• Logout
  • Member Center

MIAMI BEACH

Tough times will test luxury Miami Beach hotel-spa

Canyon Ranch is about to open in Miami Beach, selling a healthy (and quite expensive) lifestyle. Will self-indulgence remain profitable in a bad economy?

dhanks@MiamiHerald.com

Morning dip in the ocean? Check. Haute cuisine by the beach? Check. Cardiometabolic stress test? Check.

Add medical diagnostics to the must-do list for vacationers checking in to South Florida's newest resort this week. Canyon Ranch Living-Miami Beach hopes to cut through the growing list of high-end hotel offerings with a pricey mix of health screenings, spa treatments and wellness services running the gamut from nutrition to dealing with midlife angst.

Day One at Canyon Ranch might include a coordination and balance assesment ($165) followed by a 100-minute Japanese bathing ritual ($330) and then on to an 80-minute stone massage ($240) and a $350 insomnia consultation with a doctor.

Developers hope their $500 million Canyon Ranch, like its namesake Arizona resort, will attract throngs of affluent baby boomers willing to pay handsomely to ward off aging. But this week's opening comes during lean times for luxury in general, adding to the financial pressure on a condominium resort that revolves around expensive -- if healthful -- indulgences.

''We have very, very wealthy buyers,'' said Eric Sheppard, a partner in WSG Development. (A publicist later volunteered that CSI:Miami star David Caruso is among Canyon Ranch Miami Beach's owners.)

CONDO CRISIS

WSG launched Canyon Ranch Miami Beach on the site of the old Carillon Hotel at 68th Street and Collins Avenue in 2005, at the height of South Florida's condominium boom. It offered 581 units -- 431 standard condos and 150 condo-hotel units -- for between $500,000 and $8 million. More than 500 units sold, and Sheppard said he has seen roughly 10 percent of buyers try to back out of their contracts.

In this battered condo market, developers cherish cancellation rates that low. But Canyon Ranch can't rest easy once a contract closes. To remain profitable, it needs a population of unit owners eager to not just pay monthly dues but to participate in the expensive lifestyle Canyon Ranch offers.

The resort, set to open Wednesday, employs a full-time medical staff of 11, including a Chinese medicine specialist, nutritionist and a physical therapist.

Private rooms surrounding the 75,000-square-foot health club (including a 32-foot-tall climbing wall) contain equipment for conducting tests on oxygen saturation and bone density, along with body composition scans designed to guide the fitness staff in creating exercise regimens.

Dr. Karen Koffler, the former head of integrative medicine at Evanston Northwestern Hospital in Illinois, ducks into a darkened room a few steps from the treadmills containing a $125,000 body scanner.

''It's the best bone-density and body-composition machine that is made,'' said Koffler, the resort's clinical director.

While it can detect signs of bone loss in spines and hips, the device also allows fitness instructors to ditch the metal calipers typically used to measure body fat in favor of a digital image that can reveal a person's true fitness level.

''There's a lot of . . . skinny-fat women,'' Koffler said. ``They're thin because genetically they were blessed with the tendency to be thin. But if you peer under the tissue, there's fat under there because they're not physically active.''

To ensure clients follow the staff's workout regimens, trainers issue memory sticks embedded with each routine. When plugged into the gym's weight machines and cardio equipment, the cards won't let users lift too much and will take note if the intensity level falls short of the workout plan.

Join the discussion

Note: If this is your first time using our NEW commenting system, you will have to LOG OUT and then LOG BACK IN.

The Miami Herald is pleased to provide this opportunity to share information, experiences and observations about what's in the news. Some of the comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate on the issues of the day, and ask that you refrain from profanity, hate speech, personal comments and remarks that are off point. In order to post comments, you must be a registered user of MiamiHerald.com. Your username will show along with the comments you post. Thank you for taking the time to offer your thoughts.

Comments (0)
  • Videos

  • Quick Job Search

Enter Keyword(s) Enter City Select a State Select a Category