I randomly heard of Travaasa Austin a few months ago, and when I checked out their website, I could tell that the wellness resort in the Texas Hill Country was unique. Coincidentally, their PR team recently reached out to me and asked if I would like to come spend a day there to check it out. A few Saturdays ago, I went and spent a full day there, and I had a ball. (Side note: I forgot to charge my camera so I used my iPhone camera; I apologize that the quality of the photos isn’t better.)
Travaasa is only 30 minutes from downtown Austin, but it’s located out in the rustic hills of Central Texas. It sits on 210 acres and is refreshingly quiet and peaceful. Due to a historic drought, the land in Austin is dry and crispy, but out at Travaasa, somehow everything was still verdant. The resort strives to be as eco-friendly and sustainable as possible.The spa, pool, fitness center, restaurant, yoga studio, and lodgings are all within walking distance. You walk through winding wooded trails to get from place to place, as you can see in my photo below–something calming in and of itself.
They have 70 guestrooms for people who come stay overnight, and all of the rooms have sweeping views of the Balcones Canyon Preserve. There are hacienda rooms, which have flat-screen TVs and are for those who want to stay connected to the outside world. If you prefer to disconnect a bit more, the casitas offer yoga mats and stretching ropes.
I didn’t have the chance to take a yoga class, but I took a peek in the yoga studio and it filled with natural light and overlooks the nearby greenery:
Music Massages
Travaasa has an on-site spa. It’s the type of spa where you have a locker and change into a robe and slippers, and then enter a relaxation room where you can hang out and drink tea before your treatment. I love spas that offer that; it helps you unwind before the bodywork even begins.
They offer traditional massages and facials, but they have two music massages–I had never heard of the concept before. The first is the Rose Massage, which I had. This massage is done of the backdrop of Janis Joplin music, who got her start in Austin. It was really interesting; the songs were soft enough that the massage was still peaceful, but it gave the massage a fun vibe. The masseuse used rose oil, which smelled so delicious. The last song that was played was “Piece of My Heart,” and at the end, you get to take home a little heart made by a local artist. It’s a custom massage, so you get to choose what style you want. I wanted deep tissue, and my masseuse, Jason, did a fantastic job at getting in there and working through the knots in my back. They also offer a massage to the soundtrack of Willie Nelson music, another famous Austin musician.
Unique Texas-inspired activities
Travaasa has daily schedules of activities, and guests can participate in as many or as few as they want. The activities focus on Texas culture, fitness, and exploration. While they offer typical resort activities such as yoga, meditation, and cooking demos, they have a slew of unique offerings. They have mechanical bull fitness, Texas Two-Step lessons, a harmonica class, slack line, challenge course, journaling, photography, eco-hikes, geocaching, mini med school, an equine experience, and much more.
I eavesdropped everywhere I went, from the dining room to the locker room, and I heard many people remark that the staff in every department here were the creme de la creme and all seem to have major experience in their field. As I progressed through my day there, I could tell that each person truly knew their stuff.
Here are the other activities I took part in:
Whole Body Fitness
I participated in the 45-minute class in Agave Fitness Center. My instructor, Ivonete, had a unique style that heavily focused on using multiple muscle groups at once and posture. We used many weight machines, and rather than simply doing the default movement that worked one body part, she taught us methods to engage both core and legs, or both legs and arms. It was just me and one other woman in the class, so when we both expressed a little confusion about exactly what Ivonete meant about certain postures, she put things on hold and took a lot of time to carefully explain and show to us the right way to do it. I love when instructors truly spend time working closely with you to make sure you have the right form, as it makes sure you aren’t injured and maximize the workout. Ivonete invented the blue mats you see behind her, which have footprints and handprints to help you maintain proper form in a variety of exercises.
Breath Work
I ended up being the only person who attended this session, and it was amazing getting the personal attention. This workshop was out in Solidago Gardens, which is secluded from the rest of the resort. I walked past a stone labyrinth (pictured below) and approached a building enclosed in a stone wall that looked like an Asian temple. I entered the courtyard, and there was a waterfall fountain. I opened two large wooden doors and entered a stunning wooden room with a high ceiling and skylight. It truly felt like a sanctuary or temple in China or Asia. Susan, my instructor, was a lovely woman who was soft-spoken and soothing. She discussed the anatomy of breathing, and how being conscious of our breathing can help us in our day-to-day lives. She had me lie down and close my eyes, and she talked me through a very relaxing breathing exercise.
After that, she told me that breath work can help us in several situations in life. There is a type of breathing that helps energize you and pumps energy into your veins (if you’ve done Bikram, it’s the Pranayama breathing you use at the beginning of class). There is a type of breathing that helps relax you when you’re stressed and anxious, and there’s a type of breathing that can help drift you into sleep or meditation. There is one other type that now I’m forgetting. She let me choose which strategies I was most interested in and taught them to me. Toward the end, she had me lie down again and walked me through another soothing breathing exercise. I left so relaxed.
Lunch in Jean’s Kitchen
This on-site restaurant serves fresh delicious food with as many local ingredients as possible. The menu lists the full nutrition information for each dish–I wish every restaurant did that! I had the baked sweet potato fries and the Wagyu sliders. Both were tender and flavorful. I somehow managed to eat nearly all of it!
Mechanical Bull Fitness
It’s no secret that some bars have mechanical bulls and allow tipsy patrons to ride them and make fools of themselves. But I can safely say that I’d never heard of using them for fitness. In true Texas flavor, Travaasa Austin has a mechanical bull, but it’s used as exercise rather than drunken shenanigans. Ivonete operates the controls and slowly increases the speed and bucking. It is an incredible thigh and core workout! As it gets faster and trashing harder, it becomes a major challenge to stay on. Someone said that leaning in the opposite direction of the bull and keeping a hand in the air helped, and it did–I managed to stay on longer than most people could. That’s not to say that I didn’t take a few spills. I inevitably always tumbled off of it and into the inflated red ring. It was a lot of fun! I handed someone my camera and they took the pic of me below riding the bull before things got too crazy.
Cooking Demo
The head chef who usually gives the demonstrations was taking a rare day off, so another woman who worked at Travaasa led it. She wasn’t a chef there, but she had attended cooking school and helped create the menus at Travaasa. The food was bruschetta with ricotta salata, an unusual cheese that she said was ricotta cheese pressed together to make a firmer cheese. It’s so rare that even the head chef didn’t know what it was when she requested to order it. I love learning about new cheeses, and it was delicious. She used fresh cherry tomatoes picked on-site, a freshly-blended oil mixture with garlic and basil, and sourdough bread handmade by the head chef with a special ingredient he refuses to share.
Infinity Pool
Travaasa has a gorgeous infinity pool that overlooks the green hills. There are plenty of beach chairs and umbrellas to go around. I swam up to the edge overlooking the Hill Country and decided that I definitely needed to come back here.
Since I didn’t stay overnight, I didn’t get the complete experience and didn’t get to see what the guest rooms looked like. But I got a great taste of the day-to-day activities that guests get to enjoy, and not only did I have fun, but I learned a lot and got to decompress. I can see it being a great place to go as a solo retreat or a fun couples getaway (the spa director told me that both are common there).
