Miraval Berkshires

Just 100 miles from my home is the new Miraval Resort & Spa in Lenox, Massachusetts. I recently returned from a 3 night stay at this beautiful Hyatt property on the 380 acre grounds of the former Cranwell Estate. I arrived on a Sunday afternoon in time for a late afternoon restorative yoga class and witnessed this sunset just outside the large glass windows of the studio. With just 6 people in a very open space, and everyone wearing masks, I felt perfectly safe to participate in the indoor class.

Miraval has plenty of outdoor spaces for sitting, eating, walking or just reflecting. The weather was perfect when I arrived, however, the next three days were rainy and cold. With well-designed indoor pathways, I only had to go outside when I wanted to!

Due to Covid-19, all activities had reduced capacity to ensure safe social distancing so I was unable to participate in a hike on Monday morning. Instead I signed up for the lap pool and had the space to myself for an early morning swim.

Using the app All-Trails, I found my way to the hike that Miraval offered but was already full, Olivia's Overlook and hiked it on my own.

There was space in the Tuesday morning hike to Gould Meadows and the Stockbridge Bowl (also known as Lake Mahkeenac), so I joined our guide and 4 other guests for a misty walk to the lake.

Miraval is known for their signature spa and the property has plenty of spots to curl up with a book or glass of wine (yes, they serve alcohol!) when the weather outside is wet and chilly.

I haven't even mentioned the food yet! Harvest Moon is the spacious restaurant where all meals were served with plenty of social distancing. Had the weather been better, I could have eaten in the outside courtyard or if I wanted more social distance, room service was available.

I did my best to try a range of offerings from the menu. My three breakfasts were mashed avocado toast, poached egg florentine and the Berkshires mushroom omelette. My dinner choices included pan seared scallops, salmon with bok choy, and pan roasted grouper. Their are plenty of vegetarian offerings as well...and dessert! Portions were just right for me, some might find them on the small side but you could always ask for more. Plus, The Roost is a grab-and-go snack bar with plenty of coffees, teas, smoothies and snacks that could fill in the hunger gaps as needed.

Each day, Miraval offers dozens of activities, ranging from yoga and fitness, to horse-grooming, hiking and obstacle courses. About 60% of the programming is complimentary, with additional fees for the remaining 40%. The daily schedule is available online and I was advised to book my choices 4-6 weeks ahead of time. Since I didn't decide to go that far in advance I was unable to get into many of the classes that I wanted. Miraval Berkshires opened during the pandemic and they are still working out some of the kinks of matching the demand with availability for classes so I cut them some slack. The pandemic has created so many challenges that I was just happy to have somewhere to go that I could drive to, feel reasonably safe and have a mini escape from the world!