Miramonte Resort & Spa

“Welcome. You are starting your sensorial journey in our Tuscan home,” announced spa consultant Rogelio Guzman, as I entered The Well, a lavish Italian-inspired spa that opened in spring 2004 at the Miramonte Resort & Spa in the Palm Springs desert resort city of Indian Wells. Handing me a coin, he instructed me to “Toss it into the well and make a wish.” I closed my eyes and flipped the golden coin into the rustic brick and wrought-iron well that is the centerpiece of the garden foyer.

It turned out this was the first of many surprises at The Well.

Designed as a Tuscan-style hideaway, the Miramonte Resort and Spa is set amid 11 acres of bougainvillea, olive and citrus trees, rose gardens and fountains. Only the stark beauty of the Santa Rosa Mountains against the clear blue sky reminded me that I was in the Palm Springs desert rather than under the Tuscan sun.

Stepping further into the 14,000-square-foot The Well spa, the golden-colored walls, dark woods, arched doorways and marble tables welcomed me into the casual luxury and serenity of an Italian country villa. White wicker furniture with over-stuffed green-stripped cushions invited me to linger. I was especially delighted with the baskets of dried fruits and nuts, including cashews and Brazil nuts. They were the perfect accompaniment to the cucumber-lemon-infused water and herbal teas.

I also appreciated the electronic locks on the dressing room lockers, which dismissed the hassle of a key.

In keeping with its all-Italian theme, The Well uses Comfort Zone products from Parma, Italy, and incorporates techniques inspired by Tuscan living such as therapeutic muds, wines and olive oils in many of its treatments, Spa Manager Jennifer Di Francesco told me.

I decided to let the lotions and potions work their magic on my face, with the 60-minute signature “Custom Balancing Deep Clean Facial.” Entering the treatment room, I encountered my second surprise. Esthetician Vickie Verduzco lifted a small sack from a hook on the wall and asked me to pick a stone from inside. “If during the treatment you begin to think about business stresses, let it go and think about what the stone says,” she instructed. “That’s easy,” I thought, as I read the words “no worries” on my stone.

Stretching out on the cot, I was again surprised: at the delicious warmth of the cot, and that I was beginning my facial sitting up! As the regime of soothing cleansers and intense hydrating creams progressed, I was slowly lowered into a prone position. Vickie’s magic fingers melded into one continuous rhythm, massaging my cheeks, nose and chin into a rejuvenating state of bliss. Afterward, my face glowing, I poured a cup of cumber-lemon-water and luxuriated in the sun, stretching out in an over-stuffed chaise in The Well’s private pool area, enclosed within vine-covered walls. I let the petite waterfall in the grotto-like pool soothe my shoulder muscles, before plunging into the main spa pool for a soul-energizing Tai Chi Yoga Aqua Class.

Had I been hungry, I could have ordered off the restaurant menu and delicious spa, or non-spa cuisine, would be delivered to me in The Well. “Poached salmon and gazpacho soup is one of our most popular spa cuisine meals,” Di Francesco told me.

I enjoyed all this on my own, but The Well is even better for two. “Intimacy and creativity is our focus,” said Di Francesco. “Our signature Pittura Festa (painting party) treatment encourages guests to find their “artistic side” by painting colorful muds on themselves or a partner. Afterward, the ‘artists’ can bask in the sun in a private cabana, as the nourishing muds detoxify their bodies.” The new unique “Map of the Foot/Heart of the Hand,” which combines reflexology and hand analysis, is also wonderful for couples. The Well even features two sculpted stone river benches that invite couples to lie in a shallow stream of water for an experience much like lounging in a natural riverbed.

Strolling through the gardens to my room was as soothing as the spa. Classical music wafted across the lawns and sleek, double hammocks invited napping.

Suggested Improvement: While the standard guestrooms are huge and beautifully appointed with marble vanities, pillow-top mattresses, innovative thermos coffee-makers that keep your coffee fresh and hot, the layout of the rooms seems ordinary compared to the stylish design of the public rooms and outdoor areas.

The Miramonte Resort & Spa features 215 guestrooms and suites in 11 villa-style buildings including the Villa d’Este, a 7,800-square-foot “private mansion,” with four one-bedroom suites with living rooms, sunken Jacuzzi tubs and Bose Wave radios, and the 3,000-square-foot Presidential Suite. Villa d’Este is ideal for high-level executive retreats or small groups. For larger gatherings, the Miramonte Resort & Spa now offers meeting space for up to 800 people, with the new addition of the 6,000 square-foot Mediterranean Ballroom. Topiary hedges, lion-head fountains decorate the main pool, which features private cabanas and a Jacuzzi. A second pool and Jacuzzi provide a quieter retreat. Delicious Mediterranean-inspired cuisine is served for breakfast, lunch and dinner at Ristorante Brissago and the Vineyard Lounge is popular for cocktails and live entertainment. Bicycling, bocce ball, lawn chess, croquet, a fully equipped fitness center, classes including yoga and Pilates, and a golf concierge to arrange play at courses including preferred pricing at the adjacent Clive Clark and John Fought Indian Wells Golf Resort, where the LG 2007 Skins Game will be played make a stay at the Miramonte Resort & Spa a Roman holiday.

Destinations : California : Miramonte Resort & Spa