Comparing Miraval Berkshires With Alila Ventana: Which Is Better?

~ Chris Wada

Now that we’ve stayed at two very similar resorts in the Miraval Berkshires and Alila Ventana Big Sur, let’s have a fun exercise of declaring a winner.

View other posts in both series:

We’re going to start off this comparison with a reminder: this is based purely on our own opinions and aren’t statements of fact. We will of course try to be as objective as possible, but what we look for in a resort might differ from what you want.

With that out of the way, given we have stayed at both properties within the past year, we thought we were as qualified as anyone to offer up our thoughts on what we liked about both, what we wished could be improved, and ultimately which we prefer. While our experiences are specific to Miraval Berkshires, it could also extrapolate to Miraval Resorts in general. Here are the six areas we’ll take a closer look at:

  • Guest rooms
  • Dining
  • Activities
  • Service
  • Location
  • Cost

Guest rooms

Miraval Berkshires

The Miraval Berkshires has a fairly standard-looking hotel room. In fact, you might not be able to tell you’re specifically at the Miraval Berkshires with just a simple glance of the picture. There isn’t anything that stands out specifically if you’re here. That being said, the Miraval Berkshires has one of the most comfortable beds we’ve been in… ever. We’d live happy lives with the sleep that could be had from the rest we got from these beds.

The room is functional and the bathroom is great. You can tell a lot of thought went into the placement of furniture and how things look, especially with the closet.

The views of the sprawling hilltops is nice from the patio in our room. But, on the other hand, we found it a just a tad strange that we were facing other people’s houses.

One of the unfortunate things about the property is just how sprawling it is. The room we had required walking through multiple hallways along a winding path from the front desk. That made it a bit inconvenient when checking out with our luggage or whenever we wanted to go relax in the room a bit. If you get a room closer to the action, that’s great. But we weren’t quite as lucky.

Alila Ventana Big Sur

This is going to be a little bit of an unfair comparison, because we booked a suite, and then was further upgraded to the Vista Hot Tub Suite for our stay. That said, it’s not a slam dunk win for the suite.

One look at the room and you could tell right away that you’re in the redwoods. We loved the cabin feel and having a fireplace was an awesome bonus. The base room at Ventana doesn’t have a fireplace, so you might want to keep it in mind if you want one in your room too.

As you’d expect from its name, the Vista Hot Tub Suite indeed has a hot tub. It was a nice bonus, but honestly we didn’t utilize it much. There are multiple hot tubs on property, which means it’s not a must to have one in your room unless you highly value the privacy.

The biggest downside of the room was the shower. We found it too cold while taking a shower, primarily due to its open space design. Having a wider spray from the nozzle won’t help much. It’s a design flaw, and one that needs to get worked out. This issue wouldn’t be present in the base room, and is a problem for this suite.

Winner: Alila Ventana Big Sur

For us, the Alila Ventana Big Sur is the place to go if you want to feel like you’re disconnected from society. The rooms open to the outdoors, which immediately lets you breath in the smell of nature and the redwoods. Our decision isn’t so much on the upgraded room, but more of a feeling that just by looking at the room, you know you’re in a unique place. The pictures of the base room on their website stand out.

While the bed is a strong driver behind our thoughts at the Miraval Berkshires, we’d say overall the room experience is marginally better with Ventana.

Dining

Miraval Berkshires

Let’s start out by admitting we weren’t impressed by Harvest Moon, the included restaurant. The food is good enough, but we’d say it lacks an element or two.

  • Breakfast has decent variety both at the buffet and ordering off the menu, and is perhaps the meal Harvest Moon does the best.
  • Lunch feels like it is purely buffet or bust. With only two options from the menu (a soup and a burger), lunch almost feels like an afterthought.
  • Dinner has no personalization and we were underwhelmed by the food. Service from the wait staff felt like they were just going through the motions, focused more on efficiency than anything else.

Dinner at 1894 Restaurant, the paid upgrade option, was excellent. Service here was elevated and the food was absolutely delicious. Some of us being impressed by the restaurant could be based on the absence caused by Harvest Moon, but it’s still a fantastic place on its own.

