A few years ago, when Mii amo emerged from a two-year, $40 million renovation and expansion that increased the size of the celebrated Sedona wellness resort by more than 40 percent, it was finally ready to join Relais & Châteaux. Seven new casitas brought the posh property’s total to 23, while the project added a two-story movement and fitness studio, dedicated consultation wing, new treatment and relaxation spaces, and Hummingbird, the resort’s signature restaurant.
When Mii amo joined Relais & Châteaux, it became the prestigious hotel association’s only property in Sedona. Earlier this year, another major accolade followed when Mii amo became the first and only Forbes Five-Star wellness resort in North America.
If 007 went to Arizona for a spa retreat, he’d probably stay at Mii amo. James Bond would be right at home amidst the utterly unique and very cool, avant-garde architecture and design by New York firm Gluckman Tang. Eschewing all notions of the area’s pervasive Arizona wellness kitsch, the original 34,000-square-foot complex —now 48,000 square feet — kept its buildings low against the canyon and used earth-toned stucco, brick and stone rather than trying to compete visually with the surrounding red-rock formations. Wood-burning fireplaces, sunken seating and custom-carved furnishings could easily have come from a particularly well-funded film set.
Windows frame the red rock outside, courtyards and terraces pull the desert into the public spaces, and the low buildings seem to disappear into Boynton Canyon. Mii amo sits at the mouth of the canyon, a spectacular red-rock gorge within Coconino National Forest and one of Sedona’s most celebrated hiking spots. The property is tucked beneath Boynton’s towering sandstone walls, giving it the feel of a private preserve, with trails leading directly into the surrounding wilderness.
At the heart of the resort is the Crystal Grotto, a skylit circular room with an earthen floor that remains one of Mii amo’s best-known spaces. Used for meditation and other practices, it also reflects an approach to wellness that has extended beyond the standard resort-spa menu. Massage and bodywork share the schedule with fitness, meditation, outdoor activities and spiritual and introspective programs that take advantage of the resort’s unusual location. But this being a Relais & Chateaux property, there’s also Champagne and caviar when you’re ready to indulge.
Mii amo’s Caviar + Krug tasting pairs French Sturia caviar with Krug Champagne at the Hummingbird Harvest Table, with the culinary team leading guests through the nuances of both. It’s an optional extra but one that many guests choose to tack on. Mii amo packages its stays as “Journeys,” with guests building an individual schedule rather than being marched through a predetermined itinerary. You can sign up for as many treatments and activities as you like, or simply enjoy several days of exercise, good food and very little contact with the outside world.
The Journey format is also largely inclusive, an important distinction from a conventional resort stay. Accommodations and three meals a day at Hummingbird are included, along with juices, smoothies, coffee and tea, fitness classes, lectures and other programming. Guests also receive a daily credit that can be used for spa treatments or activities including guided hiking, mountain biking and art programs. There are plenty of add-ons if you want to go above and beyond.
Massage, skincare and exercise are available alongside meditation and more introspective pursuits. The setting makes it possible to be on a trail in the morning and back for a treatment or lunch without devoting half the day to getting there. Boynton Canyon is regarded as one of Sedona’s major “vortex” sites, places “believed by adherents to contain unusual concentrations of energy.” Whether you believe in it or not, it’s hard to deny the place has an unusually powerful presence, particularly early in the morning when the rising sun begins to light up the canyon walls.
Among the 2023 expansion’s most significant additions are a two-story movement and fitness building with considerably more room for classes and individual workouts, along with a dedicated consultation wing. The project also added a sensory garden, reflexology path, and new relaxation areas. The former indoor pool became a sunken living room, while the outdoor pool was enhanced, and other spaces were redesigned to open more directly toward the canyon. Roughly 3,700 square feet of the new space is reserved exclusively for Mii amo’s overnight guests.
The cozy casitas feature fireplaces, natural materials and epic views of the canyon, while comfortable living areas give them more of a residential feel than a typical hotel suite. The seven new accommodations add space and updated bathrooms and living areas without introducing an entirely different design language from the originals. The expansion also gave food a larger role with the opening of Hummingbird, Mii amo’s signature restaurant. Its arrival coincided with the resort’s admission to Relais & Châteaux, the highly selective association of independently owned hotels and restaurants founded in France in 1954, where serious food has always been part of the equation.
Hummingbird’s operable glass wall opens the dining room toward Boynton Canyon, while low furnishings keep the landscape in view rather than competing with it. There’s also an outdoor patio with its own fireplace for dining on sunny days and warm evenings. The restaurant follows the same basic philosophy as the rest of Mii amo, which means no dry and tasteless “spa cuisine.”
While healthy, menus lean toward fresh vegetables, grains and carefully sourced proteins, but with plenty of flavor, panache, and a suitably excellent wine list if you care to see it, not included in the Journey package but a compelling option nonetheless. There are only so many green juices one can consume before champagne and caviar begin to look like essential components of a balanced wellness program.