Miraval Resorts Arizona: What to Know

The second I step foot on a Miraval property, I can virtually really feel my blood stress drop.

Such was the case at Miraval Arizona Resort & Spa, the place I lately spent a couple of days celebrating my birthday with my mother. This wellness-focused retreat close to Tucson, a part of the Hyatt portfolio, is a perfect place to recharge. I particularly loved the spa remedies, actions and scrumptious meals. Regardless of a couple of minor points with reserving and billing, we left relaxed and rejuvenated.

Miraval has three areas within the U.S.: close to Tucson, Arizona; Austin, Texas; and the Berkshires in Massachusetts. The primary location outdoors of the U.S. is coming quickly and shall be on the Purple Sea. There’s additionally the Miraval Life in Stability Spa Aviara inside Park Hyatt Aviara Resort, Golf Membership & Spa in California, however it isn’t a full Miraval resort.

I’ve been to every location a number of instances and am a lifetime member of their Genuine Circle loyalty program. Every property has a distinct really feel and incorporates actions, challenges, lessons and spa remedies. Apart from a couple of choose dates per 12 months, resorts are for adults 18 and older solely.

Miraval is a part of Hyatt and participates within the World of Hyatt program, which means you possibly can earn factors and use factors on the properties. On the Arizona location, commonplace rooms are about $1,000 an evening throughout the low season in summer season, as much as virtually $4,000 per evening in Could. Award charges begin at 40,000 factors per evening. For those who redeemed 40,000 factors for an evening that might in any other case price round $1,000, you’d get a price of two.5 cents per level, an impressive redemption. For comparability, NerdWallet values Hyatt factors at 2.2 cents apiece.

However reserving a go to is usually a little bit of a problem due to completely different reservations and inner techniques, and in some circumstances you might need to name to guide.

After choosing “E-book Now” from the primary Miraval web site, you’ll select a Miraval location and dates.

Accessible rooms and a number of the property’s packages will present up. I say “some” of the packages as a result of every location has particular offers. For instance, Arizona typically has a fifth Evening Free bundle if you happen to guide 4 nights. There are additionally particular presents that pop up all year long. My recommendation is to look on-line for reservations first after which name to ensure you have the very best deal.

Make certain the resort you need is definitely the one you find yourself reserving. I’ve had glitches earlier than the place one thing switches of their system and I’m one location once I thought I used to be one other and have virtually by accident booked the fallacious one.

One thing to notice: The speed you see doesn’t embrace a 25% resort charge that’s added to every evening or taxes. You will note these included within the complete price per room. The speed does embrace free actions, all meals, snacks and nonalcoholic drinks. It additionally contains transportation to and from the closest airport, which for Arizona is Tucson Worldwide Airport.

Some charges embrace a resort credit score you should utilize for spa companies, specialty lessons or non-public periods. The credit score is cumulative, so there’s no want to make use of all of it in sooner or later; any unused quantity rolls over to the following.

A 50% deposit is due on the time of reserving and is absolutely refundable till 21 days earlier than the arrival date. The rest is due when you find yourself on property.

As you depend right down to your go to, you’ll obtain emails to get you excited and offer you some instructions and recommendations.

I like Miraval and particularly Miraval Arizona, however I don’t love their laptop techniques and reserving portals. Due to glitches and limitations, you may hate the place earlier than you even arrive. Belief me, the frustrations will go away once you step foot on the property.

They’ve gotten higher over the previous few years and everybody you’ll name or discuss to all through the planning course of is conscious of their limitations and can apologize for them, but the techniques points stay.

Miraval Arizona has a whole lot of actions you possibly can select from, and never all of them are what some individuals name woo-woo. Sure, you possibly can take yoga, meditation, breathwork, crystal and astrology lessons, however there are additionally cooking lessons, hikes, problem programs, health lessons and extra.

I like with the ability to discover issues I’ve all the time been interested by, like the facility of crystals or the restorative rest of a sound bathtub.

About two months earlier than your arrival, you can begin reserving actions and companies in a web-based portal, however discovering the portal data is usually a bit tough.

I didn’t obtain a hyperlink till my 30 days out electronic mail, and I needed to look carefully on the electronic mail for the hyperlink.

Whenever you go to the portal, you’ll want your affirmation quantity to log in.

As soon as logged in, it’s best to see the reserving abstract with the dates of your keep and tabs to guide actions and spa companies.

When you choose a day, you can begin registering for actions. One annoying quirk of the system is everytime you exit and are available again, it takes you to the primary day of your keep, so ensure you verify that the day you need is highlighted earlier than reserving actions.

When you have one thing booked, the time interval shall be grayed out so you possibly can’t double guide your self.

