miracle Hill. Palm Springs, about 20 minutes south, has the widest range of hotels and restaurants.

Safety notes

• Heat: Soak in the 104°F40°C spas for 15 or 20 minutes at a time, drink water between soaks and get out if you feel dizzy. Go easy on alcohol from the poolside bar.
• Sun: There is limited shade in a desert courtyard. Use sunscreen and take breaks indoors in summer.
• Footing: Wet pool decks are slippery. Walk carefully between pools.
• Valuables: Bring a lock, use a locker and do not leave phones or wallets unattended on loungers.