Aside from the main meal services, you could stop by Roost and get a constant flow of smoothies. While we did get a couple, it felt more like we were only imbibing because the option was there, not because we actually needed it.

Alila Ventana Big Sur

All meals at Alila Ventana Big Sur are included in your room rate. And dining at each of them was a treat. We’ll start by noting there was no buffet at all for any course. Everything was just so fresh and delicious.

  • Breakfast was served outdoors, and while everything was tasty, the pastries in particular were to die for.
  • There are two options for lunch, and both of them were excellent.
  • Dinner was simply divine, with a menu that changes nightly, and special options for holidays (like New Year’s Eve).

Dining via room service will incur a small convenience fee, but the food itself is also free.

We were invited to happy hour in the afternoon, which comes with a free alcoholic beverage and some appetizers (in case you’re somehow hungry).

Lastly, s’mores are available in the evening, perfect if you have a fireplace in your room or want to use one of the communal pits by the front desk.

Winner: Alila Ventana Big Sur

If we’re comparing the peak dining experiences, Ventana’s NYE Dinner against 1894 Restaurant, Miraval’s 1894 might just come out on top. It’s a more intimate setting, and execution seemed better by the slimmest of margins.

But while that comparison was immensely close, nothing else was. The Alila Ventana Big Sur blew the Miraval Berkshires out of the water for breakfast and lunch (and the standard dinner). In terms of variety, quality of the food, taste, and the restaurant itself, we found Ventana to be far superior.

Activities

Miraval Berkshires

Full disclosure: this might be a little unfair in favor of the Miraval Berkshires because the property gives a $175 daily resort credit that can be used towards activities. However, most of our credit went towards the dinner upcharge. Thus, we feel the remaining credit doesn’t really influence our decisions too much.

Of the activities we did at the Miraval Berkshires, two of them (Way of the Archer, Fundamentals of Kayaking) were two of our favorite hotel activities in a long time. One of them (archery) had a small fee, while the other (kayaking) was complimentary. The fact that we got such joy from an included experience is remarkable.

The variety of activities offered is also excellent, with plenty of choice to tailor the overall experience to something you personally want to do. At these wellness resorts, a lot of the focus is going to be on your own well-being. Thus, customizing your experience to fit your needs is a must.

One thing also to note: the Miraval Berkshires appears to want to push your own boundaries, physically and emotionally. Some of the activities they offer encourage it. In some ways, the experience offers more of an opportunity to connect with other guests at the resort. But at the same time, it can be intense if you’re not expecting it.

In that way, it felt more like a couples retreat, and we’d recommend only going with someone you’re willing to open up to.

Alila Ventana Big Sur

Our own experience at the Alila Ventana Big Sur was limited to the free experiences at the resort. Those activities had more emphasis around self-healing or inward reflection. Things like forest bathing or morning walks provided more zen, more intent on listening to the woods and sounds around you.

There were paid activities we might have done, but we instead took more time to just be on our own, to explore the area.

In that sense, there was less opportunity to interact with other guests. That’s not to say we didn’t, but it’s a harder task to engage with someone else when you’re not sure what common ground there is.

Winner: Miraval Berkshires

For us, this was an easy call. The Miraval Berkshires does a better job with the variety and content of their experiences.

However, we recognize it might not be for everyone. If we weren’t looking to push our own boundaries, the need to do so at Miraval might make us uncomfortable. All staff members did say that if we ever felt unwilling to share or open up, there would be no problem to say no. But feeling peer pressure from others engaging with the experience can be hard to avoid.

Also, if we were on our own, we’d hesitate to do some of the activities at the Miraval Berkshires. We’re not sure if that changes our overall opinion, but it stands that many of the activities we did were better off as a loving, trusting couple.

Service

Miraval Berkshires

It’s fair to say the service in general is well-intentioned, but there are some rough edges that need to get ironed out. In particular, we got hit by a couple of service failures that stood out:

  • Not receiving the shuttle we booked,
  • We had an activity we chose go missing, and
  • Not getting a promised call back to book activities

It’s unclear if all of these issues are related, but service was a bit rough for a resort charging well north of $1,000/night.

