Carefree Resort & Conference Center

My college bestie and I meet once a year for a spa vacation, and this trip found us at Civana. Sadly, Terri at check-in set the tone for the entire trip with her condescending attitude. We booked using the Black Friday sale, so that helped with the sting of the price. We also took advantage of the meal plan. Room: Great view of the lovely property. However, our rooms did not have air conditioning. Instead of just saying there was an issue, they kept sending up technicians. Our rooms had a Dyson fan which was okay, but at $1K a night, this is ridiculous. My room never got below 73 degrees. Food: Meh-- Because food was included, I found myself ordering more hoping that I would find something I liked. I would suggest breakfast in the Terras dining room, lunch at Seed (the sunflower salad was FANTASTIC) and dinner back at Terras. We liked the tomato and mozzarella appetizer so much that after my friend left, I ordered another one for dinner, hoping that I could have a half portion. That was not an option. I asked if I could have the swordfish without the sides and was told that that was also not an option. This leads me to believe that the food is truly not prepared and cooked on site--maybe it's more of a microwave situation. Disappointment with the food was a constant theme from others we met during our stay. Now for the OUTSTANDING: I was VERY impressed with my spa treatments. I had the Watsu (water therapy) with Alden which was FANTASTIC. I would highly recommend this treatment. The Deep Tissue Massage with Teri which was great, and the Thai Table Massage with Taylor was AMAZING!! I would do each of these treatments again with each person. My only suggestion would be to offer longer sessions because an extra 30 minutes with each person would have been blissful. I was also impressed with the classes that I took. Although the class options were quite limited, I enjoyed my yoga classes and would recommend the myofascial release class and the buns class. Would I return? Maybe-- I really enjoyed the spa and the classes. I do think that if you are staying at the resort that access to the spa should be allowed, even if you are not receiving a treatment, but I guess the resort is big and the spa is smaller. My all-time favorite spa is Lake Austin Spa Resort, but I am glad that I tried this for a comparison.

We had a wonderful stay at CIVANA Wellness Resort & Spa. My husband and I truly enjoyed every aspect of our experience. The food was excellent, thoughtfully prepared, and consistently high quality. The classes were engaging and well organized, and we appreciated the opportunity to try activities that we would not typically have access to at home. The staff stood out as especially knowledgeable and professional; it was clear they were well educated in their respective fields, which added to the quality throughout the resort. The facilities were beautiful and well maintained, and our room was immaculate—comfortable, peaceful, and impeccably clean. Overall, our stay was both relaxing and rejuvenating. We left feeling refreshed and grateful for such a thoughtfully designed experience, and we can’t wait to return.

It felt like a true reset. From the calm surroundings to the intentional focus on wellness, everything encouraged slowing down and being present.I was truly able to disconnect, not feeling the need to document every moment, just fully take it all in. I left feeling lighter, refreshed, and genuinely restored, exactly what I needed.

The organization and process management of Civana needs a major upgrade!! Sadly, Mollie the Spa Coordinator and later Rachel the Spa Manager still couldn't figure out how to schedule services and classes for a party of 7. We started the organization of the weekwnd in October for a spa day in mid-Januray.. with many, many, many back and forth emails to coordinate Mollie who haf major difficulty organizing, I thought everything was organized and settled. A couple days before we areived, members of the party got messages that their services were never booked, classes overlapped. After reaching out to Mollie with no response, I finally spoke with Rachel. Unfortunately, after her reassuance that the mess was fixed, it wasn't. Check in was a mess. Classes still overlapped, services never showed up in program schedules, computers were down, so they couldn't provide keys. I asked for them to contact me when everything was up... they never did. We booked at the very empty Terras restaurant, but the table wasn't ready. Restaurant 101... read and ready the reservations. The one saving grace was the rest of the staff that provided services and led classes, were awesome! Sadly, the spa was rather empty... We will be back at the Fairmont Princess next year (definitely not Civana), which provides amazing organization and services and amazing staff!!

If wellness is your thing, so is this place! Consider this the calmer and quieter side of relaxation vs an energetic treadmill with an echocardiogram and then tell me how to fix those numbers situation (because that's becoming a thing now too lol). So the good part... Location:...it's secluded so if that's what you need...this place delivers! IF you want to enjoy more than the resort rent a car 100%, why? Ubers took 20 minutes minimum to show up and were never less than 80 bucks one way because we were either headed to Scottsdale or Phoenix. $160 round trip and you have to wait for your ride? Yeah get a car...it just makes way more sense. Property:...you can hear a pin drop and I LOVED that! It's not that I stay at noisy hotels, but I appreciated the quietness...outside where people were reading books...near the pool SILENCE...and even in indoor areas where people work or relax. Everyone is in their own world and minding their own business...#LoveIt. Rooms: they are minimalistic and by that I mean non distracting and you actually want to open the blinds to allow natural light in so you can enjoy the scenery. I did appreciate the carpet in the room (most of the time I don't prefer that, but it was perfect and cozy). They were incredibly spacious and we were super comfortable. The biggest thing was how quiet it was. Food: There's room service, a restaurant, and a cafe...the room service mirrors the restaurant, so with that there isn't a lot of food diversification, but it was good and very fibrous. It's a good let me reset my gut type of place IF you haven't already been eating healthy, which we did this during the holidays, so we hadn't been and needed this. Activities: The calendars are posted with activities daily, and you register on the app. Gym, outdoor area, or inside for something more meditation oriented. This is the highlight of why many people come...it's the wellness activities, so have a look to see if you can find things you'd be interested in. We never committed to more than 2 a day, but people on the resort do participate so be sure to register as soon as you know you want to participate. *Be sure to do a bike ride, there are 2 out front and it's a great way to get a quick bit of exercise and see Carefree, AZ quickly. Spa: I loved the waiting area...outside and an inside option. The massages were great and I've been to so many spas to where I can't overly comment on it because it was just that...great massage, nice facility, and the staff were 5 stars. Cost: I'm only doing this section because people have complained about the cost so 100000% you're going to spend your $ & a lot of it if you intend on staying at the resort 100% of your time because you're paying for food here, so there's no way around it. First thing, at check in there's a pre-auth hold of $150 per day per person. The food is pricey. Some of the activities on the calendar you do pay for...such as hiking. The spa prices are standard luxury spa prices and they always have fees. *I encourage you to do these (2) things if it's a concern....1. Call before you book and confirm the nightly rate, what they charge at check in on your card , + any resort fees + taxes + any other mysterious fees + what they're charging at checkout 2. Look at spa prices and food prices in advance + when you do that call at #1 you can ask about gratuity and taxes on the spa and food too. Advice: The only thing I will say is, if you are a big snacker...bring them with you because even as there is a cafe they may not have the ones you like. I'd say give this place a shot, but be mindful of the location (it's a bit farther out) and take note of the cost/fees.