After a particularly cold and chilly August, I suggested to a friend living in LA we meet up for a weekend in Palm Springs. (When you’ve lived in San Francisco for a while, you begin to get strategic about planning escapes to hot weather!)

To my joy, my friend said yes — then suggested we skip staying in Palm Springs proper and head to a place she loved in nearby Desert Hot Springs, a little resort enclave boasting hot mineral waters known as Two Bunch Palms. Hot mineral waters? Spa treatments? Hot desert sunshine? In!