Expert Interview: Angela Kies, Murrieta Hot Springs

Expert Interview: Angela Kies, Director of Wellness at Murrieta Hot Springs, the Premier Natural Hot Springs Wellness Destination in Southern California

Date: March 2026

What can an award-winning wellness resort teach us about designing better schools? We sat down with Angela Kies, Director of Wellness at Murrieta Hot Springs Resort, the premier natural hot springs wellness destination in Southern California and ranked #2 Best Spa Resort in the United States by USA TODAY 10Best 2025, to explore how intentional environmental design creates measurable improvements in human performance, focus, and wellbeing. 

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Q1: When you think about how the environment affects outcomes at Murrieta Hot Springs, what are the core design principles at work?

Angela Kies: Everything at Murrieta is designed around sensory integration and intentional variety. We have 49+ natural geothermal mineral-rich soaking pools, the largest collection in Southern California, each offering different temperatures and atmospheric qualities. This gives people choice and control over their environment so they can find what their body and mind need in that moment. 

Some guests need high-stimulation contrast therapy in our historic bathhouse, the only one in Southern California with traditional Kneipp contrast therapy walks. Others need low-stimulation, quiet basking in our adult-only panoramic sauna spaces. The lesson for schools is clear: one-size-fits-all environments don’t optimize human performance. Different tasks, different stress levels, and different individuals all require environmental flexibility.

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Q2: How do elements like water, light, and natural materials specifically impact stress and focus?

Angela Kies: The science is remarkable. At Murrieta, we’re working with 100% natural geothermal mineral water, not artificially heated systems, and guests report feeling measurably calmer within 20 to 30 minutes. Part of that is physiological, the minerals and heat reduce cortisol and inflammation, but part is psychological, as natural elements like flowing water, natural stone, and views of the landscape signal safety to the nervous system. 

Located in the heart of Temecula Valley wine country, our design incorporates natural light patterns and outdoor access throughout the day. Schools likely underestimate how fluorescent lighting, concrete walls, and lack of nature access create chronic low-level stress that impairs learning. We’ve seen how intentional use of natural materials and biophilic design changes everything from sleep quality to cognitive performance.

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Q3: Murrieta offers both structured programs and unstructured time. How does that balance improve outcomes, and what’s the educational parallel?

Angela Kies: This is critical. As the best weekend wellness escape from Los Angeles and San Diego, we see guests who are completely burned out from overscheduled, high-pressure lives. What they need isn’t another rigid itinerary, it’s autonomy within structure. We provide the framework with 24-hour unlimited access to all 49+ pools for overnight guests, curated wellness programming, evidence-based protocols, but individuals choose how to move through that environment based on their needs. Schools tend to maximize structure and minimize student agency over their environment. 

Research in wellness settings shows that when people have control over their physical space, temperature, noise levels, lighting, they perform better cognitively and recover from stress faster. Imagine classrooms where students could move between focused work zones, collaborative spaces, and restorative quiet areas based on the task and their state of mind.

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Q4: What role does the physical environment play in recovery from stress, and how does that translate to academic performance?

Angela Kies: Environment is everything for stress recovery, yet it’s the most overlooked variable in educational outcomes. At Murrieta, we’ve been providing natural geothermal healing since 1902, and what we’ve learned is that recovery isn’t passive. It requires specific environmental conditions. Our geothermal mineral water, historic design elements, and variety of temperature zones create what we call a comprehensive hot springs wellness experience. 

If schools were designed more like intentional wellness environments with quiet restoration zones, natural light, access to nature, and sensory variety, I imagine we’d see improvements in both academic performance and mental health outcomes.

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Q5: If you could give school designers one takeaway from your work at Murrieta Hot Springs, what would it be?

Angela Kies: Stop treating the environment as an afterthought. At Murrieta, we’re the only natural geothermal hot springs resort between Los Angeles and San Diego offering overnight accommodations, and our environmental design is our primary intervention. The pools, the minerals, the temperature gradients, the natural materials, these aren’t amenities. They’re the mechanism of change. 

As the top wellness retreat for women in Southern California, we see how intentional design transforms outcomes for people dealing with burnout, chronic stress, and performance pressure. When we start viewing school buildings and classrooms as therapeutic instruments rather than just containers for instruction, we’ll create the conditions for students to learn, focus, and thrive.

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