There is no master review thread for the property itself, so i made one and copied my Tripadvisor review into here.  It is VERY long.

So, we recently stayed here with family for a few nights. This experience had high and low points, so, while in the end I give them the full 5 stars, it is in response to a superb customer service recovery effort after an abysmal start. I will detail all our thoughts here, good and bad so that a prospective customer can get the full picture. I do not believe in omitting negative things just because a place makes up for it, but I also do not believe in slamming a place simply because things went wrong, regardless of what they do to make up for it, like many people do.

I booked a 2 night stay for myself and wife, which was 1 paid night and 1 night on Hyatt award points (which honestly value-wise is almost identical, as they charge 65,000 points per night for 2 people). I also booked 3 nights for my mother and her husband on Hyatt award points.

In the lead up to the trip, I had dealt with various people be it over phone or email, booking my rooms, arranging activities and spa services, etc. Now, the inconsistency starts here. At times, I would call and some of the people I would speak to were bordering on incompetent...they would give me inaccurate information, or would take forever to do simple things like arrange a spa service. However, I also found some superbly helpful and skilled people. The first of which was Dana Murdock. She assisted me in making reservations, helped me do a complicated rearranging of the which nights were paid and which were awards AFTER I booked everything (this benefitted me significantly), responded quickly and efficiently to emails, and was an overall pleasure to deal with. By the time I got to the resort, I had pretty much only dealt with her anymore, because it was guaranteed to be easy and quick. Before arrival, we had booked several spa services and activities for our stay for all people in our party. One thing to bear in mind that is activities have an extra 6.6% tax, but spa services are priced as quoted. So, your $185 massage is $185, but your $150 bee activity is $159.15 (this is not made super clear...I only knew because I read it in a review and then asked about it ahead of time).

So, we arrived at the resort, and pulled up to the gate, where you have to get buzzed in to open the gate. Upon reaching the main entryway, a pleasant lady named Jackie took our keys and bags and informed us our bags would be sent to our room. From there, we went into the lobby to check in. I observed a few people holding beverages, which appeared to be some kind of red juice. No welcome drink was offered to us, which was off putting. We checked in, and the lady who checked us in was pleasant, and told us we could get some lunch as our room was not ready yet and they were serving lunch. She told us to go down the hall and make a right to the restaurant. Now, this is fine and all, but there are a lot of things at this resort that you should know, like where exactly they serve food and drink and at what time, where you sign up for a dinner time (you need to reserve a time), how to do these things, where certain places are, etc. We got none of that. We got a map, but at a $1000 a night MINIMUM here, that is pretty lousy. I asked the lady who checked us in about an upgrade as a Hyatt Globalist as stated in the terms, and she said that they had no suites (as the benefit is the best available room up to and including the entry level suite). So, I asked her about the next basic room up from what we had, which was the Dreamcatcher King (1 step above our Native Spirit). She went back into the back room and came back a few minutes later and said she upgraded up to that room. Now, this was irritating because I DETEST having to press for benefits that are stated as part of a program. I then asked for late check out and she told me it was no problem and I asked about my mother's room for when they arrived, and she said the same. She would add mine now and my mother's when they arrived and I confirmed exactly what time they needed.

So, we found our way to the restaurant for lunch and found the sign up sheets for dinner and put our names down. Lunch consists of 1 hot special item that changes each day, and a buffet of mostly cold with a couple of hot items. The lady who served us at lunch, Alicia was SPECTACULAR. She was super friendly, warm and honestly, the kind of person you just have to take a shine to immediately. She was one of the best staff we ran across. That basically was the Miraval experience for us...almost every single person we dealt with was either SUPERB or terrible. There were almost no middle ground average people. It was very strange. We had lunch and returned to the lobby, kind of irritated at this point about not getting a welcome drink, not getting any explanation of where things were or how they worked, and having to press for a basic upgrade so we went back to get our keys.

So, after leaving lunch, we stopped at the "Juice Bar" to get a juice, as for me, that was the planned highlight of the trip. I know it might sound stupid to some, but I was REALLY looking forward to sipping tons and tons of fresh made juices all weekend, as it was mentioned in a ton of reviews and was even still listed on the Miraval website. Well, lo and behold...NO MORE JUICE. They no longer make juice in the juice bar...only smoothies. This was a MAJOR letdown for me and frankly, I was crestfallen. I asked when they changed it, and they told me about a month prior. Well, an update to the website would have been nice at least.

So we went back to the lobby and I spoke to another lady this time, and got our keys and went to our room. Again, no real explanation of how to get there, just a "go out and make a left and follow the path" which we did, but got a little turned around. We wandered for a few minutes until we ran across some staff from the gym, who walked us to our rooms. The Dreamcatcher King was a decent size, and nice enough. The bed was SENSATIONALLY soft and comfortable. Imagine sleeping on what a cloud looks like. So, we sat in there and I checked the Miraval website and found numerous rooms and suites for booking for the nights we were there, so I emailed and asked why we did not get a better room and what was the story with that. Now, at this point, had they simply explained to me that the entry level suite is called the Miraval King, and none were available (none were available when I checked but I did not know that was the entry level suite), I would have been fully satisfied. I just did not understand and no one explained it, and if you check the Miraval site, you will understand why it is confusing as they have 1000 room types, and the prices do not seem to correspond to which are the "better" rooms at times.

