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| DESERT DREAMS: The resort’s stunning grounds. |
WHY NOW This destination spa, just 45 minutes from the Tucson airport, offers more than savory cuisine and soothing spa therapy. Miraval’s mantra is mindfulness, self-awareness, and acceptance, whether your experiences are good or bad, depressing or exhilarating. Mindful eating, led by a nutritionist, is an excellent introduction to this way of thinking. During the first 10 minutes of breakfast, you eat in silence, putting down your fork between bites. This serves many purposes, not the least of which is eating more slowly and, as a result, less. But it also reminds you of the sensual pleasures of food—texture, taste, aroma, and color. Swing and a prayer is more of a thrill ride. You’re suspended from a cable, looking out over the Santa Catalina Mountains while your newfound friends hoist you up as high as you’ll let them until you’re ready to drop and swing. On the surface, it’s purely an adrenaline rush, but it can also be a good exercise in trust and letting go. NEW AGE HOOEY? If you don’t buy the “life in balance” modus operandi (I initially scoffed at the brochure), it’s important to note that there is no pressure to participate in any activity. Some come here for an intense six-week program to get their diabetes under control; others exorcise their demons on the outdoor challenge course. But there is no shame in enlisting a group of girlfriends to rendezvous for a tranquil retreat that involves little more than wining, dining, and splurging at the spa. The
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| GOOD EATS: Chef Bill Wavrin’s inventive cuisine. |
luxury of Miraval is choice. GOOD EATS Executive chef Bill Wavrin and his staff turn out brilliant food that tastes as good as it is healthy. The breakfast buffet is stocked with a beautiful array of fresh fruit; cereals; and hot items, such as breakfast burritos. You can also order from a menu (think salmon rosette and potato cake). Lunch is another bountiful buffet, with wonderful prepared salads such as grape, wild rice, and feta, plus special entrées like turkey quesadillas with avocado aïoli or grilled Hawaiian ono. Dinner is a more formal affair, and the menu each night is themed. From the Eclectic selections, for example, feast on pistachio-crusted beef tenderloin with orzo cake. Desserts like crème caramel or chocolate coconut mousse cake taste anything but low-calorie. A carefully selected wine list rounds out the meal. ACTION PACKED Bird watching, horseback riding, hiking, sunset photography walks, yoga and pilates, cooking demonstrations—the list goes on. Participate in as much or as little as you like. Most activities are included in the price of your stay, including one $110 spa treatment. (Try an organic facial or blissful ayurvedic herbal treatment.) But some activities, such as Wyatt Webb’s equine experience, cost extra. HOW TO GET THERE American Airlines (800-433-7300; www.aa.com) and Delta (800-221-1212; www.delta.com) fly nonstop from DFW to Tucson. America West (800-327-7810; www.americawest.com) flies to Tucson via Phoenix. A van can pick you up from the airport and take you to the resort.
SEXY EDUCATION Thanks to the queen of daytime talk shows, Oprah, one of Miraval’s most popular workshops is Partners, Pleasure, and Passion: A Couples Retreat. Yale-educated, husband-and-wife team Drs. Lana Holstein and David Taylor lead this program, which teaches couples ranging in age from late 20s to early 80s how to take intimacy to a higher level. Activities include lectures, soul gazing, couples stretch, and candlelight dinners, among others. Some participants show up hoping to learn a few tricks; others are experiencing serious trouble in their marriages. But in the end, they all learn—or re-learn—how to create and sustain sexual electricity. April 16-20: $6,666 per couple, which includes all workshop events, accommodations, all meals and nonalcoholic beverages, transportation to/from the airport, two $110 spa treatments, and two couples activities. July 10-14: $5,553 per couple (resort format of program accommodates more people).
For the lady whose gentleman can’t attend the couples retreat or the single woman looking to sharpen her lovemaking skills, Holstein has created a new program called Awakening Aphrodite: A Program for Women to Empower Your Love Life. Activities include lectures, belly dancing, sensual yoga, water nymph class, and more, guaranteed to help you channel your inner goddess. Your man will never know what hit him. May 1-5. Price: $3,421.50 single occupancy; $2,916.25 double occupancy, which includes all workshop events, accommodations, all meals and nonalcoholic beverages, transportation to/from the airport, and three $110 spa treatments.
Miraval, Life in Balance
5000 E. Via Estancia Miraval, Catalina, Arizona. 800-232-3969; www.miravalresort.com. Rates for the Ultimate Package through May 15: $550-$1,095, double occupancy; $650-$1,295, single occupancy. That price includes all meals and nonalcoholic beverages; one spa treatment, one-on-one consultation; or a round of golf per person per night, up to $110; unlimited use of the facilities; and pickup/drop-off from the Tucson airport. Check the web site for other special promotions and packages.
