Spa Profile: Grounded at The Paloma Hotel in Cathedral City, California
The Paloma Resort is a new boutique resort hotel (opened in August 2022) located just south of downtown Palm Springs in the heart of Southern California’s Coachella Valley. Once the site of famed gay resort The Villa, The Paloma property has been transformed into a retreat that celebrates the Coachella Valley’s unique history and aesthetic.
The hotel features 66 bungalows and suites named for and themed after the area’s beloved communities. You’ll find eye-catching design throughout the hotel, from the two-story desert-themed exterior wall decals to the desert-pink Adobe anchoring the pool area, to the brightly patterned textiles gracing the lounge, restaurant, and room furnishings. Amenities include a redesigned pool area featuring Paloma-pink accented cabanas and loungers, and a VIP-service Citrus Suite with private kitchen and giant flatscreen TV.
Palm Springs star chef Chad Gardner is also a partner in the property and helms Sol y Sombra restaurant inside the resort’s historic adobe. The tapas-style restaurant features Spanish-inspired cuisine made with ingredients that honor the area’s agricultural roots.
Grounded Bodyworks at The Paloma offers signature spa treatments created by one of the desert’s best-loved day spas. We chatted with Jenn Gold, Grounded at The Palmoa Resort's Spa Director and Grounded Bodyworks founder and director to learn more about treatments and recommendations for Grounded at The Paloma Hotel.
Read more: Palm Springs Spa Guide
Why You’ll Love It: Our guests commonly share how much they enjoy their entire experience at Grounded from start to finish. From easy scheduling to the cleanliness and calmness of the space when they enter. It’s definitely the most talked about topic besides our elevated services and high-level staff of providers.
Customized Services: Grounded specializes in self-care, so we’ve spent a lot of time curating services that support a more balanced lifestyle and to help others fit in their self care. We have created a space for people to come to enjoy a customized service that suits their current needs such as a haircut and scalp treatment that is tailored to hair loss or a custom facial tailored to mature skin. We customize and we specialize in what we offer.
Bonus: If you come earlier than check-in, we have a little shop filled with over 20 women-owned businesses to shop from. We’ve also created a list of local faves including eateries, and current happenings in town. Make sure you get one at checkout!
Insider’s Tip: The desert is seasonal, so know when to schedule to guarantee you can get some self care in on your stay. The slowest time is July-August. Snowbirds return to our beautiful weather in November. High-season is November-March. However, Grounded stays busy through June, so schedule a minimum of 2 weeks out, and 3-4 weeks out if it’s a holiday weekend.
Mondays are considered the weekend and we are busy! It’s also a travel day so plan accordingly. Tuesdays are the slowest days of the week [most places are closed like us!].
Wednesdays are our busiest days and my theory on this is that people are getting weekend ready! Thursdays and Fridays are travel days for most, so it’s easy to get into the spa before the weekend and when the weekends are here, it can be difficult to take same day appointments especially for multiple guests. Our number is textable and we are scheduling masters. We look forward to scheduling your self care.
Spa Snacks: We carry local vendors and offer their goods in our shop such as coffee, herbal teas and sparkling waters. We’re also a huge fan of Boxed Water and share them with our guests after their services.
Most Popular Treatments: Hands down, our most popular experience at Grounded is when you can spend a few hours here with us. We suggest The Ritual; a 90min Coachella + reiki massage followed by a 90 min custom Osea facial. After a few hours of massage and skincare, you’ll be ready to lounge by the pool.
Most Unique Treatment: Our most unique treatment at Grounded is our Coachella +reiki hybrid sesh. We all benefit from massage so hands-on body work is a must, and when we sprinkle in a little Reiki, it really elevates the healing processes that some of us are going through. Privacy is a big deal here so what happens at Grounded, stays at Grounded. Our therapists are mindful of everyone’s headspace and we could all use a little more understanding these days.
Insider’s Favorite: I honestly love anything heated which is why I live in the desert. The heat feels good on the bones, so my favorite is our 2 hour Whitewater Desert Hot Stone massage with cbd followed by a customized Osea facial.
I can’t do anything after my crew works on me, so if you schedule these services, clear the rest of your day to do a lot of nothing after. Just find a watering hole, a drink and enjoy the cool evenings that are about to arrive in November.
Wellness Offerings: We’re lucky to work with the coolest humans in town Lisa Botts who offers Soundbaths and Yoga in a private or group setting and our friend and massage therapist Kelly Frazier will be offering Qigong on property for private events as well.
Featured Products: Our date foot scrub is being curated as we speak! It’s going to be special to The Paloma being that they love supporting all things “local”.
For more information visit groundedbodyworks.com and follow @groundedbodyworks @groundedhairworks, @thepalomaresort, and @sol.sombra.restaurant.
Grounded at The Paloma Hotel
67670 Carey Rd,
Cathedral City, CA 92234
Grounded BodyWorks
1701 North Palm Canyon. Suite 3.
Palm Springs, CA 92262
[Images courtesy of Grounded at The Paloma/Patrick Ketchum]