As soon as you choose an exercise, it’ll seem in your cart. When you find yourself completed choosing issues, you will want to substantiate all of them earlier than they may seem in your itinerary. I realized this the onerous approach once I had spent a whole lot of time selecting issues solely to have to begin over once I didn’t affirm them.

The spa has a distinct reserving space, however the two techniques appear to work collectively so you possibly can’t guide overlapping instances. From the spa a part of the reserving portal, you possibly can examine a service and choose a time.

After you affirm actions, they may seem in your itinerary, which you’ll see and print at any time.

If all of this appears a bit overwhelming, an skilled planner might help you select actions you may like with a cellphone name.

Whenever you arrive on property, you’ll obtain a reversible Miraval tote bag or a backpack with a water bottle and guide inside. The guide has descriptions of all the choices in addition to a list of every part out there by day.

The guide separates actions by kind, from health to wellness counseling, to spirit and soul, culinary and extra.

I discover this each day checklist of choices to be a a lot easier method to see every part that’s out there, and I typically change my schedule considerably as soon as I see this. That’s what the on-site expertise planners are for. They will add to and alter your schedule and provides recommendation.

The Miraval expertise begins the second a driver picks you up on the airport. One factor you’ll discover instantly is there is no such thing as a tipping, so individuals are good and well mannered simply because they’re naturally that approach and never as a result of they’re working for a tip.

The drive from the airport is about 45 minutes to the 400-acre Sonoran Desert campus on the foot of the Santa Catalina Mountains.

Every little thing is serene with desert vegetation and development.

The primary cease is the foyer to signal a waiver and to verify in. That’s the place friends get a cellphone sleeping bag, for the reason that campus is generally digital-device-free. It’s so good to be in a spot the place individuals aren’t chatting on speakerphone loudly in public locations.

However don’t freak out. You may nonetheless discreetly verify your cellphone. No one will confiscate it from you, however if you’re utilizing a tool in a device-free zone, somebody may remind you of the coverage and ask you to place it away.

After you verify in, I like to recommend taking a tour of the campus. At first it appears large, however it’s actually not. My mother was nervous she would get misplaced, however she admitted earlier than we left that she felt snug with every part and the property was smaller than it appeared at first.

The foyer, exercise rooms, Cactus Flower Restaurant, Coyote Moon Bar & Lounge, Raindance Move boutique and Palm Court docket Cafe snack space are in a single normal location with a courtyard in between them. The one grievance my mother had throughout our keep was there weren’t sufficient bogs on this space.

Only a brief stroll over a stream are the spa and pool, which can endure an overhaul in mid-2025.

Miraval Arizona has a number of sorts of lodging starting from hotel-like rooms to non-public retreats and villas.

They’re scattered across the property in a number of clusters, and every room has an exterior entrance from a courtyard.

The biggest is a three-bedroom 3,120-square-foot Gratitude Retreat with a mirrored image pool, a fireplace pit, a full kitchen and extra.

Villas are non-public with a number of bedrooms and huge residing areas.

Then there are suites and common rooms. Throughout my stays right here, I’ve skilled two varieties of hotel-style rooms, the Native Spirit and the Dreamcatcher. There wasn’t a lot of a distinction, so far as I might inform, besides the Dreamcatcher rooms have been a bit larger.

All rooms have tremendous snug beds with a number of feathers.

All lodging even have a singing bowl and meditation cushion, a gown and slippers, a mini fridge and nice toilet facilities.

Although the campus has digital-device-free areas, the rooms all have giant televisions and Wi-Fi.

There’s housekeeping service each day in addition to turndown service every night.

It doesn’t matter what sorts of actions you love to do, I’m satisfied you’ll discover one thing that pursuits you at Miraval Arizona. A dozen buddies celebrated an enormous birthday with me on the property a few years in the past, and so they all mentioned there have been virtually too many selections.

The Life in Stability Spa is a serene and fantastic place, which can quickly look utterly completely different. The spa supervisor informed me they’re principally altering every part throughout a renovation in mid-2025.

What is not going to change is the standard of the companies. Every little thing I’ve ever had has been fantastic. There are skincare companies, salon and nail care, Vitality and Jap remedies, Ayurveda, scrubs, massages and extra. Some are stress-free. Others are therapeutic. All are fantastic.

At present, every locker room has lockers and altering services in addition to a sauna, a steam room, a whirlpool, a quiet space and showers.

The fitness center, known as the Physique Mindfulness Middle, or BMC, is a big constructing with fitness center tools, train rooms, locker rooms and a big pool. It’s open all day. Cardio drumming is tremendous enjoyable and is an efficient exercise.

For extra free-range actions, there are a number of trailheads across the property for self-guided hikes.

