Check in, chill out under the desert sun

THE bedtime “mint” on my pillow was a small green card with a Chinese symbol and the word “joy.” Flipping it over, I read, “Joy is inside you ... the simple feeling that lies within you” -- in short, “Life in Balance,” the mantra of Miraval resort and spa in the Sonoran Desert about 20 miles north of downtown Tucson.

The literature in my room told me that the “i” in Miraval is me, that the spa’s goal is to relax me, make me feel cared for and thus able to see things more clearly and be better prepared for life’s challenges.

It’s all a bit New Age-y, but this 135-acre oasis is so beautiful and serene that, had I not been so busy taking notes, I might have been lulled into all manner of explorations of my inner self. As it was, I walked a labyrinth and communicated with a horse, but I balked at swinging from a 25-foot pole. My real goal was to compare a high-end spa to a day spa to better understand the experiences that spa-goers have.

For three days in late April, I was pampered, pounded and repeatedly reminded to be mindful. Mindfulness is big at Miraval.

So is the tab. For the room, meals, three spa treatments, airport transfer, activities and use of all facilities, it came to a little more than $2,800.

I ate well. Miraval does not impose a Spartan diet. Indeed, repeat guests from Pittsburgh lamented on our way back to the airport that they gained weight every time they came here. There’s also a full bar, the Brave Bull Lounge, and a wine list is offered with the dinner menu. It notes that wine is good for lowering bad cholesterol. There’s no mention of calories.

My room was one of 102 in villages of Southwestern-style casitas scattered among the cactuses, palms and pools. The room, in earth tones, was nice but not spectacular and opened onto a patio overlooking a man-made stream.

Heading out to explore, I encountered men and women padding about in gray-green robes, on their way to or from the holistic spa. Miraval is so laid-back that guests may come to dinner in their robes, but I saw only two women, of Japanese descent, doing so. (It’s common in traditional Japanese hotels.)

My first stop was the Palm Court, where a snack bar serves complimentary coffee, cookies, smoothies and fat-free frozen yogurt throughout the day. It’s also where each day’s activities and sign-up sheets are posted. Guests may do as much or little as they wish. Among the staggering number of choices: nature hikes, power walking, yoga, bird watching, loving kindness meditation, sunset photography, tennis, trail rides and drumming.

There are lectures on healing sleep and on better sex. Dr. Andrew Weil, Miraval’s director of integrative health and healing, is a regular speaker.

Adjacent to the Palm Court is the pretty fountain-centered courtyard, in a corner of which is a little nature center where guests record wildlife sightings on the property. One reported “a Western rattlesnake beside the door to our room.” Rattlesnake? “It does happen,” a staffer told me. “This is the desert.” The staff, we were assured, is trained in removing snakes mindfully -- i.e., to more snake-friendly locales.

The grounds are spectacular. Little desert cottontails dart among big boulders. The Santa Catalina mountains, purple at dusk, are the frame. The silence is palpable. Cellphones are taboo in most public areas, and I was surprisingly aware of the chirping of birds.

At Raindance Pass Boutique, I browsed a rack of bejeweled jeans for $310 apiece. In the books section, I thumbed through various titles, including “Outsmarting the Midlife Fat Cell” and “How to Get From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be.”

Horse whisperer

I had signed up for the next day’s Equine Experience, a Miraval signature activity. We were driven to a nearby stable, where cowboy John Orr explained that this was about self-discovery, facing one’s fears and gaining insight into relationships. As he put it, “Horses never lie. And they have nothing in common with you.”

In teams of two, we approached our challenge: to scrape mud and manure from a horse’s hoof with a tool resembling a giant crochet hook.

Ali, a 1,100-pound brown mare, and I reached an immediate standoff. I pinched her lower right back leg repeatedly, as instructed by cowgirl Ellen Butterbaugh, but Ali just ignored me. Back off, Butterbaugh said, then stride toward her confidently while searching my emotions.

On my fourth try, Ali lifted her hoof. I felt triumphant.

Good, Butterbaugh said, explaining that the exercise is less about cleaning the horse’s hoof than “about cleaning out your head.”

Later, we were asked to express our feelings about the Equine Experience. Some said it had brought on a rush of soul-searching. I don’t pooh-pooh these things, but quite honestly it didn’t change my life; it has made me a little less leery of horses, especially now that I know they can’t kick sideways.

And so the days passed: breakfast buffet, activities, lunch buffet, activities, spa treatment, dinner.

