Want to take advantage of Hyatt Privé benefits, including a room upgrade, complimentary breakfast, a hotel credit, and more, when booking a cash stay? Contact Ford ([email protected]) for more details. He may even be able to help if you already have a stay booked.
In 2017, Hyatt acquired Miraval, as part of Hyatt’s hope of expanding in the luxury wellness sector. In this post, I’d like to take a closer look at the Miraval portfolio, and how to book Miraval properties, whether paying with cash or points. When it comes to World of Hyatt, Miraval works a bit differently than some other brands, so hopefully I can simplify that a bit.
In this post:
The basics of Miraval resorts
Miraval currently operates three inclusive destination wellness resorts in the United States, in Arizona, Massachusetts, and Texas (there’s a fourth property opening soon, in Saudi Arabia). The adults-only resorts have an emphasis on wellness programs, spa treatments, and nourishing cuisine.
What’s cool is that the three resorts all have different vibes, based on where they’re located. Even though the concept is the same at all the properties, I know many people have enjoyed visiting all three, as they each have a unique charm.
Miraval Arizona
Miraval Arizona opened in 1995, and was the brand’s first property. The 118-room resort is located near Tucson, on 400 acres of Arizona’s Santa Catalina Mountains. This is ideal if you want more of a mountain and desert escape, as this part of Arizona has gorgeous topography.
Miraval Arizona has two restaurants, three pools, 29 spa treatment rooms, 100+ weekly fitness, yoga, and meditation classes, and more.
Miraval Austin
Miraval Austin opened in 2018, and was the brand’s second property. The 121-room resort is located near Austin (as you would have guessed based on the name), on a 220-acre natural sanctuary. The landscape at this resort is a bit different than in Arizona, as it’s much more lush, and located near a creek.
Miraval Austin has two pools, 60+ spa services, 50+ daily wellness activities, 20+ fitness, yoga, and meditation classes, and more.
Miraval Berkshires
Miraval Berkshires opened in 2020, and is the brand’s newest property. The 104-room resort is located in Lenox, Massachusetts, on 380 acres of New England landscape. This has a totally different vibe than the other resorts, and has much more seasonal variation. Miraval Bershires has also undergone an expansion, with the addition of Wyndhurst Manor.
Miraval Berkshires has three pools, 28 spa treatment rooms, 20+ fitness, yoga, and meditation classes, and more.
Miraval The Red Sea
Mirval The Red Sea is expected to open in late 2025, and will be the brand’s first property outside of the United States. The 180-room resort will be located on Saudi Arabia’s Shura Island, which is the central hub for the Red Sea Project. The property will have three million square feet of beaches and sea front landscape, a spa with 39 treatment rooms, and lots of activities.
What’s included with Miraval stays?
While Miraval stays won’t be cheap, the nice thing is just how many things are included with your stay. All Miraval packages include the following:
- Accommodations
- Unlimited participation in complimentary daily yoga, fitness, meditation, and wellness lectures, outback nature walks, photography classes, and outdoor adventure activities
- All meals, snacks, smoothies, and non-alcoholic beverages
- Complimentary shared shuttle transfers to the airport, or valet parking for those driving in
- Full access to Miraval’s extensive resort amenities, including The Body Mindfulness Center and Life in Balance Spa
Most Miraval rates also include a $175 nightly per person resort credit that can be used toward spa services and private sessions, though that’s not included with some rates. Miraval also has a non-tipping policy, as that’s covered with the resort charge.
What’s not included with your Miraval stay? Alcoholic drinks, spa treatments, and private sessions, but again, the $175 nightly resort credit can be applied toward paid experiences.
How to book Miraval resorts
Miraval offers a unique wellness experience, while still giving you the benefit of the resorts participating in World of Hyatt. This means that you can earn and redeem points for your stays at Miraval properties, and take advantage of elite perks.
While I won’t be covering it in more detail below, I should also mention that Miraval sells day packages, where you can spend the day at a Miraval property for roughly $500 per person.
Book Miraval resorts with World of Hyatt points
Miraval properties can be booked with World of Hyatt points, though Miraval doesn’t follow Hyatt’s traditional award chart. Rather, you can find the World of Hyatt award chart for Miraval properties below.