The realm for yoga and meditation lessons is known as the Agave Middle, which is shut to 2 yurts. It’s actually cool to do a calming exercise with a stupendous view of the mountains out the window.

I’m not an enormous yoga individual, however there are a number of sorts provided at Miraval Arizona. An expertise planner who guided me throughout my current go to defined that the primary variations come right down to tempo. Some yoga lessons are slower, some extra fast-paced — and one even incorporates aromatherapy with nice scents.

Throughout this go to, I attended periods in a yurt and within the Agave Middle. Only one tip for these two locations: There is just one rest room within the space and it’s within the Agave Middle, so if a category is in session, you possibly can’t go in there.

Whereas with reference to non secular locations, the Kiva space is a bit like an amphitheater with a fireplace pit within the center and delightful mountain views surrounding it. It’s on the opposite aspect of the Miraval Arizona campus from the Agave Middle. The labyrinth is simply behind the Kiva.

I admit, I’ve by no means accomplished something on the problem course at Miraval Arizona or at both of the opposite areas. I’m a risk-averse type of individual.

If it’s your type of factor, you possibly can zipline, stroll a tightrope, leap from a tall pole and do many different cool and difficult actions.

I’ve accomplished a number of the equine actions when I’ve visited Miraval Arizona beforehand, and I’ve to say they’re life-changing. There’s no horseback driving concerned. As a substitute, the expertise is about connecting with the horses, who find yourself educating you numerous about your self.

The culinary and vitamin programs are additionally actually participating. Throughout this go to, I did a honey tasting and realized what makes honey and bees so superb.

Talking of culinary experiences, a part of what makes Miraval Arizona nice is the meals. All meals and snacks are included, and there’s a lot of number of contemporary and attractive meals with an Arizona twist. Many substances come from an on-property backyard.

Meals are within the Cactus Flower Restaurant. Breakfast and lunch are buffets, with a further menu out there for desk service. The lunch buffet is on a three-day rotation, so if you’re staying longer than that, you’ll discover the repeats.

Dinner is desk service solely, and there’s a number of appetizers, mains and desserts to select from. Some gadgets are on the menu day-after-day, and others are on a five-day rotation.

The parts are manageable and are designed so individuals can order a minimum of an appetizer, a fundamental and a dessert. If you need extra or need to attempt a number of issues, you possibly can.

Each on the buffets and on the menus, gadgets are clearly marked if they’re gluten-free, nut-free, vegan or vegetarian. My mother eats gluten-free and cherished the notations as a result of she didn’t should ask about every part.

The Coyote Moon Bar & Lounge is an actual bar; it serves alcohol. If you need a cocktail or a glass of wine, get one and add it to your complete invoice.

I’m not an enormous drinker, however I do like a glass of wine with dinner typically and an occasional cocktail, and I like the very fact I’ve the choice at Miraval. That isn’t the case at another wellness resorts.

The bar has a meals menu and units up a light-weight appetizer buffet within the evenings.

My favourite meals place at Miraval is the Palm Court docket Cafe. It’s the primary place I am going once I arrive to seize a golden milk, a tasty and calming drink made primarily with almond milk and turmeric and served both scorching or chilly. You’ll normally see me with one in my hand. They gave me the recipe and I attempted to make it at house, however it was not the identical.

A pal of mine says she remains to be dreaming of the coconut horchata she had throughout her go to greater than two years in the past.

The cafe has a smoothie bar, espresso drinks and grab-and-go meals that modifications all through the day.

Within the morning, the cafe serves oatmeal and breakfast meals after which modifications over to sandwiches and snack meals later.

There are all the time protein bars and a few snack breads out there. My mother cherished the very fact three of the 4 selections have been gluten-free.

A espresso station and a water refill machine are open 24 hours.

When the climate is sweet, there may be additionally a snack bar by the primary pool.

I like how I really feel once I’m at Miraval Arizona. The property is gorgeous, and there are numerous locations to get away and conceal from individuals if you happen to simply need to loosen up in a hammock or on a bench and take heed to the sound of water or the sounds of silence.

I additionally love the lessons and experiences and all the time come away with some type of revelation. This journey, my revelation was how good honey is completely different from what you purchase within the plastic bear.

However even with how a lot I find it irresistible, I don’t love how complicated the reservation reserving and expertise planning could be. I additionally don’t like that I can by no means work out the payments.

Total, Miraval helps me recharge. And I believe the corporate is aware of the expertise is considerably addictive. The resort presents particular reductions if you happen to guide your subsequent keep inside 10 days after you try. And since I can’t cross up deal, I’ve already booked my subsequent Miraval go to.

Prime photograph by Tiffani Sherman.