Meals are in the pretty Cactus Flower restaurant overlooking the grounds. Only weeks before I visited, Mary Nearn, formerly of Equinox Resort in Vermont, had come onboard as the head chef. She’s a whiz at making good-for-you food taste good.

My friendly server -- who, like all of the staff, seemed to like her job -- warned me, “The portions are a bit smaller than you’re used to.” She wasn’t kidding.

You’ll find red meat as well as fish and poultry, all antibiotic and hormone-free, but the emphasis is on grains, fruits, veggies and legumes.

One dinner highlight was millet cakes with rare herb-crusted rack of lamb (two ribs). A few dishes were bland; I cheated and perked up the squash soup with salt and a swirl of butter. There were desserts, including cream cheese brownies, each about an inch square. One noon, I spotted a guest exiting the buffet with about a dozen piled on his plate.

Breakfast buffet choices included real bacon and turkey bacon, potatoes and tofu scramble and mounds of luscious fresh fruit. Guests could be as good or bad as they wished. Calories and fat grams were listed for many food choices. My favorite was an egg-white omelet with spinach, mushrooms, salsa and a dab of sour cream. The lunch buffet might have turkey, veggie chili and salads with spa dressings (all a bit watery). One day’s special was a terrific lavash pizza with shrimp, tomato, basil pesto, mushrooms and Parmesan.

Guests could eat lunch while taking in cooking demonstrations where chefs whipped up low-fat “cream” soups and other fool-the-palate creations.

Mindfulness is emphasized in all things. One day, I attended a workshop on the mindful approach to shedding pounds. One woman was mindful of her reality. As we introduced ourselves and told why we’d come, she said, “I’m Laura from Chicago, and I’m fat.” I presented myself as a yo-yo dieter, never mentioning my real purpose as a journalist.

At the mindful-decision-making workshop, facilitator Molly Cooney was showing us how to respond consciously to challenging situations instead of reacting mindlessly. We were nine women and two men seated in a circle on the floor. Cooney started things off by tossing a stuffed monkey to one man; he, in turn, threw it to the person he chose to speak next. In no time, people were opening up about being whizzes at on-the-job decision-making but paralyzed when faced with personal decisions. If I got it right, mindful decision-making requires suspending judgment, accepting reality, letting go of what one cannot change and trusting inner wisdom.

Ahh, the spa

IN truth, my favorite activity was the spa. My deep-tissue massage with Jason was so deliciously painful that I booked him again. I also had a lovely hot-stone massage with Livia.

Other spa options include a popular ayurveda treatment in which warm herb oil is dripped onto one’s forehead, acupuncture, foot reflexology, Sonoran mud wrap, desert rain scrub, latte bath and paraffin pedicure.

At the gym, or Body Mindfulness Center, guests are offered all the usual, plus cardio kickboxing, sport conditioning, a fusion of yoga and Pilates (dubbed “yogilates”) and the intense and challenging Zen Boot Camp.

Outdoor challenges include a climbing wall and the Quantum Leap. Wearing a harness and cable, participants climb a 25-foot pole, maneuver onto a small platform at the top and jump. I watched as three young women made the leap; facilitator Kevin Armendariz then asked each to describe the experience. The consensus: It was freeing and frightening.

The labyrinth meditation was more my speed. We met at sunset to walk the labyrinth, a maze of concentric circles delineated with stones, with one way in and one way out.

“We’re walking into something new, unknown,” said facilitator Lasha Tizer. “You’re not trying to get any place,” only to let yourself go, to shift from linear perception. For some, that shift is said to be distinct and thrilling, while others experience nothing. Alas, I was in the latter category.

Miraval, which counts AOL co-founder Steve Case as majority owner and Oprah as a big fan, is not content to rest on its laurels. Those laurels include being chosen favorite North American spa for 2006 by visitors to Spafinder.com and readers of Luxury SpaFinder magazine, as well as best North American destination spa by readers of Conde Nast Traveler. Travel & Leisure readers ranked Miraval No. 6 in this year’s survey of the world’s best destination spas.

Next year, the entire property will receive a face-lift. And construction will begin on a Wellness Center and on 25 luxury vacation villas to be offered for sale.

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Sun and serenity

THE SPA:

Miraval, 5000 E. Via Estancia, Catalina, Ariz.; (800) 232-3969, www.miravalresort.com. Rates fluctuate by season. Until Dec. 20, single rates are $695-$715 per night; doubles cost $615-$695 per person per night. The room rate includes room, meals and one spa treatment per person per day. Specials are also offered.

-- Beverly Beyette