The Miraval Berkshires is the newest Miraval Resorts property in the United States, and staying at the property was an absolute treat.

View other posts in this series:

• Miraval Berkshires Review: A Pristine Resort in the Northeast (this post)
• Harvest Moon and Roost: Simple Dining at Miraval Berkshires
• Miraval Berkshires 1894 Restaurant – An Exquisite Dinner for Two
• Miraval Berkshires Activities: The Best Feature of the Resort
• Comparing Miraval Berkshires With Alila Ventana: Which Is Better?

Booking the Miraval Berkshires

Let’s just say I went on a little bit of a Hyatt-fueled spree in 2024, reaching 100 elite-qualifying nights with the chain. To celebrate hitting 100 nights, I chose the Miraval Extra Night Award option. Sadly, the award expires a short six months after selecting it, so I waited as long as possible before choosing the award. The other tough thing is the award requires making a phone call.

But before calling, you can check availability online: if there is a standard award night available, it’s also possible to redeem this award. What you might find is a dearth of availability in the first half of the year as everyone who hits 100 nights uses up their awards. That’s why I waited to give me as much time as possible in the latter half of the year when availability seemed to open up more.

When you call, you’ll need to do so during local business hours, which is a little bit of a pain if you’re in a different time zone. But we chose the Miraval Berkshires just because being in the desert in summer didn’t sound appealing to us (the other destinations are Tucson and Austin).

I paired this Miraval Extra Night Award with Hyatt points for a two night stay. We stayed over Labor Day, which is considered “peak” pricing. With two guests in the room, the free night rang up at an expensive 72,000 Hyatt points. Of course, the award made it feel like “just” 36,000 points/night, which felt quite reasonable.

In retrospect, it would have been far more relaxing to come here for three nights given how far away Miraval Berkshires is from Los Angeles.

The $175 daily resort credit

On top of just getting your room rate, eligible paid nights give each hotel guest a $175 daily resort credit. This resort credit can be used towards elevated dining options, activities, the spa, or other on-property purchases. Have a room with two guests? You’ll each get your own credit. Booked your room with Hyatt points? You also qualify for the credit.

However, the Miraval Extra Night Award does not qualify for the credit. So if you’re doing what we did with two guests over two nights (one booked with points and one with this award), you’ll end up with $350 in total credit for the stay.

We should also note that at Miraval Berkshires, most dining is free. This includes breakfast, lunch, and dinner at Harvest Moon, their main restaurant. It also includes smoothies, coffee, and to-go meals from Roost, their quick-service restaurant, bar, and barista. What isn’t included is alcohol and dining at 1894, their elevated restaurant in the Wyndhurst Manor.

The process to booking activities

There is a website you could use to book your own activities without needing to contact someone. However, this gets complicated quickly. Each guest has their own confirmation number, and booking activities can only be done one confirmation number at a time. Additionally, if you are using a Miraval Extra Night Award, the night on the award will also be on a separate confirmation number. In all, it means four confirmation numbers to juggle between if you wanted to get this thing to work.

And I tried, but I ran into another issue: Jenn’s confirmation numbers just didn’t work. The online booking system didn’t recognize her numbers for some reason.

So, I had to book via phone call. That meant a second call to the hotel to get activities booked (the first was to book the room itself). While I was promised someone from the hotel would reach out when booking activities first became possible (T-60 days), it never happened. Thankfully, the system the phone agent uses is much more user friendly than what we have access to. I did validate availability online first before calling to request them to book it, which made it overall an easier process.

Well, as easy as it could be.

Scheduling the shuttle

The Miraval Berkshires has a complimentary shuttle between either Bradley International Airport (BDL, Hartford) or Hudson Amtrak Station. That makes travel between the hotel and the nearest transportation hubs a bit easier. However, one important thing to remember when booking your travel is that this shuttle only operates during set times. As an example, here’s what the timing looks like for transfers to/from BDL airport:

If your flight isn’t a cross-country one, the timing probably works out decently well for you. It wasn’t so fortunate for us specifically on the return home since we didn’t want to get back late at night. Our early morning flight out of BDL was too early for the first shuttle, so we had to arrange other options. The hotel gave us three limo companies to contact:

• Bianco’s Limo
• Lenox Valet
• Abbott’s Car Service

Of the three, we chose Abbott’s Car Service, which was the cheapest though still expensive at $275 one-way. I would have just scheduled an Uber, but I had some minor fears that no one would accept the trip given it’s a long drive. We were leaving on Labor Day itself, so there is probably some inflated holiday pricing included.

