The vision of Canyon Ranch's founders is to establish the nation's finest "healthy living university." Alliances with the University of Arizona medical school already point in that direction. This superior quality is a result of the exceptional talent and dedication of the doctors and nurses at Canyon Ranch, comments Dr. Liponis. "Our integrated approach treats the entire person, not just their symptoms."

Assembled in one place are medical professionals specializing in a wide variety of preventive medicine, including women's health, sexual health, internal medicine, Ayurvedic medicine, psychoneuroimmunology, musculoskeletal/sports medicine, weight loss, stress reduction, genomics, cardiovascular disease, gerontology, functional and sleep ailments, acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine, behavior modification, and lifestyle intervention.

During a recent visit to the Tuscon ranch, I experienced one of those A-ha moments. Consulting longtime medical director Phil Eichling, M.D., I was checked for nutritional as well as physical fitness. Lab tests revealed previously undetected dangerous levels of toxic minerals, lead and mercury, in my system. The next step will bring my medical and nutritional needs together with Canyon Ranch supplements to my daily diet.

The opportunity to consult a distinguished physician and nutritionist, as well as a full-service spa, is what makes Canyon Ranch unique. The message expressed in their 25th anniversary ads says it all: "The Power of Possibility."

Expanding the Brand

In the late ‘70s, "fat farms" were the only type of destination catering to people who wanted to look and feel better. The Zuckermans' idea for Canyon Ranch was way ahead of its time.

"The rule of thumb back then, says Mel, was that you never spent more than $2 million on a health resort." By the time they opened, investment totaled $7 million, plunging them into debt.

"But we made it into a really lush resort, which none of the other places were," comments Mel.

"People left saying "I feel great. I'll be back, and I'm going to tell all my friends." And they did.

By year two, the occupancy rate was nearly 60% - "and we never ran an ad," he notes.

Dr. Andrew Weill, the alternative-health guru, worked at the ranch for a year in the 1980s. At dinner one night, he told me "Mel came along at the right time, and he developed a model that works." Now director of the Program in Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona, heavily supported by the Zuckermans, Weill wrote most of his 1995 bestseller "Spontaneous Healing: How to Discover and Enhance Your Body's Natural Ability to Maintain and Heal Itself" while living in a ranch casita.

The 1999 debut of Canyon Ranch SpaClub at The Venetian casino resort in Las Vegas marked a turning point. Expanding the brand to broader markets, a second SpaClub opened in 2002 near Disney World in Florida. Their third SpaClub now sails the seas aboard Cunard's flagship QM2. "No other corporation can provide the depth of choices available in the Canyon Ranch portfolio of business - solidifying our position as the world's foremost life-enhancement company," says Kevin Kelly, Chief Strategy Officer for Canyon Ranch,

© SPA MANAGEMENT JOURNAL - JANUARY 2005

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