TRAVEL: Treat Yourself to A Luxurious Stay at Lake Austin Spa Resort

*I was recently hosted at Lake Austin Spa Resort in exchange for media coverage. All opinions are my own and unbiased.

As some of you know, I got the opportunity to visit Austin again with my fiancé Keshaun, where we spent a lovely few days at Lake Austin Spa Resort and it was every bit of relaxing. It was perfect timing, being the week of Thanksgiving. I couldn’t have thought of a better place to spend a holiday week!

The resort itself has over 40 lakeside guest rooms with decor and furnishings from all around the world, found by one of the owners, Mike McAdams and his team. Of these 40 guest rooms, 14 are newly renovated, called the Luxury Lakeview rooms and 10 others offer gorgeous views of Lake Austin and Texas Hill Country. There is also 1 Lady Bird Suite, which happens to honor Lady Bird Johnson (former First Lady of the United States and wife of former President Lyndon B. Johnson). This room has a fireplace, sitting room, hot tub and private wildflower garden!

The interior decor in each guest room helps to evoke relaxation and reflection in every aspect. I mean, just look at the calming color palette and cozy atmosphere. I could sleep and relax here for days!

All the beds in the guest rooms are furnished with Egyptian down comforters and cotton sheets, luxury cotton spa robes, HD LCD TVs with DVD players, complimentary WiFi, AM/FM alarm clock radios, and iPod docking stations with remote controls to name a few. There are even remote controlled ceiling fans with in-room safes and refrigerators, and that’s just the room itself!

The bathrooms come equipped with signature lavender spa toiletries, which I found out are actually made in-house. I was really pleased with this bonus, as most resort lotions and hair products I’ve found are made in mass production and not naturally. The bathrooms at Lake Austin Spa Resort also have Kohler steeping/soaking tubs, and let me be the first to tell you how much I enjoyed my bubble bath the first night! Our particular bathroom also had a view of the private patio, which was nice!

Remember the patio I mentioned that the indoor soaking tub in the bathroom overlooks? Well, this is it. This is another one of countless places on the Lake Austin Spa Resort property where relaxing is a possibility. It’s also nicely color coordinated as the guest rooms are!

Why is the resort called Lake Austin Spa Resort? Because there is a spa! In 2004, there was a multi-million dollar 25,000 square foot expansion completed, offering men and women locker rooms, an indoor Junior Olympic lap pool (which is shown below), outdoor Palm pool, hot tub and and cabanas, indoor garden tents and suites, and more!

In the LakeHouse Spa, there is also a salon, The Iris Salon, that offers luxurious hair, makeup and nail services. I didn’t get a chance to utilize these services, but I did however, get a chance to enjoy 1 of the 30 treatments offered here. I actually ended up getting my very first massage at LakeHouse Spa and it was quite the first impression! Being that I lift weights often, I selected the 80 minute Muscle Tension Melt and it was every bit of relaxing. It was such a nice combination of heat and pressure against my skin, combined with herbal-steamed aromatic compresses. My masseuse even gave me a bag of these compresses to take home and store in my freezer, which was really nice! The herbs themselves are actually grown in house in the organic Healing Gardens, which you will see later in this post…how cool is that?!

The above photos is the gorgeous indoor junior Olympic length pool. Isn’t it a beaut? 😍

Lake Austin Spa Resort also offers numerous fitness activities ranging from Trek & Spin, yoga, sculling, canoeing, kayaking, Hydrobiking, hiking, pilates, Tai Chi, meditation and dance. Aside from these, aquatic aerobics, swimming classes and personal training sessions are also offered on site!

One of the things I loved most about Lake Austin Spa Resort is how pretty much everything links back to the organic Healing Gardens (pictured above). The food prepared, spa therapy and pretty much anything else you can name uses ingredients grown here. Even the aromatherapy class we took used fresh, organic herbs from this garden. It has really inspired me to grow my own foods and have a garden at our future home!

The Healing Gardens at Lake Austin Spa Resort has over 1,000 species of plants, veggies, spices, wildflowers and herbs. It was actually one of the first to create a garden specifically for use in spa treatments. The Director of Flora and Fauna even offers classes and hands-on demonstrations on gardening topics and aromatherapy. It was in the aromatherapy class we learned that the instructor also runs and plants everything in this entire garden!

I mentioned taking an aromatherapy class with Keshaun, but we also did hiking and the boat ride. Along the boat route, we were able to ride all along Lake Austin and see the many gorgeous houses resting on the acres near the shore. It was such a peaceful ride!

The above happens to be at one of the docks at Lake Austin Spa Resort. One morning while I was here, I sat out here lake watching as I did a little work. I don’t know what it is, but there’s something a lot more enjoyable about working while out here, rather than being at a desk. Nothing compares!

Throughout the day in between meals, snacks are offered and this day, we happened to have cookies. Well, I’ll just say the cookies weren’t just for the photo…haha! 😂

The above is one of the pools that overlooks Lake Austin!

Okay, now we’re down to another favorite part of mine…the food! On the property, there are 2 dining options: the resort Dining Room and in the Aster Café. At these, Executive Chef Stéphane Beaucamp serves 3 delicious healthy meals. She blends French influences with local inspirations. I learned that many of the foods used used comes from the Healing Garden, which takes “locally sourced” to a whole new level. The above and below shows foods my photographer Taylor and I consumed from Aster Café. Everything was so delicious. I thoroughly enjoyed not having to add seasoning to any of my food. Being from Louisiana, I am very picky about flavor and this meal and none of the others I had did not disappoint!

Not only is Lake Austin Spa Resort intimate and luxurious, but the location is also convenient! It is just a quick 30 minute trip from both downtown Austin and Austin Bergstrom International Airport. There’s nothing better than staying in a relaxed atmosphere, while still being in close proximity to transportation and nightlife.

At this spa resort, there are several packages offered, including but not limited to: 3-night or longer packages for groups or individuals, vacation packages with accommodations in 1 of the 40 lakeside guest rooms, 3 gourmet meals daily, an unlimited number of indoor and outdoor fitness classes and activities and a selection of spa treatments. Yes, you read that correctly. There are all inclusive packages offered at this spa resort! Having this added convenience lessens the stress in traveling, adding to that therapeutic and relaxing experience during your stay!

Other cool facts to note, Lake Austin Spa Resort has been:

• recognized for its excellence and has received numerous industry awards from the following:
  • Condé Nast Traveler
  • Travel + Leisure
  • Town & Country Magazine & Southern Living (both honored Lake Austin Spa Resort as one of the best in the country and the world)

For more information and to book your reservation, you can call 1-800-847-5637, or visit www.lakeaustin.com.

Happy Travels! ❤️

Photos: Taylor Prinsen Photography