Miraval Berkshires Resort Review: What to Know

From the moment you walk into the lobby of Miraval Berkshires, in Lenox, Massachusetts, it’s difficult not to feel the sense of calm wash over you.

Tranquility is everywhere on the 380-acre campus. Whenever I arrive, I’m giddy to unplug a bit and recharge.

Compared with the other U.S. locations — all of which I’ve visited multiple times — Miraval Berkshires sets itself apart with an on-site destination hotel, the Wyndhurst Manor & Club, along with a golf course.

One really cool thing about Miraval Berkshires: Once you enter the lobby of the main resort (not the mansion), you don’t have to go outside again until you check out, unless you want to. There are passageways between most of the buildings that protect you from possible bad weather.

Trust me, this comes in handy during the winter months when it’s really cold and possibly snowy. Twice when I have been there, it was snowing outside, but I was warm and toasty while admiring the beautiful snowfall from inside.

Getting to Miraval Berkshires is relatively simple. You can drive and park for free or you can use the complimentary shared shuttle service at pickup locations like Bradley International Airport or Hudson Amtrak Station.

For a fee, the resort can help you arrange a private car transfer or even a helicopter ride.

For this visit, I flew up from Florida to Bradley Airport and met a Miraval shuttle driver there for the 75-minute ride to Miraval. After checkout, I took the shuttle for about 50 minutes to the Hudson Amtrak Station to take a train to Manhattan. The shuttles are scheduled to depart at set times to accommodate as many people as possible.

When you arrive, you receive a tote bag, a water bottle, a copy of your itinerary and a book that has all of the offerings in it as well as a map and practical information.

Miraval Berkshires is basically a series of buildings mostly connected by hallways. You can get from the lobby to your room, the spa, restaurant, gift shop, gym and more without having to go outside. You can even stay in your robe if you want!

Almost everything you need and want during a stay is in this area. A few yurts are not connected, and the farm and crafting area is across the street, but vans will take you there for activities.

The buildings surround the main pool area and the nearby reflection garden and gong.

When I go to Miraval, I cannot wait to sink into the really comfortable beds in the nicely equipped rooms.

The rooms are spread out in what the resort calls cottages. There are rooms of different sizes, each with the same standard features. Some cottages have living room areas near the individual rooms.

All the rooms have either one or two beds, with down bedding that feels like you’re sleeping on a cloud!

If you really like it, you can buy the entire ensemble for about $5,000.

There is also a small Tibetan singing bowl and meditation cushion, a refrigerator with a water carafe, a coffee maker and a large television.

The colors in the room and throughout the campus are calming, with natural textures everywhere.

There’s also Wi-Fi in the rooms, which comes in handy since the property itself is mostly device-free. Miraval Mode encourages limiting device use to designated areas, allowing you to be present.

But don’t worry. Nobody is going to snatch your device, but someone might remind you not to chat on the phone in a non-designated area or to turn off your notification sound.

If you don’t want a regular hotel-style room in one of the cottages, there are rooms at the Wyndhurst Mansion and in a few carriage houses, all of which have the same amenities as the other rooms but a bit more space and additional amenities.

The bathrooms at Miraval Berkshires are great. No matter the room type, they’re spacious and come with Zents bath products that work and smell great. You can also treat your hair to a blowout with a DryBar hairdryer, if you want to put forth that much effort while on a relaxing retreat.

The robes feel like you’re wrapping yourself in a cloud.

I always laugh when I see there are irons and ironing boards in the room. Why? I don’t know about you, but my athleisure wear does not need to be ironed.

The amenities are what set Miraval Berkshires apart from just another hotel in the area. The experiences are really all about wellness in an immersive, all-encompassing way.

Something I love about all of the Miraval properties is that I can be there alone and nobody questions me or wonders why I am not there with somebody. I don’t feel that at all at Miraval since there are many solo travelers there.

