Living Waters Spa

Was wondering if anyone has experience visiting Living Waters Spa outside of Palm Springs?

We did a short tour there several years ago while staying at Terra Cotta. Pretty brief look-around, my impression was lots of concrete and sterile. Fairly far away from things.
We did like Desert Sun our last stay and will be meeting SXM friends there next month.

My wife and I have visited LWS many times. To ChunkyDunkin's point, the landscaping isn't lush and green. It's appropriate for a small spa in the desert, and the palm trees are impressive! The atmosphere is laid-back, respectful, relaxing. It's not Party Central, nor is it a "lifestyle" resort. The main attractions, besides being clothing-optional, are the water, the clientele, and the owners. The spring water in the spa and pool is warm and blessedly non-chlorinated. I would guess that their visitors are mostly in their 40s, 50, and 60s, although 30-somethings aren't a rarity. We have found the vast majority to be friendly, intelligent, and non-creepy. Jeff and Judy are thoroughly decent and humane folks who have created a refuge of sorts in the desert. (Note that they call it a spa and not a resort.) A large percentage of their guests are repeat customers, and are treated as friends, not as credit-card numbers. (For instance, Jeff took me dirt-biking last year.) LWS is not for everyone. Some think it's too quiet, and it is a bit removed from the shops and restaurants of Palm Springs. But that's how we like it.

Ack! I forgot something crucial. Jeff and Judy deliver awesome massages! Your stay would be incomplete without a massage.

Thanks for the great feedback. Believe my wife and I would really enjoy a few days of R&R at LWS. Several years ago while living in Europe, we were fortunate to visit some thermal spas and water parks in the Netherlands and Germany, and have always lamented there seemed to be nothing similar in the US. LWS sounds like perhaps the closest thing to the European model of a spa. Thanks again!

My wife and I spent a couple of nights there a number of years ago, we had been to Desert Sun (then, Desert Shadows) a number of times and loved it, but decided we should look at all of the other options before settling on DS as our favorite.

Our visit to LWS was underwhelming, as compared to the grounds and space of DS. It's basically all concrete pool deck surrounded by the rooms. Sort of like the old Terra Cotta but without any grass or trees. The rooms were furnished with European style furniture, which we found was noticeably smaller and lower than we're used to.

The owners were very nice and welcoming. For me, part of the turn off was their repeated position that the water in their pool has mystical healing powers, hence the name. For me personally, there were just a few too many things there that were uncomfortable and I found myself having to talk myself into their point of view to try to appreciate them.

We did go to the 4 CO or nude resorts in the PS area that were available to us at the time, and we'd rank LWS 3rd out of 4. (don't fall for the false advertising and planted reviews of Sea Mountain Inn, we got snookered by them and had to pay to leave. I'd rank them 99th out of 4)

Appreciate the comments. Will have to add DS to the itinerary! Any preference on accomodations at DS?

There are a few options at DS, although the Chaparral rooms are a bit small, they have a king bed (or 2 twins) and a tiled bathroom. One wall is all mirrored, so they feel a little bigger and are brighter due to the reflection. The attraction for us is they are immediately adjacent to the activity pool, so you can pop in and out to grab drinks, use your cell phone or take a break from the sun. We've decided that we're not at DS for the room, we're there to NOT be in the room. The Chapparal rooms are in the building you see on the DS homepage.

The Courtyard rooms are larger, and some have a kitchen. The Villas are very nice, newer, spacious and well appointed. We had a favorite Villa we used to reserve, but it was taken out of the rental pool so we tried a Chaparral room. Since then we haven't seen the need to go back to a Villa.

They Courtyard rooms are ALL being renovated and should be very nice! I believe they should be available for rent soon. When we where there in Feb., they were down to the studs so I'd be excited to see the progress by now.

:-)