Aside from that, we felt overall the service lacked a bit of personalization. Sure, there are those who go above and beyond, like our super friendly guide at the start. And employees leading the activities seemed to genuinely enjoy working for Miraval. But for the most part, service felt like it was more interested in managing the crowds more than anything. And in that way, it felt a bit like a cruise ship.

Alila Ventana Big Sur

Overall, we had remarkable service, both during meals and while out and about. We never felt rushed, and were able to make a connection with servers at our meals. Employees openly went out of their way to make our stay more comfortable, like the front desk employee who helped valet our car when we left the hotel at 5AM, rather than letting us pick it up ourselves. Or the bartender who tracked us down to deliver us some drinks without knowing our names or what room we’re in.

The vibe of the service is more relaxed, which fits with the overall inward reflection the hotel is going for. And it works quite well for us.

The one potential nitpicky thing is that the employees leading the activities seemed just a little more focused on running the activities than engaging with guests. That’s not to say they didn’t engage at all, but they would only do so when moving from point to point when there’s down time. When it was their turn to speak, it was all business.

Winner: Alila Ventana Big Sur

Service just felt more polished at Ventana. Sure, we didn’t encounter any service failures, but let’s ignore that for the purpose of this comparison. We felt that service during meal service is better at Ventana, while the engagement from employees at activities is better at Miraval Berkshires. You might notice a theme developing where each specializes in their own expertise.

Aside from meals and activities, the nod goes to Ventana, which felt like it had just a few more employees looking out for us. This category is a bit closer than others, and it’s really at the margins where the Alila Ventana Big Sur pulls ahead (assuming no service failures).

Should service failures count for something? At some level, yes, because it all adds up to the experience you take away from the trip. But even if I ignore it, the Ventana pulls slightly ahead.

Location

Miraval Berkshires

The Miraval Berkshires is located in the northeast (Massachusetts), and feels like a quintessential depiction of what we’d expect from the northeast. When we were here over Labor Day weekend, we found the weather pretty mild, all things considered. That made for some great weather for the activities we did on our trip.

Given it’s in the northeast, we’d normally have some hesitation about coming here in the winter, but with almost all rooms connected by hallways, it’s doable. In fact, in some ways, coming here during snowy periods could be a little fun, especially if you can find activities that take advantage.

The property is less than an hour’s drive from the nearest major airport (Hartford, BDL). It’s really not that bad to get here once on the ground. However, you’re not going to find too many nonstops to BDL. That means if you’re coming from the west coast, you’re going to have to connect (and good odds that you’ll need to take a redeye).

Alila Ventana Big Sur

The Alila Ventana Big Sur is on the California Coast. The good news is that once you’re here, you’re sure to love wandering around the redwoods. The bad news? It’s a little more challenging to get to. The nearest airport (Monterey, MRY) is pretty limited in terms of service. Expand that a bit further, and you could arrive at San Jose (SJC), but that’s a two hour drive. At that distance, you might be tempted to rent a car, but that’s an added expense to worry about.

The Ventana is good year-round. We were here for New Year’s Eve, and it was fine using pools or walking around without needing to bundle up. In particular, we loved just being in the redwoods, surrounded by nature.

Winner: Miraval Berkshires, ever so slightly

Our score is divided between two important, but equal, concepts.

  • Ease of getting to the resort, which is far easier for the Miraval Berkshires. To some extent, if you’re on the west coast, it will be easier getting to Ventana. If you’re on the east coast, it’ll be easier getting to the Berkshires. But to someone who doesn’t need connections to get to their destination, the Miraval Berkshires is much easier to get to.
  • The actual location itself, which far favors Ventana. There’s something unique about stepping outside your room, taking a look around, and smelling the redwoods. You can’t get that at Miraval. Instead, you will get something that looks and feels like a country club.

