There’s two things you can be assured of at every hotel in Palm Springs - First, that if you close your eyes and walk a few feet in any direction you’ll trip over a spa and an outdoor heated swimming pool. Second, they’re all dirt cheap, cause a luxurious ’summer weekday holiday’ at one these hotels is something which you can afford even if you’re living off food stamps. And as a perfect example of this, I present to you the Caliente Tropics Resort on 411 East Palm Canyon Drive.

Spa: The Tropics Retreat Spa at the Caliente is managed by Benjamin and Janae Ellis who, with 28 years of combined experience in the spa industry, specialise in skin care and bodywork techniques. Simply put, Janae’s facials are a world famous tourist attraction all by themselves, and if you stay there long enough, you’re sure to witness a parade of Hollywood A-listers coming in looking like something the cat dragged in and going out as radiant and beautiful as a million bucks.

For somewhere between $75 to $105, you can get everything from a Cleansing Facial with steam and extraction to a Polynesian Lomi Lomi massage. If your body is falling apart, you can also opt for a complete overhaul, with a full service spa package or treatment, including the European Bodywrap and the Shangri-La - A 60 minute combo massage with bodywrap and a heated stone facial.

Caliente Tropics Resort Overview: Now please bear in mind that this is not your ordinary run-of-the-mill spa cum hotel cum resort in Palm Springs. The Caliente is a 60’s style Hawaiian Tiki motor hotel, about a mile away from downtown Palm Springs, which recently made it into the Palm Springs Historic Resources Survey. And its not just for show either.

Picture an authentic Tiki bar in the middle of the friggin desert, and you’ll think that someone should be cutting down on the dope. Either that, or you’re having one of those desert mirage thingies, where the heat gets to you and you start seeing things, like a shining oasis with palm trees and lakes and harems with scantily clad babes shimmering in the heat. Well, that’s no mirage. It’s just the Caliente Resort & Spa, with palm trees surrounding an outdoor heated swimming pool and masseuses and guests at the Spa glittering with all the scented oils. What’s that? How do you make a reservation? Don’t you want to read the rest of the review? Ok, I’ll make it short.

First, the low rates (rooms start at $48) and the great spa make for a mix of diverse guests, with everything from trailer trash to the pampered young wives of stinking rich old oil men parading through the quaint lobby. Just hang around the lobby and you’ll get value for money. The rest of the hotel is no less exotic, and you’ll find a huge pool with over a 100,000 gallons of water where Elvis Presley and Nancy Sinatra once frolicked. Another therapeutic pool is shaped in the form of  a clover leaf and hanging out here after the sun goes down with the light of tiki torches to keep you company seems to be a popular activity among guests.

The accomodations are pretty family friendly, with rooms based on double occupancy and suites for a family of four. rollaway beds and cribs available. The rooms are well equipped with the usual amenities, including in-room safes, hairdryers, cable television and movie channels. The hotel offers two restuarants, La Casita with homemade Mexican cuisine and Hawaiian Bill’s Pau hana Grill, if you prefer something more exotic.

Info: 411 E. Palm Canyon Palm Springs, CA 92315; (800) 450-8171

Web links: Palm Springs family hotels, restaurants, attractions 

Posted on April 2nd, 2008 by PLing
Filed under: Spa Vacations