The Spa at Séc-he will open at Agua Caliente Cultural Plaza in April

There’s a new spa coming to Palm Springs.

The Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians will open the Spa at Séc-he on April 4, as part of the first phase of opening the Agua Caliente Cultural Plaza.

Agua Caliente Casinos will manage the new 40,000-square-foot spa at the corner of North Indian Canyon Drive and East Tahquitz Canyon Way and across the street from Agua Caliente Casino Palm Springs, the tribe’s original entertainment property.

Séc-he means boiling waters and references the hot springs that have been a centerpiece of the tribe’s culture. The Agua Caliente Hot Mineral Spring is estimated to be over 12,000 years old and has unique mineral components that have not been found anywhere else in the world.

Robert Maloney, vice president of commercial operations at Agua Caliente, said in a recent phone interview that other properties, such as The Palm Springs Spa and The Spa Hotel, which opened in 1963, utilized the mineral water for their guests.

“Things were built around it when the tribe came here thousands of years ago,” Maloney said. “People came here to immerse themselves in these waters.”

He said the water was previously used in a more traditional bathhouse settings and resembled a pond where guests could go for a dip at the old spa and hotel. The mineral water from the hot springs runs down about a mile and a half and will feed The Spa Séc-he.

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The design was inspired by Agua Caliente traditions such as basket weaving, pottery (ollas) and botanical elements native to the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indian Reservation.

The spa will feature 22 private mineral baths, 15 treatment rooms, a cryotherapy chamber, two float pod suites, a boutique fitness area, a grounding room, an acoustic wellness lounge, a tranquility garden, a menthol dry sauna, a eucalyptus steam room, two halotherapy salt caves, a resort-style mineral pool with four whirlpools, luxury cabanas, a full-service salon with scalp treatment beds and a café and a poolside bar with food service.

The second and final phase for the Agua Caliente Cultural Plaza will include the 48,000-square-foot Agua Caliente Cultural Museum and the Oasis Trail. The museum will feature a repository for cultural artifacts, history, and stories, including an education center and garden. The trail will feature geographical aspects such as plants and scenery from the nearby canyons.

“The tribe is a big part of this community, and this is a celebration of that and an educational tool,” Maloney said.

The Agua Caliente Cultural Plaza is expected to be finished by the end of the year, according to a press release by Agua Caliente Casinos.