Wellness destination Canyon Ranch is set to open its first location outside the US on 1 July in Kaplankaya, Turkey, near Bodrum.
The first international location for the brand marks a significant step in Canyon Ranch’s nearly 40-year history in the wellness space, and involves bringing some of the best programming from the iconic Tucson location to the Turkish Riviera, as the company aims to reach a whole new European audience.
Canyon Ranch Kaplankaya will feature a 107,000sq ft (9,941sq m) spa, fitness and Health & Healing Center, which will house 38 treatment rooms and will offer integrative wellness experiences that combine the best of traditional and eastern medicine.
The spa is using ila, Swiss Perfection and Biologique Recherche as product houses for its treatments, and is equipped with Gharieni spa tables, including the MLX Quartz.
The resort will also feature the signature wellness and lifestyle programmes that Canyon Ranch is known for, offering between 30 and 60 programmes at a time, depending on the season.
“We’ll be offering some of the best programming from Tucson,” Canyon Ranch Kaplankaya general manager Markus Iseli told Spa Opportunities. “That said, it’s a very different market than the US.”
One thing the Kaplankaya resort will do differently from Tucson is to incorporate water sports and activities into the offerings, as the location features a spectacular peninsula location on the Aegean Coast. The resort will also take advantage of its location to introduce easy, mid- and power-walking routes as well as mountain bike trails.
“We’re taking advantage of the surroundings,” said Iseli. “The sea, the climate, the environment – it’s the Turkish Riviera.”
Iseli said he expects the majority of guests to come from Europe – particularly the UK and Germany – as well as Turkey, the GCC and CIS countries such as Ukraine.
Key personnel have all been trained in Tucson, including director of spa Tarik Acar, who has joined the resort from Four Seasons Istanbul.
Designed by Barcelona-based OAB architects, the 141-bedroom Canyon Ranch Kaplankaya is constructed with environmentally-conscious materials and finished to complement the surrounding scenery. Principal architect Carlos Ferrater worked to honour the natural beauty of the landscape in his ultra-modern design.
The dining experiences at Canyon Ranch Kaplankaya also fully embrace the wellness ethos of the brand. Two on-site restaurants offer healthy Mediterranean dishes made with local ingredients.
Canyon Ranch also has wellness destination resorts in Tucson, Arizona and Lenox, Massachusetts, and operates a SpaClub day spa at The Venetian and The Palazzo hotels in Las Vegas, as well as SpaClub at Sea facilities on board several cruise ships.