Well, I received a response a short while later explaining the situation but ALSO telling me they had found me a nicer suite and to go at 4pm and get the new keys. This was a VERY nice gesture and was unnecessary, but appreciated. So, I went up at 4 to get keys, and about that same time my mother was arriving. I got the keys to what turned out to be a Sonoran Suite and helped my mother check in.

Now, they had also booked several services and were waitlisted for a couple more, but we found that the resort had added classes for one of the things they were waitlisting for, so we inquired about it. The lady we spoke to at the counter was clearly put out by the questions regarding the waitlist, where they were on the waitlist, and whether they would clear it or not. I then asked her to add their late check out and she told me they could not add it until the day of departure, and when I told her that is not what they told me, she rolled her eyes and added it with irritation. Now, in all fairness, this same lady was very pleasant every other day, so I am sure she was having a bad day. We all have them and we are all human, so I am not too upset about it, but it definitely added to the very rapidly growing pile of misery with the stay at that early juncture.

Finally they checked in, and we had to ask for the Miraval bags and water bottles that you are supposed to receive. We had received them but my mother did not get them initially until I asked. In addition, they also did not get a tour, any kind of orientation, etc. I had to explain the stuff to them from what I had figured out.

So I went to the new Sonoran Suite they gave me, and it was very nice and spacious. It had a separate living area and a second bathroom and a walk in closet, which was very nice, along with a Jacuzzi tub. However, when I walked into the bathroom, I saw a large dead moth on the floor, about the size of a nickel, and when I opened the blinds in the bathroom, I saw a used preloaded flosser, and upon opening another window, a dead fly and a layer of dust on the window sill. I then follow my mother while they stowed their luggage in their room, and we went to the lounge to get hors d'oeuvres.

We were told that the juice bar closes at 4 (it offers 1 premade sandwich and 1 wrap along with a couple of pastries) and that the lounge has snacks from 4-9. Well, we went and had some hummus and chips and such. Nothing fancy or large but it was the only alternative, or so we thought. We found out the NEXT day by ASKING, that the room service menu of about 6 actual meals can be ordered in the lounge. We had to ask for that menu, as again no one had told us. That would have been a better option but we did not know at the time. I will say the shishito peppers were very tasty (I had them the next day).

So, at this point I went to the desk and asked for a manager and spoke to Charlie Barnett. Now, Mr. Barnett was again, another example of superb staff here. He was friendly, engaging, and a genuine pleasure to talk with. I expressed the series of issues we had dealt with in the first couple of hours alone and how disappointing it was, and he was receptive and understanding. He MORE than took care of us and attempted to correct all our issues. I will not detail everything he did, but suffice to say, I was not looking for any compensation or benefits, really only a clean room honestly. He went so far beyond any response I would have even imagined from the management. He offered to go to Whole Foods and buy me fresh juice on the way into work every day for one. I mean, what kind of person offers that? One who genuinely cares about the customer experience. He also offered some other adjustments to our services and moved my mother into a room closer to us, which was a nice bonus. He even assisted them in making unconventional transportation arrangements for their return journey to the airport on Monday. I mean, just so far beyond standard or even great service that it was not even funny.

At this point, I can say the response from the Mr. Barnett singe handedly turned the stay around 180 degrees at that point. We went to dinner that night and enjoyed an excellent dinner. Now, here is another negative. The food was DELICIOUS. Frankly, we loved every single thing we had, and we tried every item on the menu (5 appetizers and 5 entrees I think). The staff who served us were again, super friendly and helpful...unfortunately I forget their names. Miriam and I believe...Mina? Mona? M...something similar. I forget. Not the Mona who worked the juice bar, who was also very friendly and pleasant. The MAJOR issue with dinner is, and we experienced this all weekend...food service is SLOW. I mean, glacier pace slow. We ordered a bunch of items for dinner, but having no frame of reference to how large or small the items were, we underordered. I ordered 2 appetizers and 2 "entrees" for myself and it was not nearly enough. The problem was that it took 2 hours to have dinner and at the end, my wife was still hungry but did not want to wait any longer to order more food. Compounding that was the size of the dishes. The appetizers were often more food than the entrees. I had a shrimp entrée which was two shrimp. Two. Delicious, but smaller than the appetizers. Now, again, we ordered a burnt fruit appetizer that they ran out of the cheese to make it, and they instead made a variation with another cheese which was excellent. Another example of a great service where they went above and beyond. Dessert was superb as well, and honestly the food was great. I am mostly broken up about the speed because I really would have liked to have had some more because of the excellent quality. Now, in all fairness, they said they had JUST changed the entire menu that week, so I am sure they were working some stuff out, but as I said, it was PAINFULLY slow. That was a definite factor in our meal decision. In fact, on their last night, my mother and her husband skipped dinner in the restaurant because they did not want to spend 2 hours eating.