Just to break that down a bit further:
- A standard room at a Miraval property ordinarily costs 40,000-50,000 points per night for single occupancy
- Double occupancy will cost you an extra 17,500-22,000 points per night
- On average, you can expect to pay 65,000 World of Hyatt points per night in a standard room for double occupancy; I value World of Hyatt points at 1.7 cents each, so to me that’s the equivalent of paying $1,105
- There are no taxes or fees when redeeming World of Hyatt points at Miraval properties, and you don’t have to pay the typical 23% resort charge, so those savings can be significant
- World of Hyatt award redemptions at Miraval resorts include all the typical benefits, including a $175 resort credit per person per night
There are no blackout dates for Miraval properties, so as long as a standard room is available for sale, you can redeem points for it.
Note that with the World of Hyatt Milestone Rewards program, if you earn 100 elite nights in a year, you can select a Miraval Extra Night Award as your perk. Each of these transferable certificates can be used to get a second night free at any Miraval property on an eligible rate for up to to double occupancy, whether paying cash or redeeming points. Of course that could represent a great deal, if you are a super frequent Hyatt guest.
Even if you’re not a Hyatt loyalist, earning World of Hyatt points can be pretty easy. In addition to being able to earn World of Hyatt points with the World of Hyatt Credit Card (review) and World of Hyatt Business Credit Card (review), you can also transfer over points from Chase Ultimate Rewards.
Book Miraval resorts with Hyatt Privé
If you’re going to book a cash stay at Miraval properties, generally speaking you’re going to be best off booking through the Hyatt Privé program. Hyatt Privé rates cost the same as standard flexible rates (not member rates, advance purchase rates, AAA rates, etc.), and include additional perks.
Those perks include an additional $100 property credit per room per stay, a room upgrade confirmed within 24 hours of booking (room-to-room or suite-to-suite, based on availability at the time of booking), a welcome gift and letter, early check-in and late check-out subject to availability, etc.
Miraval properties also belong to Virtuoso, but generally you’ll find better value with Hyatt Privé. A travel advisor can always help you compare the options. Ford and his team can help with these bookings, and can be reached at [email protected].
World of Hyatt perks at Miraval properties
For the purposes of the World of Hyatt loyalty program, Miraval properties fully participate:
- World of Hyatt members earn 5x World of Hyatt points per dollar spent at Miraval properties, plus any elite bonuses; of course this spending counts toward lifetime Globalist
- World of Hyatt’s typical elite perks, including for Discoverist members, Explorist members, and Globalist members, apply
- Suite upgrade awards can be applied at Miraval properties, to confirm a suite
- While all members get the 23% resort fee waived on award stays, Globalist members also get the 23% resort fee waived on cash stays
In the interest of being thorough, I should mention that Miraval also has its own “bonus” loyalty program, named Authentic Circle. You achieve this status after staying 10 total nights at Miraval over the course of your lifetime, and it’s valid for the year in which you earn it, plus the following calendar year.
Authentic Circle status offers perks like an additional $100 resort credit per stay, an extra gift at check-in, complimentary laundry service, a waived in-room dining service fee, and more.
Bottom line
Miraval resorts are a unique part of Hyatt’s luxury portfolio. Given that these are wellness resorts with lots of inclusions, they work a little differently than other Hyatt properties when it comes to redeeming points. I enjoyed my stay at Miraval Arizona some time back, and look forward to checking out another Miraval property at some point.
What’s your take on Miraval properties? If you’ve stayed at one, what was your experience like?
In this article, you mention that you value World of Hyatt points at 1.7 cents each, but you *also* just posted an article within the same hour ("How Much Are Airline, Hotel, and Credit Card Points Worth?") where you estimated their value at 1.5 cents each. Seems like one of these articles may need an update?
What happened to the planned Miraval in Virginia?
And if you go to the Arizona location, you can pair your trip with a visit to the largest airplane boneyard in the entire world, which is a true must-do for all AV geeks. Or you can fly to PHX instead :)
100% agree with the other commenters about Miraval Berkshires. I went in 2021 expecting a lovely new property. The truth is that they refurbished an older property, and the rooms came with plenty of issues. Our "upgraded" room was awful, small, and not luxurious, which was a surprise for the cash price point. Food was good, but after a few meals, we definitely wanted something else and used our credits for a chef's cooked meal....
