Designer Forum: Bringing new life to historic Murrieta Hot Springs Resort – June 2025

By Morgan Sykes Jaybush

Los Angeles-based architecture and interiors firm Omgivning recently celebrated the opening of Murrieta Hot Springs Resort, returning a 1902 campus that previously served as a private college to its original purpose.

HISTORIC REVIVAL BEGINS
Spanning 46 acres, the new resort features 174 guest rooms across 24 buildings, along with more than 50 distinct swimming and soaking pools, marking Omgivning’s largest project by square footage and first spa project to date. Opening for reservations in 2024, the resort continues to add Omgivning-designed amenities, including lobby bar Guenther’s Lounge, waterfront bar The Tortoise Shell, the poolside Café Azuli and the recently opened Talia Kitchen signature restaurant.

Since the early days of the Temecula Rancho, the Murrieta Hot Springs have been known for their healing and invigorating properties. In 1902, German immigrant Fritz Guenther opened a world-class health spa resort on the site, drawing visitors from far and wide to access the curative mineral waters, lounge in mud baths and relax in luxury. Murrieta Hot Springs was stewarded for many years by Guenther’s sons, Hugo and Rudy, who grew the resort’s popularity through unique landscape and architectural features, many of which still exist today.

In 1970, the resort was purchased by businessman Irving Kahn, who oversaw the creation of a freshwater lake, the Kahn lagoon, for further recreation on the property. After a few years as a commune, the resort was acquired by Calvary Chapel Church in 1995 and became the new home for its Calvary Chapel Bible College, which operated the campus for nearly 30 years. In recent years, Olympus Real Estate Group, the team behind The Springs Resort in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, obtained the campus with the express purpose of bringing the resort back to its original use.

Omgivning was retained as co-design architect and interior designer. Working with local architects Walter R. Allen + Associates (RQTEX) on the programmatic, architectural and space planning designs, Omgivning was tasked with the adaptive reuse of the campus. This required creating a cohesive design across two dozen buildings erected between 1890 and 1998, spanning a variety of distinct California styles: from Adobe to Spanish Colonial, Arts & Crafts to Art Deco, Gingerbread to California Ranch to Monterey Revival, and everything in between.

THE VISION: CALIFORNIA NOSTALGIC
In its plans for the new Murrieta Hot Springs Resort, Omgivning envisioned a destination for wellness, a respite where guests could unplug and recharge, and a resort environment setting the stage for a transformational experience. As its foundational design concept, the team adopted the theme of “California Nostalgic,” honoring the historic and rough-hewn spirit of the Southern California ranch or hacienda, coupled with soothing, natural and playful elements that typify today’s coastal California experience.

The team also sought to retain the integrity of the historic campus while reimagining a rich design style. Through a warm and vital color palette, custom furnishings, lighting and nostalgic yet surprising materials, Omgivning created welcoming and evocative spaces. Interior design components include patterned textiles, custom art and tile murals, textured surfaces, unique blown-glass pendant lighting and layered natural materials-all to complement the resort’s sculptural landscape and water features.

The team embraced the entire guest experience, creating everything from private spaces for quiet reflection to multigenerational areas around baths and pools, to more public and active spaces in new dining areas and landscaped pockets.

BRINGING THE PAST INTO THE PRESENT
A throughpoint for the design was terra cotta tile, which had been used across different moments in the site’s history. Over the years, the property’s owners would tear down older buildings and repurpose the bricks and tiles to create mosaic pathways. Omgivning sought out a more durable version of the original Mexican Saltillo tile, found throughout the campus, which has historically been used in the California Rancho design style. A concrete tile made in the style of Saltillo-Artillo by Arto Tile in Gardena, California-was used in every building as a way to tie the many different architectural styles together with its nostalgic Californian feel.

The resort’s lobby building was outfitted with a new tile mural designed by Omgivning in collaboration with Star Tile from Yucca Valley, California, welcoming guests above the check-in desk and enevoking the property’s aquatic and celestial themes as well as archways and medallions found throughout the campus. Along with the restoration of an original fireplace and lobby bar, Omgivning was able to realize the client’s vision of an exciting first stop for guests before entering the serenity of the resort. To soften the feel of the concrete Saltillo, a variety of plush area rugs were specified throughout the space. The main entry lobby includes eclectic Indian-made rugs by Lemieux et Cie, while the moody Guenther’s Bar uses luxurious Italian-made rugs by Potocco.

At the heart of the campus lies the original bath house, which dates back to the 1920s. Previously housing world-famous mud baths, the Bible college had converted the building into classrooms and a main library. Omgivning and RQTEX brought back the building’s original use with a series of hot and cold indoor pools, a Kneipp walk (a rare hydrotherapy spa treatment involving alternating hot/cold wading pools) and a panoramic sauna. A lighter color Artillo was used in order to give a calmer look and feel. Original skylights were reopened, and the Kneipp walk was lined with river rocks from Bourget Brothers in Santa Monica and bordered by a matte recycled glass microtile made in Japan by Design and Direct Source. Next door, the resort’s large

historic pool-originally called The Plunge-was renovated and lined with a new pool deck with custom-colored concrete pool coping and a basketweave-patterned brick locally sourced from Pacific Clay Products in Lake Elsinore, bringing back the feeling of its 1940s and 1950s heyday and enriching the feeling of outdoor luxury.

The interiors of the hotel guest rooms, converted from the old Bible college’s dorm rooms, took a more cost-effective approach to the Saltillo tile look by installing Diablo Red quarry tile by Daltile in a running bond pattern. This method of using a very common material in an unexpected way completely transformed people’s expectations of the commercial kitchen tile. This look was complemented with 100% wool handwoven, custom-designed area rugs made by Nourison in India, giving each guest room a boutique feel. Bathroom shower floors were lined with the same matte recycled glass microtile made in Japan by Design and Direct Source. Guest room corridors were lined with an Omgivning-designed custom carpet runner made by Mohawk.

Given the campus’ sprawling size and combination of building styles, Omgivning was able to create almost a dozen different types of guest experiences across nearly 200 guest rooms. As access to nature was important, the team made sure that every room has a view of the lush scenery, from windows and balconies to private patios and even private baths. Varying in style, orientation, accommodation, building and bungalow, the team was able to maximize the amount of amenities for each and every type of guest.

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