There are all types of activities, including crafty things, hikes, meditation, yoga, culinary and farm visits. Personally, I love the artsy activities, anything in the sound chambers, spa treatments and sessions about overall wellness. I’m not into hiking or fitness classes.

And don’t worry if you’re not into meditation, yoga or journaling. There is still plenty to do at Miraval Berkshires.

One thing to note: Miraval properties are adults only, except during select family events.

If shopping is part of your wellness routine, the Moonlight Pass shop has all kinds of cool things.

There is a gym called the Body Mindfulness Center that has a variety of equipment, an indoor pool and rooms for fitness classes.

The BMC is open 24 hours a day.

Before your arrival at Miraval Berkshires, you can book activities and spa treatments using a portal or by calling an experience planner.

Using your last name and confirmation number, you can access a schedule of available activities, listed by day and hour.

Some are free, and others cost money. Depending on the reservation package you book, you might receive a nightly resort credit that can cover those sessions. Most packages include $175 in resort credit per person, per night of the stay. As an Authentic Circle member, I get an additional $100 per stay.

If you find something you like, add it to your cart, and after you confirm your cart, the activity will appear on your itinerary.

I don’t like to schedule something for every minute of every day, but I know some people do. I need to leave myself time to sit outside by the pool (depending on the weather), walk around the reflection garden or labyrinth, color in my coloring book or just be.

The Life in Balance Spa at Miraval Berkshires is incredibly calming.

There are massages, Eastern and energy services, body scrubs, facials, salon services and more. The therapists are wonderful. In all of my visits to the three Miraval locations, I have never had a spa service I did not like.

Spa activities book up fast, so I’d recommend booking appointments as soon as they are available, which is usually about six weeks before you arrive.

When you get to the spa, you’ll receive a super-soft robe and slippers to use in the spa and around the campus. You can even wear them to the restaurant!

Each locker room has a hot tub, sauna, steam room and a relaxation area.

A communal relaxation area is near both locker rooms and is where you wait for your therapist to call your name.

You can also just curl up in the comfy chairs to relax.

While it’s best to plan some activities and spa treatments before your arrival at Miraval, the schedule isn’t set in stone. On all my trips to the three Miraval locations, I have never kept the same itinerary as when I arrived. Experienced planners on-site can help you add or remove anything you want.

The food. Yum.

Almost everything is included, except for alcohol and specialty culinary classes and experiences.

You won’t go hungry.

The Harvest Moon restaurant serves three meals a day, with a combination of buffet and menu service for breakfast and lunch and a sit-down dinner.

Everything is tasty, and portions are on the small side, designed so you can have an appetizer, main and dessert and not feel stuffed.

If you can’t decide what to order because several things sound good, that’s OK. You can order multiple dishes.

The meal menus and buffet items are on a three-day rotation, which is great because even though I stayed three nights, I didn’t eat the same food the whole time. Several lunch items are available for table delivery each day.

Many of the ingredients are local, and some are even grown on the property, so the menu changes with the seasons.

If you need to grab something and go, the Roost is the place to be. It’s a coffee-and-smoothie shop during the day and an actual bar in the evening.

During the cool months, there is a fire with plenty of comfortable seating areas.

The carrot ginger juice and the golden milk are my two go-tos.

There are always sandwiches, salads, snacks and sweet treats to grab on the run from activity to activity. Someone will also make you a coffee drink, a smoothie or something else.

If you want something a bit more upscale, the 1894 Restaurant at the mansion has a prix fixe meal that is not included with the nightly Miraval rate, but you can use resort credits. I have had drinks at the mansion before but have never eaten there.

Every time I go to Miraval, I learn something new. This time, it was about astrology. I knew about my sun sign, but I didn’t know anything about the rising moon or lunar cycles. I also took a raku pottery class, which was all about letting go because it is impossible to know what the finished product will look like.

It was an awesome visit, and this Floridian even got to see the snowfall from the warmth of the indoor areas. As always, I left Miraval refreshed and recharged.