100% agree with the other commenters about Miraval Berkshires. I went in 2021 expecting a lovely new property. The truth is that they refurbished an older property, and the rooms came with plenty of issues. Our "upgraded" room was awful, small, and not luxurious, which was a surprise for the cash price point. Food was good, but after a few meals, we definitely wanted something else and used our credits for a chef's cooked meal. The spa was a let down (bad massage and felt unprofessional). All in all the activities were good, but I would not stay here again.
I’ve been to all 3 properties multiple times (just got back from Austin). It’s always good to learn new things & experience different methods. I highly recommend the $500 Day Pass. Especially for Lenox, there is a brand new Element nearby with better lodging, though all the properties have added new units if you can book into them.
I have stayed at all 3 and always thought the food was great. It is not filet and lobster but good variety and healthy choices and you can order as many entrees and apps as you like. I also thought the included classes were great especially the ones that involved the climbing and confidence courses. I never once felt like I was in a Hyatt Place room
Lake Travis is not "a creek".
I live < 1 mile from Miraval Austin. Cypress Creek does run near the property... maybe that's the creek in question?
I stayed at the Berkshires one a couple of months ago. I suppose I came in with the wrong expectations and thought it would be pinnacle luxury at that price point - it really wasn't. The rooms themselves are drab and not much better than a Hyatt place (minus the bed), zero soundproofing between rooms... The food was pretty bad across the board, whether at the restaurant or at the take out station (literally gas...
I stayed at the Berkshires one a couple of months ago. I suppose I came in with the wrong expectations and thought it would be pinnacle luxury at that price point - it really wasn't. The rooms themselves are drab and not much better than a Hyatt place (minus the bed), zero soundproofing between rooms... The food was pretty bad across the board, whether at the restaurant or at the take out station (literally gas station quality). Coffee was awful too.
But I guess people come in for the activities and not for nice rooms or great food. Those were good, with excellent facilitators even if a lot of them are outrageously priced. Over $100 for some meditation classes, even in NYC that wouldn't happen. The real positive was the wonderful staff, really terrific, well intentioned and friendly service.
Berkshires seems to be the weakest of them, but while they are pretty nice properties, they are definitely far from "peak luxury." The pricing is mostly due to the "all inclusive" nature of it. If you're looking for wellness resorts, there are far more upscale ones (particularly in Europe and Asia, and also at a very high price point).
Yeah that's kind of why I prefaced with saying I probably came in with the wrong expectations, and would potentially explore another property now that I know what to expect better.
But I would also argue that it's FAR from being all inclusive. You get pretty bad food and some basic activities included, but you still have to pay a lot of money for the more interesting ones. You could easily spend several thousand...
Yeah that's kind of why I prefaced with saying I probably came in with the wrong expectations, and would potentially explore another property now that I know what to expect better.
But I would also argue that it's FAR from being all inclusive. You get pretty bad food and some basic activities included, but you still have to pay a lot of money for the more interesting ones. You could easily spend several thousand dollars on top of the room rate that is already in the 4 digits. But I guess it works and people pay - the place was completely full.
“ The food was pretty bad across the board, whether at the restaurant…”
One thing to keep in mind is that it’s a wellness resort. I thought the food was really good when you keep in mind the priority was health. Would a lot more fat, salt, sugar, etc. make for a full luxury dining experience? Sure. But that’s not what they offer.
Compare it to one or the Germany luxury spas where they...
“ The food was pretty bad across the board, whether at the restaurant…”
One thing to keep in mind is that it’s a wellness resort. I thought the food was really good when you keep in mind the priority was health. Would a lot more fat, salt, sugar, etc. make for a full luxury dining experience? Sure. But that’s not what they offer.
Compare it to one or the Germany luxury spas where they don’t really feed you at all:
https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/12/t-magazine/cathy-horyn-buchinger-wilhelmi-fasting-clinics.html
John - I was actually very excited about being able to eat in a healthy way. The self service salad bar at lunch was decent, and dinner was a-ok but everything that came from the kitchen at breakfast, lunch or the coffee bar self serve area was really terrible. I remember having tacos that were completely disintegrating in my hands, and the eggs in the morning were so greasy I gave up. It has nothing...
John - I was actually very excited about being able to eat in a healthy way. The self service salad bar at lunch was decent, and dinner was a-ok but everything that came from the kitchen at breakfast, lunch or the coffee bar self serve area was really terrible. I remember having tacos that were completely disintegrating in my hands, and the eggs in the morning were so greasy I gave up. It has nothing to do with more sugar or fat or salt, it was just low quality and poor execution, unfortunately.