However, we were able to at least schedule the Miraval Berkshires shuttle for our ride in… or so we thought.

Earning Hyatt points

Full disclosure: in this section are refer-a-friend links where I may earn some points for referring. There is no requirement to use the below referral links to apply but note your offer may differ when going directly to the card issuer.

Chase has a couple of cards that earn Ultimate Rewards points that can transfer to Hyatt at a 1:1 rate:

• The Chase Sapphire Preferred card (refer-a-friend link) that offers 75,000 points for spending $5,000 in the first three months.
• There is currently a limited-time offer (refer-a-friend link) on the Chase Ink Business Preferred that gives an excellent 100,000 points for spending $8,000 in the first three months.

The Hyatt personal credit card (not an affiliate link) offers a 30,000 point bonus when spending $3,000 in three months. On top of that, you get 2X earnings during the first six months until you reach $15,000 in spend. At most, this is a 45,000 card for spending $15,000–and most certainly not the 60,000 bonus it claims disingenuously claims. But, on the bright side, if that $15,000 spend happens within the same calendar year, you’ll also get six elite night credits and a Category 1-4 free night certificate.

The small business version of the Hyatt credit card (refer-a-friend link) offers a limited-time 80,000 point bonus when spending $10,000 in three months. The main appeal here is the easier path towards earning elite status (5 elite night credit for every $10,000 in spend per calendar year), but it also gives up to $100 back on Hyatt purchases.

First impressions of the Miraval Berkshires

Jenn and I flew into Hartford, Connecticut. Unfortunately, since there are no nonstop flights here from Los Angeles, it meant we needed to take a connection and a redeye.

The transfer to the hotel

We made it to the spot where the hotel told us to wait, and we waited. And waited. And waited some more. We arrived well before our scheduled departure up until 10 minutes past. At that point, I called the hotel and asked where the shuttle was. They said they would look into it and promised to call back. When they did call back, they admitted they had notes I asked for it, but they never scheduled the driver to pick us up. Instead, they wanted me to take an Uber and reimburse me for it. Well, OK then.

The drive is about 50 miles away, so there were a number of drivers who accepted and then immediately canceled when they saw where I was going.

One thing they didn’t tell us at the time was that it’s not a true reimbursement. They provided it as a credit on our bill. I didn’t ask what would happen if we ran a negative amount at the end of our stay, but the way they phrased it sounded like it was more of a use-it-or-lose-it scenario.

At the Miraval Berkshires

When we arrived at the resort, we made our way over to the front desk. They handed us our schedule for the stay, and asked what type of bag we wanted (more on this below). I made reference to the need to reimburse for an Uber for the shuttle not picking us up. The front desk said I needed to send over an email to their accounting department and they’d take care of it.

After that, we met up with Bryan, a very friendly employee who took us on a tour of the property as he led us to our room. There’s a ton of information dropped on you right from the start. Along the way, Bryan did stop by Roost to see if we wanted any salads or sandwiches to take back to our room. It’s nice that the food is all included.

The room

Our room was in Renewal Cottage 19, which is pretty much the furthest cottage from the front desk. While everything is connected indoors, just know that it’s a winding path of hallways and corners to get over here. The only thing Cottage 19 is close to is the Wyndhurst Manor.

Inside each Renewal Cottage in the common areas is a nice place to just hang out. There are some comfy couches in one corner.

And a fireplace across the room. They do a good job of making you feel at home here.

Our room was up on the second floor (1923).

Bedroom

Once inside, we found a simple but inviting room drawing us inside. The colors and tones in the room gave a very warm feeling that we very much appreciated.

The bed was one of the most comfortable beds we’ve ever slept in. While it looks lumpy, it’s just the pillowy soft duvet on top. It somehow is a combination of both soft and firm that I can’t describe well.

Next to the bed is a small clock and a place to set your phone.

It’s rather cute that they give your phone a bed. The intent is for you to leave it here day and night because of their policy discouraging phone use. We’ll talk more about that below.

In the opposite corner is a chaise and a chair around a small table.

The TV is on the wall opposite the bed, and feels small given how large the wall is but it’s acceptable.

On the other side of the room is a rather large closet system. I like how simple it looks. Perhaps I need to install something like this in my house?

There are a collection of teas to choose from.

On top of that are some robes. We saw a few others walking around in robes around the hotel.

And there is a mini fridge with some cold water.

Our room had a nice balcony that overlooked some houses and plenty of greenery.

Bathroom

The bathroom is just off the hallway between the door and the bedroom. The bathroom has a simple yet quality feel to it. Both the toilet and the shower are partitioned off behind separate opaque doors.

