Adventures in Austin

It’s the middle of a global pandemic. I haven’t seen anyone let alone shaved my legs in nearly six months. My hair is a two-tone mullet: gray on top with brassy beat up ends. My pants are uncomfortably snug and the fashion rules I once held are dangerously loose. Buttoned waistbands are a thing of the past. Coffee and Zoom calls in the morning give way to wine and Tiger King in the evening, a never ending relay race. 
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As if all this wasn’t bad enough, there was another plot twist on the horizon. I was staring down 40 and it wasn’t fabulous. Nah, 40 for me was flirting between buying Mrs. Roper inspired mumus and wondering how long I could go without a haircut before looking like Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman. 

​I knew turning 40 would be hard. But this was not what I had planned. If I wanted any kind of chance against living out the rest of my years in sweatpants and slippers, I had to get out of this funk. This called for more than drive-by birthday wishes or virtual hangouts. For this birthday to feel anything close to fabulous, I had to pull out all the stops. ​

Cairn- an intentional stack of stones meant to point you in the right direction. When you feel off path or out of sync, build yourself a cairn of your big rocks, your grounding values, and feel yourself shift back into alignment with your true journey.

Mir-ahhhh-val

Luckily, I had sisters who were just as fed up with the state of the world as I was and ready for a reason to celebrate. Together, we embarked on the most luxurious, indulgent, “I’ll have what Oprah’s having,” adventure of our lives. It wasn’t just a spa getaway or wellness retreat. It wasn’t an all inclusive five-star hotel. It was, in fact, all of it. 
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Miraval Austin is one part award-winning spa, one part holistic wellness retreat, and one part luxury hotel. A decadent trifecta designed to pull you off the hamster wheel and press reset. It’s a place to totally unplug (really, it’s device-free) and melt away stress, anxiety, and the screen-induced muscle aches and pains.  

Pulling up to Miraval, you know you’re somewhere special. It’s what I imagine the Fresh Prince felt when he rode up to Bel-Air. Unlike other hotels or resorts, there is no bustling check-in lobby where folks fight over kiosks and room keys. Instead, there’s a small, serene building with staff who have already expected your arrival and have been waiting for you. Painlessly, they check you in, give you a canvas tote with sanitizer, a luggage tag, and water bottle. They tell you to relax. Everything is taken care of. You can breathe. 

An interactive board lists the activities for the day, most are included with your stay. You can choose whatever your heart desires: yoga, meditation, hiking, culinary arts, mala making, tarot readings, high ropes, equine activities. With hundreds of options, it can be overwhelming. But don’t worry, even before your stay, staff will contact you to plan your visit to ensure it will be perfect upon arrival. 

Once we were checked in, we were whisked away on a tour of the property in a golf cart. The grounds were meticulous and the cluster of townhome-style accommodations are spread across the property. With no elevators to deal with or noisy neighbors, it felt like we had the place all to ourselves. 

We stayed in the spa-inspired Dreamcatcher room where the beds were like literal clouds. I kid you not when I say that you’ll sink at least four inches into the downy delight. The bathroom was a good size with all the toiletries one could need, including the super-fast Buttercup hair dryer. 
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Everything else on the property — the spa, pools, yoga barn, temple, high-ropes course — were all walking distance away and you could easily get to everything taking one of the various tree lined paths.

Have Your Cake and Eat It, Too

All meals are included with the stay and the restaurant did not disappoint. Offering up a variety of healthy options for breakfast, lunch, and dinner with a view that overlooked the lake, we could have spent our entire day eating. For cravings in between meals, there’s a snack bar with smoothies and revolving grab-and-go snack options. We tried one of everything. The best part? No calculating a bill, tipping, or carrying around cash or cards. And, no rush. 

Soul Cleansing and Silent Pools

As for activities, we were aggressive. With so much to choose from, we didn’t want to miss anything and often booked ourselves back-to-back in order to experience it all. During our three day stay, we indulged in the following, all of which I’d highly recommend. 

Included in the price of our stay

• Manifestation meditation- a guided meditation outside in the open air
• Yoga
• Abhyanga massage- included with our spa credits; a meditative hot oil massage
• Facial- included with spa credits
• Tarot Reading- done on Halloween night under the blue moon
• Pilates
• Wellness Counseling- we learned how to make cairns and determine our big rocks
• Hiking- an easy forest trail where the deer like to play
• Serenity Silent Pool- a saline infinity pool where noise is prohibited. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been at a pool without screaming kids splashing chlorine in my face. 

For an extra cost

• Mala Making- we learned all about malas and we each left with our own DIY mala bracelet
• Cleansing Ritual- a smoky, smudgy, sage ritual done in a temple meant to cleanse the soul​

Each event and experience was like unwrapping a new birthday present; I couldn’t wait to see what came next. And that feeling extended hour by hour, day to day, until eventually I left excited to discover what surprises 40 had in store. When I returned home, the pandemic wasn’t over, but the funk I'd been in was.
​It was a Miraval miracle. 

Know Before You Go

• Miraval is a non-tipping establishment. You will not need to bring your wallet, purse, credit cards anywhere with you on the property. 
• Alcohol is not included in the meal plan. You pay extra for that. 
• While many activities are included with your stay, some are not. So, if you have your heart set on therapeutic horse painting (not paining a picture of a horse, but actual paining on a horse), then you'll need to cough up more cash. 
• The entire place is device-free with a few areas designated for making calls or texting. 
• The dress code is casual. Like, wear your yoga clothes to dinner casual. 
• Try something you don't think you'd like. We did some things that were familiar and some that were not. Our favorites were the ones that weren't (e.g., heaving out sage-filled breaths while chanting prayers to rid ourselves of negativity). 
• Make a plan before you go. Find out what activities are happening during your stay and plan accordingly. You can leave all decision-making behind if you go in with a plan ahead of time. 
• Order the dessert. Or all three. Order all the dinners. Try everything! 
• Give yourself some time between all the experiences to just take it in. Go for a hike, lay in a hammock, lounge at the pool. 
• Start your stay with the "Life in Balance" wellness lecture. This set the stage for our entire stay. 

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I received a discounted rate during my stay.