SHLD Awards Finalist Summary

Congratulations the Miraval Arizona Resort and Spa has been selected as a SHLD Awards Finalist!

Your project was evaluated by the following judges:

Laurie Woliung

HSDC/MindClick Advisor
Fred Brandstrader

Vice President - Construction and Capital Expenditures Hyatt
Ashley Michaels

Sr. Manager Product Experience & Prototypes Global Design, Hilton
Robert Stuckey

Vice President, Strategic Partnerships and Business Development-AHLA
Michelle Finn

VP Design + Construction Products & Services The BHN Group
Kavitha Iyer

VP Architecture & Design
Choice Hotels International
Diane Nguyen

Vice President of Design at Highgate Hotels
Kari Olsen Carr

Senior Vice President at Pebblebrook Hotel Trust
Vanessa Stanley

Vice President of New Builds + Portfolio Strategies at PM Hotel Group
Robyn Kaminski

Senior Director, Design Strategy at Marriott International

Here is how your project was evaluated:

Vision (25% of Total Points)

Scoring Guidance Statement: The project presents a clear and inspiring design intent that elevates the guest experience and aligns with the property’s goals.

The project’s design intent is clearly communicated and aligns with the property’s goals.
The guest experience envisioned through the design is meaningful and well articulated.
The overall vision is distinctive and contributes to a memorable and transformative stay experience.
The use of color, form, materials, and lighting enhance the overall ambiance and guest experience.

Creativity (25% of Total Points)

Scoring Guidance Statement: The design demonstrates original, purpose-driven thinking that achieves distinctive results beyond conventional solutions.

The project demonstrates original thinking that goes beyond standard design approaches.
The design achieves a clear purpose while delivering creative, unconventional results.
The project reflects innovation that enhances both the guest experience and the property’s identity.
The project demonstrates creative thinking in the reuse, repurposing, or refurbishment of existing materials or furnishings.

Execution (25% of Total Points)

Scoring Guidance Statement: The project integrates sustainability, design, budget, and guest experience into a cohesive and achievable solution.

The project balances design intent, sustainability goals, and budget while maintaining strong attention to detail and collaboration.
The design integrates sustainability cohesively into the guest experience and overall project execution.
The design caters to the practical needs of guests and staff, including room layout, public spaces, amenities, and service flow, as appropriate for the category.
The project shows consideration for the long-term life of the design, with durable choices that can adapt to future updates or refinements.

Impact (25% of Total Points)

Scoring Guidance Statement: For this question, Judges were asked to refer to the Impact & Wellness Overview (see below) provided by MindClick, to better understand the project's impact*

*Analysis based upon the available Product Intelligence™ associated with the vendors selected for the project. MindClick’s Product Intelligence™ comes from verifying product sustainability attributes throughout the product lifecycle. This verification requires vendor completion of the MindClick Sustainability Assessment Program

Miraval Arizona Resort and Spa

Category: Public Space
Design Firm: Harken Interiors

Design Narrative

Moments to pause. Intentions to set. Journeys to explore. At The Life in Balance Spa, balance is within reach. Intimate and intuitive, the design supports compassionate inward reflection and deep self-exploration while honoring Miraval’s ethos of mindfulness and whole-body wellness.

For guests of Miraval Arizona Resort & Spa, no journey is the same. Whether seeking clarity, release, reconnection, or rest, guests arrive with their own intentions. Our role was to create a space where personal transformation feels encouraged and accessible, allowing guests to set down what no longer serves them and carry forward what brings joy, grounding, and purpose.

“Restoring the balance” guided every design decision. We began by evaluating the existing spa thoughtfully, identifying what remained meaningful and what could be reimagined. Durable architectural elements and select furnishings were preserved to extend their lifecycle, while components that no longer aligned with function, wellness, or design intent were replaced responsibly. This renewal wasn’t about discarding and starting fresh; it was about editing with intention to create equilibrium once more.

New interventions were introduced with the same care. Indirect lighting, quieter luminance levels, and spatial compression slow the pace of movement, encouraging guests to be fully present. Sumptuous textures, soft shadow play, and natural aromas activate the senses gradually as guests progress deeper into relaxation.

Materiality grounds the experience. A palette of warm neutrals and muted desert tones draws from the surrounding Tucson landscape. Regionally crafted artwork and finishes rooted in local geology and material traditions establish a strong sense of place and enrich the cultural narrative. Holistic, unobtrusive, uncluttered; the spa breathes, and guests breathe with it.

Sustainability lives not only in what we introduced, but in how each material will endure within the space. FF&E selections, supported by MindClick, were guided by a restorative lens, with 75% of the interior sourced from suppliers making conscious choices that support wellness, responsible materials, thoughtful manufacturing, reduced-impact transportation and packaging, and respect for human rights. Tile crafted with 50% recycled content, mirrors produced with 40% recovered materials, lounge chairs made from responsibly harvested wood and repurposed metal frames, and paint created through water-reclamation processes all reflect the spa’s deep connection to its surrounding environment. Beyond materials, products including the flooring/wall tile, carpet, and paint carry certifications that ensure healthy indoor air quality, allowing the wellness experience to extend seamlessly into every corner of the space. Energy- efficient lighting further reduces the property’s environmental impact, while artwork created from repurposed wood fibers and renewable birch—crafted by local artisans and inspired by the surrounding landscape—continues this ethos of mindful materiality.

Our selections also extend to the people behind the products: the factories producing the floor and wall tile, carpet, and carpet padding are certified for fair labor practices, ensuring integrity throughout the supply chain. Additionally, the factories producing the carpet, carpet pad, lounge chair fabrics, mosaic tile, and lighting fixtures have achieved measurable reductions in carbon emissions.

The result is a spa that nurtures guests and the planet simultaneously. A place where stillness meets intention, where design supports inner and ecological healing. As guests emerge lighter, clearer, and restored, so does the landscape of materials that shape their journey.