There are two sinks, which makes sense given most of the guests come in pairs.

The shower can get a little cramped if more than one person uses it at the same time. There is both a hand wand and an overhead faucet. The shower controls are on the opposite wall, which is probably as good as they could get it without getting too wet while turning on the water.

Toiletries are by Miraval’s house brand. We thought they were good and not too fragrant.

Welcome amenities at Miraval Berkshires

A couple of brief comments about the welcome gifts. First up is a simple card that congratulated us on our anniversary. The Hallmark-style card isn’t exactly a personal touch but at least they handwrote one of our names on the card. To be fair, Miraval also gave an extra dessert to us one of the nights we were here, so I’ll talk more about that when we discuss the food.

And the check-in bags. When we arrived at the resort, the agent asked us if we would rather have a tote bag or a shoulder bag. Since there are two of us checking in, we both got to make our choice. Naturally, we chose different bags. I’d say the shoulder bag is better for use while there at the resort but that’s just my own personal preference. Each bag came with a reusable water bottle.

Map of the property

We’ll reference this map more in future posts when we talk about the dining and activities at the Miraval Berkshires. They do provide a map at check in and you’ll find it posted throughout the property. It can get a little confusing where you’re at given all the hallways.

Cottage 10 is where the check-in desk is located while Cottage 19 is where our room is. It’s quite a distance to walk.

The “Miraval Mode” policy

Let’s spend a moment talking about Miraval’s digital mindfulness policy called “Miraval Mode”. According to their policy, personal digital device use “is limited to your room and designated cell phone areas”. The intent is to be focused on what’s in front of you rather than constantly looking at your phone. The concept at least makes sense. This is a wellness resort and so it’s easier to heal someone if they’re here.

And as they’ve indicated there are some mobile device approved areas, like this one by the restrooms. But there aren’t many.

So, what’s it like in practice? Honestly, not much different than any other hotel we’ve been to. If you want to walk around and take pictures, no one is going to stop you from doing it simply because the Miraval Mode policy exists. In fact, some employees even wanted to help take a picture of us. Presumably those employees should be living and breathing the policy, so that seems like validation that it’s acceptable.

We tailored the policy to mean no phone calls in public areas, no doomscrolling on our devices or spending time on social media, and no texting. And it worked out well for us. I think as long as you’re not talking on your mobile device, no one will mind.

Service is hit or miss

As mentioned, we had some service issues to start our visit. Not getting a proactive follow-up call to book activities after being promised one was a small miss. But the missing shuttle to the hotel was a large issue. For the rates the property charges, and as much as it wants to focus on relaxation, it needs to do better with expectations. Don’t make promises you can’t keep.

On top of that, one activity we booked through their phone agent just disappeared. It was on the confirmation we received after the call. But when we arrived at the resort, it was just gone from the sheet. We debated asking where it went, but we decided to just avoid confrontation and focus on relaxation. You’re going to need to babysit the process at Miraval Berkshires.

All Miraval Berkshires employees are encouraged to identify one trait they wish to be known for under their name tag. Think of it as a single word that embodies the type of interaction you’re about to get. Take Brian, the incredibly welcoming employee who showed us around at the start. Under his name tag was–you guessed it–the word “friendly”.

If nothing else, the name tags gave us an ability to engage in conversation with the team members and ask them why they chose that word to identify themselves. The main place where we didn’t get a chance to talk to staff was at Harvest Moon, where all servers just seemed to be going through the motions and focused on crowd control.

Perhaps it’s better to say that service is well-intentioned, but the misses are hard to overlook.

Recommendation: Yes, for a special occasion

This isn’t a cheap hotel by any means. Even if you’re coming here on points, expect to spend up to 72,000 Hyatt points/night for two guests, which is well above the top end of standard hotels. At our 2.0 cents/point valuation, that’s the equivalent of spending $1,440/night. Ouch.

Now, with that said, you might be tempted to make the argument that you can get $350 back in resort credit for two guests. And then your dining expenses are also covered. That might bring the cost back down by doing some funny math, but it’s still a big chunk of change to drop. At the same time, it could mean that those Miraval Extra Night Awards are pretty valuable.

It’s good to know that if you do decide to come here, you should have a good time. That is, provided you help manage the booking process as we don’t fully trust their system. We just couldn’t imagine turning this into an annual trip. This destination works best if you’re looking for that special reason to get away.

Stay tuned for the next installment where we will discuss the dining options available at the Miraval Berkshires.