At the end of our dinner, we were joined by CJ, who I believe was one of the F&B managers and sommelier, who asked us how everything was. He was very friendly and engaging as well. Apparently he was aware of who we were, because he told me that they had gotten their juicer back out and had it reassembled and told me I could get all the juice I wanted all weekend at the juice bar. He even asked the types of ingredients I wanted and informed me they had made a pineapple kale juice and sent it to my room. An incredible gesture honestly. That was such a step beyond again, that it blew me away. It also markedly improved my weekend as I stopped by for 10 juices in 2 days.

When we went back to our rooms, we both found a lovely fruit/nut/honey tray waiting with a note, which was also very lovely and unexpected. The response by the staff was leagues beyond what I would reasonably expect from most places, and honestly in line with the kind of place I expected Miraval to be.

Our group enjoyed several services, among them the Deep Desert Massage, It's not about the horse, Desert Zip Line, All the Buzz, the Deborah Lippmann Pedicure, Roll with It, Floating Meditation and the Harvest Garden Dinner among others I forget. The universal sentiment from everyone was that they really enjoyed everything. My wife said she would have rated everything she did and 8 to 10 on a 1-10 scale, AFTER factoring in the price and target market of the resort, so she told me that the classes and services were generally well worth the price and were really at the top of their class compared to other places. I did the All the Buzz class with their resident beekeeper and former sommelier, Noel Patterson (Patterson? I think...) and it was excellent. Informative and interesting, and the man's passion for his craft is EVIDENT. The honey is excellent and it was overall a very neat and unique experience.

The Harvest Garden dinner was a new thing for them and I believe we were part of the first one. Now, this was a lovely experience and we had great weather for it. I will say, they had several staff members speak while they prepared things, and at times, it was a bit much. The nutritionist explained every single item and the way each item worked in your body and it became tiresome. Way too much chatter instead of letting us enjoy the evening. The food was largely excellent. I will say, I hate fish but they served a trout that was FANTASTIC. I don't mean like, I can tolerate it good, but delicious. The $150 charge might be rough for some, and it was for me, but that is largely because I do not drink wine or champagne and really, that is what you are largely paying for. I mean, at a resort where the excellent food is already included, paying ANOTHER $150 a person is a LOT of money, when the baseline is already free food. You basically are paying for the wine pairing. Now, if you love wine, then it is WELL WORTH it, because they give you a different glass with each dish and were very generous about it. Overall the food itself was interesting and very excellent, so I had no heartburn over it, despite only sipping each wine to try it. A great experience and I would recommend it, as long as people know what they are getting from it.

We checked out on Sunday and after a little effort trying to decipher it, I found our bill for our room to be accurate (the billing system here is absurdly convoluted and really unnecessarily so). I tried to settle my mother's bill for her room as they did not leave until the next day and I did not want them to have any issues, but when I received the bill, I found a discrepancy with the credits and charges. The lady assured me it would all work itself out that night after everything posted. Now, here is the thing, I could see it was not going to work because I could recognize mathematical flaws based on what was posting already, but as is often the case in our society today, I got nowhere trying to explain this. We are so reliant on computers and calculators that all she could do was repeat what the numbers were that the computer told her, so trying to detail it got me nowhere, and I told my mother to call me the next day if there were any issues.

We went to get our car from valet, and expected to find our bags in the trunk, as we had gotten a letter in our room telling us that we were leaving at 4pm and to leave our bags in the entry of the room and they would be loaded in the car. Well, at 4:30 the car was not brought up and the bags were not in the car when we finally got someone to get the car. A gentleman rapidly went and got them, but that was mildly irritating.

Well, the next day when my mother returned, she explained she had an error on her bill (the one I had already seen and expected), but after an email to Mr. Barnett explaining it, he confirmed it was a mistake and stated he would adjust it, so no real harm done. I will say, they need a better invoice system, not just for customers, but for staff, because it really does complicate things for all involved based on how convoluted it is.

Overall, as I have stated, some of the staff here, Dana in reservations, Alicia in the restaurant, Miriam, Mona at the juice bar, Charlie Barnett, CJ in the restaurant, Noel the beekeeper/oenophile (although he is a contractor), and a few others whose names I forget, were all non pareil. I mean, I have stayed at some superb hotels over the years and dealt with some incredible people, but they were superlative and really saved what was shaping up to be a disaster, and turned it not into a satisfactory stay, but a great one. My mother has already informed me she is planning a return and I know my wife would like to as well.

There were definitely some inconsistency issues, which were unexpected given a property charging 1000+ a night. I mean, you can only make the hard product at a hotel so nice...the bed can only be so great, the décor in the room only so nice, the accoutrements only so expensive, and then to justify those kind of prices, the soft product is where it has to shine. The service, the human touch...and while the initial impression was not at all good, this was rapidly remedied and then some, and then some again. 5 stars are well deserved because in spite of the issues, the response was INCREDIBLE and genuine and MORE than erased any negative sentiment. A great resort, with some incredible people, and I would stay again without hesitation.