For Lake Austin Spa Resort, the dreamy health and wellness retreat just outside Austin, the pandemic provided just enough pause to complete a multimillion-dollar renovation. Now the 19-acre wellness wonderland is ready to reopen July 1 with new dining rooms, guest rooms, updated spa amenities and services, and new dining menus.
Dallas-based co-owner Mike McAdams employed the help of Dallas designer Brianna Wright-Guay to accomplish his vision of décor throughout the property and its 40 guest rooms. Guests will notice new English fabrics, original art, and custom furnishings, as well as visually appealing improvements in the Garden Library, Lake Room, and soothing Blue Room inside the 25,000-square-foot LakeHouse Spa.
The resort’s executive chef Stephane Beaucamp also remained busy during the closure, creating new menu items ranging from nourishing power bowls, — with additions like braised beef short rib and sweet potato falafel — to new smoothies and immunity-boosting juice shots. (Try the Golden Aura juice, made with healing turmeric, ginger, black pepper, and carrots.)
The menu of conscientious cuisine has also been fine-tuned to add more plant-based ingredients.
Come opening day, more than a dozen new spa services will be added to spa’s already lengthy list. These include the Soul Recovery — an energizing treatment incorporating gemstones, guided visualization, meditation, and a scalp treatment. The new Immunity Boost treatment includes purifying inhalation techniques, acupressure massage, and lymphatic stimulation and drainage.
Guests can book a variety of classes and sessions, from cooking to private yoga. On the waters of Lake Austin, guests can canoe, waterski, and — new to the resort — wake surf. Simply relaxing by the water’s edge is always an option.
Like most businesses throughout Texas, Lake Austin Spa Resort has been closed since March to curb the spread of COVID-19.
Janis Clapoff, the resort’s managing director, says she’s received “countless emails and calls” from folks asking when the destination would reopen, adding that the resort wanted to wait until the time was right for both staff and guests.
The team has enhanced its already rigorous cleaning practices and protocols to include more frequent cleaning of high-touch surfaces, sanitization stations throughout the resort, limited occupancy in fitness and wellness classes, and marked symbols to help guests stay socially distant. Staff will wear face masks and gloves and have temperature checked before reporting to work, and guests are encouraged to wear masks in all public spaces.
Dining areas and pool areas will be reconfigured to ensure adequate distance between guests.
“Our location and facilities make it easy to social distance and take in the fresh Hill Country breezes,” says Clapoff. “And when you get out onto Lake Austin, the expansiveness of being in this wide-open outdoor space is incredibly uplifting.”
Reservations may now be booked online. All-inclusive rates start at $525 per person, and they are taking 10 percent off during the reopening phase.
Price includes three gourmet meals daily, snacks, smoothies, and fresh juices; access to all lake activities and unlimited use of lake equipment; two outdoor pools with poolside cabanas and an indoor heated lap pool; up to 20 daily fitness activities and programs; access to steam rooms, saunas, whirlpools, gardens, and relaxation areas; and access to the LakeHouse Spa.
Lake Austin Spa Resort reopens July 1.
