Miraval Austin

We enjoyed our recent visit to Miraval Austin! The classes were fantastic. And a special shout out to some of the great teachers who really made the experience special - Joseph, Cate, Jackie - plus all of the yoga teachers! It was also cool to try something I had never done before- Kundalini. Awesome experience to learn about breath work.

For my friend's birthday, I wanted to treat her to a spa day. Before booking, we had a simple question about treatment availability — the package includes a $250 credit, so we wanted to choose the right day accordingly. She called, waited 30 minutes on hold, and left a message. Days passed. No callback. I called and did the same. More days passed. Still nothing. We've taken our business elsewhere. I had better luck reaching someone at both the Folklore Spa in Dripping Springs and the Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa in Austin. We ended up choosing Folklore to celebrate my friend's milestone birthday — and it was the right call.

We had been really looking forward to this stay, but unfortunately the experience started on a very difficult note and never fully recovered. About two weeks before our trip, we were informed that part of our confirmed reservation had been canceled because the property had been bought out by a private group. We already had flights booked and had planned the trip around a conference, so this created significant disruption. More importantly, it was surprising to learn that a confirmed reservation could simply be canceled on such short notice because another group wanted to buy out the property. That decision alone set a difficult tone for the trip. After several conversations and emails back and forth, a resolution was eventually offered, which we appreciated. However, when we arrived at the property it quickly became clear that none of this had been communicated internally. At check-in we had to explain the entire situation all over again and walk through everything that had already been agreed to. We were even asked to prove that the person we had been working with had promised certain things. The person helping us was polite, but it was frustrating to feel like we had to relive the entire issue after spending so much time resolving it before arrival. There were also a few moments that felt surprisingly dismissive. When we mentioned that the online system for booking activities was difficult to use, we were told that the system is “really bad” and needs to be replaced. When discussing the earlier phone calls, we were told that the phone system is centralized and “not the hotel.” As a guest, those explanations don’t really address the problem or manage up the team and resort at all. The room itself was comfortable but very small, especially considering it had been supposedly booked as a suite, and it felt somewhat dated. At that point we were tired and decided not to raise yet another issue. The food overall was good, not exceptional, not bad. For example, I would have expected that a wellness resort would have a full smoothie bar and not just 2 options. The highlight of the stay was absolutely the activity facilitators. They were fantastic and clearly passionate about what they do. Michael’s chicken keeping session was great, Amber’s archery class was our favorite activity of the entire stay, Christy made hatchet throwing incredibly fun, Jayne ran an excellent photography class, and Keegan’s knowledge and enthusiasm for the horses really stood out. These team members were easily the best part of the experience. We also had good massage at the spa. After the stay we emailed the spa asking for a reminder of the therapists’ names so we could thank them and never received a response. In the end, while some members of the team clearly care about the guest experience, the overall stay was disappointing. This trip was meant to be an opportunity to relax and destress, and instead the reservation cancellation and the lack of internal coordination created more stress. The service recovery that was offered was appreciated, but the overall experience did not reflect the level of planning and guest care we expected, especially as Hyatt Globalists. We hope management takes a close look not only at how information is communicated internally, but also at how situations like this are handled in the first place. Canceling confirmed reservations on short notice because the property is bought out creates significant disruption for guests and should be approached with far greater consideration.

Overall, Miraval did not feel it was worth the price for a few reasons. While we had a nice trip, the service and food fell very short, for having paid $2000+ a night. The Soups were so delicious, But most everything else on the food menu (which was all-included) was very average. Cocktails (not included) were very subpar, and coffee was bad. The servers at dinner were so incredibly neglectful; for one of the dinners, our waitress came to our table only once! Our requests to housekeeping were ignored and had to be re-placed 3 times (for just towels!). It felt that we were constantly having to repeat our requests for help/service. Multiple smoothie/coffee items were often “unavailable”, due to poor planning/stocking. The instructors, classes offered, and spa treatments were all incredible! We had spiders in our room, which was surprising for a nice hotel and pretty gross. Overall not worth $2000 a night, not even close.

An unforgettable experience, but definitely room for improvement given the price tag. Miraval austin is one of those aspirational properties that everyone looks forward to. As one of Hyatts flagship properties you would only expect the best there. Wish I could say I got the best, but it was mostly good. The problem is with the activity bookings. Every individual person has to book their own activities and there's no description vs. The detailed calendar on Miraval. Also, the site defaults to the first day after every activity booking. And lastly, most of the activities are taken that a person would be interested in. I got a few calls from an experience coordinator to help but they're always during working hours where someone is... most likely working and they aren't available after hours. For a property north of 1.5k a night, not being able to accommodate guest requests for a core concept is not acceptable. Other than that, everything was mostly fine. The property itself is not far from Austin but definitely feels isolated. Check-in process was mostly seamless, no upgrade given Globalist which is a bummer or even mention of looking for one. Check in later in the day around 6PM and there's no tea at Check in (gone for the day!?). However, the quick property tour and lift to dinner was nice. Food was definitely close to 4 to 5 stars. Order as much as you want. The bread was amazing. View even more so if you sit outside. A lot of things are grown from their local farm, definitely have a balance of vegetables and proteins. Everything was delicious and fresh, had amazing wild boar chops the first night and got a full 2nd order. Also got a great whitefish. Menu changes every night up to 4 nights, so the pork belly, duck confit, and shrimp and grits were highlights. Breakfast had amazing yogurt and fruits. Lunch was meh, burger was lacking, but the steak tacos were great. The room itself is not full luxury but very comfortable. Water filter, the largest selection of tea and cold coffee, water heater. Perfect to sit while being on the balcony. The bathroom is also decent size with great water pressure. Bath products fairly luxurious. The activities were decent, good instructors and energy. Most of them are intimate enough. Wish they were a bit more active to burn off the calories from the food.