Whether a country club or living in the redwoods appeals to you depends on how you grew up. Honestly, we prefer the redwoods, but we know others would feel differently. So instead, we’re going to base this on something more objective, which is just how easy it is to get to the property. That means giving the win to Miraval on that basis, but this is a tight battle between the two.

Cost

Miraval Berkshires

World of Hyatt charges an arm and a leg for reservations with points. Pricing varies between 40,000 Hyatt points for off-peak single occupancy up to 72,000 Hyatt points for peak double occupancy. Standard suites run between 25,000 and 35,000 points on top of those rates. These aren’t from the normal Category 1-8 pricing. Rather, Miraval Resorts get their own special pricing.

That said, if you’re looking to save money on points, get the Miraval Extra Night award for earning at least 100 elite nights in a year. It’s really only for the most devoted of Hyatt guests to hit this threshold, but those who do will find great value with the award.

One other offset is the $175 daily resort credit with paid rates including points for you and a guest. The credit will encourage you to engage with the resort, which isn’t a bad thing at all. But you won’t get that resort credit with the Miraval Extra Night award. A small price to pay for getting your room rate completely covered.

If staying with cash, expect room rates that exceed $1,000/night.

Alila Ventana Big Sur

The Alila Ventana Big Sur is “only” at the top end of Category 8 year-round, with base rooms at 45,000 points/night. That’s painful, but at least pricing isn’t increased when you stay with a buddy. Base suites are double the base room, costing a massive 90,000 Hyatt points/night.

The only instrument to make your stay cheaper is the Ultimate Free Night award, which is only awarded after 150 elite nights. That’s the maximum award offered by Hyatt, so good luck getting it. (To be fair, the award also works at Miraval Resorts.)

No resort credit at the hotel with any rate, so you’ll have to spend your own money if you want to truly enjoy the resort.

Cash rates seem to hover at the $2,000/night rate.

Winner: Ventana on points, Miraval on cash

Throw out any sort of CPP (cents per point) valuation. Stop looking at that because opportunity cost would make it pointless. Let’s assume you only had two options of coming to resorts and it’s between these two.

Ventana costs fewer points if you’re bringing a guest, which is what most would do. Even accounting for the resort credit, it’s far better for points

If considering a paid stay with cash, it’s far cheaper with Miraval. This is why I said stop thinking about CPP as it would clearly scream Ventana as the absolute winner. Higher points cost against a lower cash price means no one would consider Miraval at all.

But both properties are expensive and award availability is tough, and if you need to supplement with a night on cash, suddenly the price becomes very real.

Overall: Alila Ventana Big Sur

For us, the Alila Ventana Big Sur gives us more of what we’re looking for:

  • It’s in the redwoods, giving us a nostalgic camping-like experience
  • We love food, which is bordering on perfection, and it’s free
  • As we’re on the west coast, it’s much closer for us, and thus an easier flight (though not an easier drive)
  • Service felt more polished at the resort
  • The programming allowed us to get lost in the moment a bit better

That isn’t to say that the Miraval Berkshires isn’t special. If we grew up going to country clubs, we might be interested more in what Miraval had to offer. Its activities are excellent, and we really enjoyed engaging with other guests and overcoming obstacles.

But there’s one thing we didn’t mention that sums up our thoughts about the Miraval Berkshires: the digital device policy. Miraval has an explicit policy that discourages cell phone use in common areas. While they have a policy, it’s vague on what it truly means, especially since some employees seemed open to disobeying the rules by taking our picture.

We’ve never encountered a problem with other guests at high-end resorts and their use of cell phones. For the most part, they’ve done a good job of being in the moment. But the policy’s existence prohibited us from truly being free to the point where we felt we were being watched by others–whether we were using our phones or not. We couldn’t truly be ourselves at the Miraval. While it’s nice being tested every now and then. being told how to experience the resort isn’t really vacation to us; it’s work.

And that, more than anything else, is why we’d choose the relaxation of Alila Ventana Big Sur over the Miraval Berkshires.

What are your thoughts about Miraval vs. Alila Ventana?

Suggested reading:

Author

Discover more from food.wada.travel

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Leave a Reply