Identity and Community as the Center of Wellness
Before opening The Good House Hotel & Spa, Brian Edson lived in Los Angeles, working in real estate investment and entertainment. His path to hospitality began with a search for relief from persistent insomnia—and he found it after a long soak in the natural geothermal springs of Desert Hot Springs. Intrigued by how deeply he slept afterward, Edson realized the local water offered something rare.
Edson was especially excited about the unique geology of the springs since their creation and location are determined by the Earth, not by human design. “It's that scarcity that was exciting to me,” he says, reflecting on what makes Desert Hot Springs a one-of-a-kind destination.
He decided to turn that personal experience into a business, creating a space focused entirely on rest in harmony with nature. The Good House features seven hotel rooms, offers signature massages and facial treatments, a food menu highlighting local ingredients, and mineral pools sourced from a 600-year-old well.
Mineral-rich geothermal pools at The Good House Hotel & Spa in Desert Hot Springs, where guests soak in waters shaped by centuries of underground activity.
“Our offering really is a wellness offering,” Edson says. “We are a hotel. We do have pools, but this is a wellness experience through and through.”
Edson’s approach connects personal wellness with community health. He focuses on hiring locals to support the Desert Hot Springs economy. Through the hotel’s “Every Stay Gives Back” initiative, a portion of each booking goes directly to the LGBTQ Community Center of the Desert—a partnership that has helped fund thousands of meals for food-insecure individuals across the Coachella Valley.
This civic commitment extends to environmental stewardship. The property follows a strict low-waste philosophy, eliminating single-use plastics and replacing paper towels with reusable cloths.
“It behooves us to not treat this land as best we can by not creating as much waste as we can,” Edson says.
Beyond the Spa: Every Business, a Philosophy
The journey through Greater Palm Springs' identity-driven marketplace continues farther into the valley, where local businesses function as community anchors and unmissable stops for any traveler seeking something real.
As an avid traveler who always looks for stationery shops when she travels, Asian American illustrator Angie Chua felt like there was a missing piece in the local landscape. That’s why she founded a retro-inspired stationery boutique dedicated to the art of analog connection that fills that gap: a destination for stationery lovers and travelers who want something more special than mass market stationery.
For travelers looking to trade screen time for something more grounded, Bobo Palm Springs offers a rare analog refuge where journaling, sketching, and paper-based creativity are celebrated. The shop's curated selection of handcrafted goods, travel-inspired stationery and artisan souvenirs encourages visitors to leave with something tangible to remind them of their special trip to the desert.
Bobo Palm Springs gives travelers the tools and space to slow down and engage in more mindful, screen-free time. Chua has turned the shop into a platform for the women, BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ makers artists, and in doing so, making every purchase an act of community support.
From the outside, Bobo Palm Springs looks small and welcoming; inside, it’s a carefully curated world of paper, pens and slow living.
Community-centered spaces that prioritize belonging and conscious consumption are, in Greater Palm Springs, a form of wellness in their own right.
Nicole Massoth felt it, too.
She founded more than a retail stop. The Place in downtown Indio is designed as a third space — a community living room where locals, students, and travelers share the same shelves, and where the act of lingering is as welcome as the act of buying. For visitors, stepping into this marketplace means moving past standard souvenirs to engage with a catalog of local talent.
The Place offers an alternative to shopping by creating a communal space for local entrepreneurs.
Created by Nicole Massoth, the hub provides a year-round micro-economy for hundreds of local artists and curators. Massoth deliberately curates a mix of brands and price points that speak both to high-spend festival visitors and to more budget-conscious travelers, instead of designing the store purely for one or the other. By hosting over 100 mostly small, often local brands in a single space, every purchase funnels money toward independent makers and local entrepreneurs — whether it’s an outfit for Coachella or a new snack.
That philosophy of creative access shapes every partnership Massoth pursues, including global brands. When she reached out to the Swedish electronics company Teenage Engineering, she highlighted that the collaboration was not a profit-driven decision. “This is about a feel-good move,” says Massoth about the importance of such products for the community. The brand agreed, and their products now share shelf space in an East Valley collective.
The result is a space where a festival visitor and a local twelve-year-old can discover the same tools on the same afternoon — and where, in Massoth's vision, global creativity becomes a resource for the community rather than a product for the few.
Exploring spaces like The Place and Bobo Palm Springs transforms a typical shopping trip into an intentional travel choice, offering a rare opportunity to experience the region through the eyes of independent business owners who prioritize cultural representation over mass-market scale.
Where Culture and Wellness Meet at the Table
The identity-driven culture of Greater Palm Springs extends to its culinary landscape, where local chefs use regional flavors to tell a deeper story of heritage and place. For a lunch experience that perfectly mirrors this philosophy, Lola Rose offers a menu deeply rooted in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern traditions. Rather than serving predictable resort fare, the restaurant centers its culinary identity around shared plates and vibrant spices—fresh mezze and spreads, robust mains like the grand kebab platter, and a rotating selection of sandwiches and salads that diners can customize with extra spices or sides.
Lola Rose Grand Mezze presents bold Eastern Mediterranean flavors, with a menu crafted by Executive Chef Quentin Garcia to be enjoyed alongside panoramic views of the San Jacinto Mountains.
The dessert menu brings four signature options: the espresso-infused Aria Von Lola, the spiced Mango Magick, the savory-sweet Milk and Maize, and the vegan Turkish Holiday. Complemented by artisanal cocktails crafted with citrus and botanicals, dining here is not just a meal, but a continuation of the place-based yet globally-inspired journey defining the modern desert experience.
By the pool, there are activations where local creators can showcase their brands on a makeshift runway. Daniel Schmidt-Sohr, the marketing manager for the Thompson Palm Springs hotel, highlights that the property also hosts live podcast recordings on-site, transforming the hotel into an interactive backdrop that brings guests and local entrepreneurs together.
Ultimately, what connects the different cities of Greater Palm Springs is no longer just a shared landscape, but a shared philosophy. This is a destination for travelers who are no longer looking for standard, one-size-fits-all resort packages or generic souvenirs and meals. Instead, the most memorable and restorative experiences in the Coachella Valley are the ones rooted in a business owner’s specific, uncompromising vision of who they are and what they stand for.
