In the Golden Age of Hollywood, Palm Springs was the desert playground for glamorous types who wished to see and be seen. To avoid the limelight, they escaped to Two Bunch Palms resort [67425 Two Bunch Palms Trail, Desert Hot Springs; (800) 472-4334,]. For more than 75 years, Two Bunch Palms has been a shabby-chic sanctuary for guests who are content to soak in hot mineral springs, enjoy massages and mud baths — and go to dinner in their bathrobes. New proprietors have just unveiled a major renovation that includes 20 more guest rooms (for a total of 70), a terrific new restaurant, lush new desert landscaping and 100% sustainable solar energy. The changes have enhanced the resort’s original desert hideaway vibe.
The tab: $523 for two nights, $450 for meals and resort fees; plus taxes and gasoline.
The bed
My husband, Paul, and I stayed in one of the new Soulstice Kings, a spacious room with sleek modern furnishings and a private patio. Because the Al Capone Suite was booked, I couldn’t peek into the fairy-tale-like stone cottage said to have been built as the gangster’s “Fortress West.” Too bad. I was keen to glimpse the antique bureau that I was told has a bullet hole in the mirror.
The meal
“Now, that’s what I call spa food!” Paul said at breakfast, diving into a stack of blueberry and quinoa pancakes awash in maple syrup. He said it again at dinner when he tackled a luscious filet mignon served with truffled Parmesan French fries. I, on the other hand, was happy eating organic oatmeal with almond milk, dried fruit, nuts and seeds for breakfast, and grilled king mushrooms with toasted buckwheat and parsnips for dinner. Thanks to the new management’s view that “choice is important to wellness” (and a creative chef, Jenna van Loon) TBP’s Essense restaurant offers a range of dishes that will appeal to juice-fasting vegans and fervent foodies.
The resort’s Essence restaurant serves hearty blueberry, quinoa and flax seed pancakes for breakfast.
The resort’s Essence restaurant serves hearty blueberry, quinoa and flax seed pancakes for breakfast.
The find
Ducks in the desert? It was no mirage. A flock raucously waddled over to greet me at the bucolic pond they share with migratory egrets and cormorants. The ducks gobbled the organic duck/fish food I had procured at the front desk and guzzled water from the aquifer-fed pond. No question: Wildlife and wellness do mix.
The lesson learned
Paul and I are far from spa buffs, yet we both took to Two Bunch Palms like, well, ducks to water. I couldn’t get enough of lolling in the 104-degree hot-springs grotto, staring up at the sunlight flickering through the palm fronds. Though we never made it to yoga or tai chi, we indulged in other complimentary wellness activities. My favorite was Vino & Van Gogh, a mellow workshop in which we sipped wine and painted watercolors with our “wrong” (in my case, left) hand to free up our creativity.
The National Park of American Samoa, a haven of rainforest and empty beaches that includes pieces of three South Pacific Islands, is about 2,500 miles southwest of Hawaii.
The National Park of American Samoa, a haven of rainforest and empty beaches that includes pieces of three South Pacific Islands, is about 2,500 miles southwest of Hawaii.
The National Park of American Samoa, a haven of rainforest and empty beaches that includes pieces of three South Pacific Islands, is about 2,500 miles southwest of Hawaii.
The National Park of American Samoa, a haven of rainforest and empty beaches that includes pieces of three South Pacific Islands, is about 2,500 miles southwest of Hawaii.
Giant snow dump in the Sierra
Giant snow dump in the Sierra
Botanical wonders abound in the wild Sonoran Desert of Organ Pipe National Monument and Saguaro National Park. Just mind the heat. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
Botanical wonders abound in the wild Sonoran Desert of Organ Pipe National Monument and Saguaro National Park. Just mind the heat. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
The next president will find a Washington, D.C., that’s dramatically different from the city Barack Obama saw at his inauguration in 2009, or even the one in 2013. Museums and hotels, new and renewed. Restaurants left and right. Lower crime and rising neighborhoods, too.
The next president will find a Washington, D.C., that’s dramatically different from the city Barack Obama saw at his inauguration in 2009, or even the one in 2013. Museums and hotels, new and renewed. Restaurants left and right. Lower crime and rising neighborhoods, too.
Motif. No. 1 might look like a modest fishing shack on the waterfront of Rockport, Mass., but there’s more to it. This two-minute video tells the tale.
Motif. No. 1 might look like a modest fishing shack on the waterfront of Rockport, Mass., but there’s more to it. This two-minute video tells the tale.
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