Nestled in the red rock enclave of Sedona's Boynton Canyon, just 2 hours north of Sky Harbor airport, lies the ultimate desert oasis of Enchantment Resort & Mii amo Spa. As an advocate of wellness, adventure, and sustainable travel, I was recently invited to experience the debut of their new adventure center, Trail House. As you can see in this 3D virtual tour, Trail House is a 4,000 square ft. adventure headquarters where you can shop 300 miles of local trails, get custom-fitted with one of 28 local expert guides and rent or purchase mountain bikes for adventures to suit all skill levels. It is an outdoor adventure lovers paradise!
With record high temps and current events keeping me indoors and less active these days, I opted for the gentler early morning hike over mountain biking. Our guide Steven met up with our small group of 6 hikers bright and early the first morning. His passion for his craft, hospitality, and local nature were evident immediately. He shared more interesting information about Sedona's natural history on the 20-minute drive to our trailhead than I was aware of living in Arizona my whole life. There wasn't a question he couldn't answer and his trail choice was outstanding. It was scenic and we didn't encounter another soul for the entire 2-hour duration. In ever-popular Sedona, that's really something!
Back at the Trail House, I enjoyed a little retail therapy in the shop that features high-end outdoor adventure apparel from brands like Mammut, Patagonia, Cotopaxi, Scarpa, Club Ride, and Zoic. They also carry technical gear, snacks and beverages to fuel your trek. And speaking of fuel...
The culinary experiences at Enchantment are as unique and savory as it's surroundings. The appetite worked up on the trail was satisfied by a cook station offering quail, duck and organic chicken eggs, fresh-baked pastries and bread, healthy juice blends, smoothies, southwest avocado toast and pancakes with a light hint of lemon and drizzled with fresh berries and prickly pear agave syrup. Later in the evening at Che Ah Chi, Chef would introduce each course as it made its way out and each was paired with a different wine offering. Every dish was as artful as it was delicious!
After dinner, I did some stargazing which is offered complimentary to guests on Tuesday and Saturday evenings. With minimal light pollution, the night sky in Sedona is stunning! For a city dweller like me, just seeing the Milky Way is a celestial treat, let alone star clusters and planets through high-powered telescopes. Along with the jagged silhouette of the surrounding mountains, it's a memorable, majestic event. I ended the evening with an al fresco nightcap at Tii Gavo, sampling local Arizona wines.
Of course, no visit to Enchantment would be complete without a visit to Mii amo Spa, named the #1 destination resort spa by Travel + Leisure for two years in a row! Far beyond the usual spa offerings, Mii amo offers guided meditations and treatments that give a respectful nod to ancient Southwest Native American rituals and influences. I joined the renowned private morning ritual in the Crystal Grotto, a guided meditation to set intention.
In addition to its commitment to nourish body, mind and soul, Enchantment has a very focused sustainability mission. With deep respect to the canyons' Native American tribal occupancy, thought to date back to about 900 AD, Enchantment is dedicated to maintaining this very precious environment. Two major components of that mission are one, their greening program, and two, their partnership with both the National Forest Service and with the local Native American tribes. Components include but are not limited to; recycling and buying recycled products, buying local, composting, and looking to the future by outlining goals that include energy management systems and solar conversions.
As if all of this is not enticing enough, guests of Ms. Guided Travel will receive touchless, VIP check-in, a $100 resort credit, complimentary daily breakfast, 10% off best available rates (through Sept. 2020) or 4th night free (through Dec. 2020), an upgraded room at arrival (based on availability) and early check-in/late checkout (based on availability).
When you're ready, I look forward to creating your customized Red Rock escape!