09 Oct 2020
Clodagh reveals design inspiration behind Miraval Berkshires, home to Miraval's largest Life in Balance Spa
BY Megan Whitby
US destination spa brand, Miraval, has recently unveiled its third property, called Miraval Berkshires, in Lenox, Massachusetts.
The new resort features 100 guest rooms within seven individual, two-story cottages immersed in a 380-acre woodland setting – originally designed by Frederick Law Olmstead, the landscape artist behind New York’s Central Park.
The destination is inspired by country house glamour and idyllic New England comfort, and was designed by New York-based Irish designer, Clodagh, who previously designed Miraval's Life in Balance Spa in Tucson, in 2012.
Miraval also tasked Clodagh with realising the Berkshires resort’s Life in Balance Spa which covers 29,000sq ft with 28 treatment rooms – the largest in Miraval's portfolio.
“The spa echoes the original in Tucson, where we first established Miraval’s brand signatures and identity,” she told Spa Business, “our mantra is ‘Everywhere you walk, everywhere you look, you should see something beautiful’.”
It was created to excite all five senses and encourage mindfulness and introspection, with guests’ experience beginning with a ‘Path to Wellness’ – consisting of a meditational walk through a greenhouse-like portal, designed to encourage mindfulness and transition guests into a more serene state of being.
“We wanted to create a sense of enclosure, protection and grounding. Somewhere that inspires serenity, introspection, self-awareness and wellbeing, which helps all guests leave with a strong positive energy.”
She explained that the spa was built with the brand’s signature treatments in mind.
For example, there’s a dedicated indoor spa pool treatment room for Miraval’s signature water treatment, Vasudhara, and a new treatment room for Naga Thai – the brand’s exclusive massage which makes use of yoga silks and support beams.
In addition to these classics, the spa menu features new treatments developed in collaboration with natural beauty brand Naturopathica, as well experiences making use of the Berkshires’ indigenous botanicals.
Additional facilities include both men and women’s relaxation rooms, a sauna, steamroom, three pools – including an indoor and outdoor pool – and seven Jacuzzis, along with a fitness space, spa boutique and outdoor challenge course.
Guests can visit a dedicated Body Mindfulness Centres offering fitness classes and facilities for yoga and Pilates, as well as a range of wellbeing activities such as lectures, hiking, racquet sports, energy work and nutrition enhancement.
The brand’s famed equine programming is also central to the Miraval Berkshires experience, with an onsite ranch offering a curriculum of year-round programming that expands upon Miraval Arizona’s original programming with new workshops.
A new class called Common Ground encourages guests to communicate with their horses without touching or speaking, allowing guests to learn communication skills, build gratitude and develop new paths to healthy relationships.
“What better setting for Miraval’s new location than the Berkshires?,” concluded Clodagh, “pure air, big skies, rolling hills, the sheen on the coats of well-groomed horses, and endless paths through old growth woods.”
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