Where to Stay: Spotlight on Carillon Miami Wellness Resort

Spa, sand, and serious workouts in Miami Beach
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I’m on vacation in Miami Beach, drinking a glass of green juice. Not because I like green juice, but because I’m staying at the Carillon. At the Carillon, everyone drinks this juice made of kale, romaine, cilantro, and spinach. After they’ve drained their glasses, they walk across the boardwalk to take a boot-camp class on the private beach, doing push-ups and wind sprints in the sand. Followed by more juice. And perhaps another fitness class. After all, at the Carillon, there are more than forty such classes offered daily.

I feel healthy just being here, reading the fitness-class schedule and drinking my juice. For me, a beach vacation typically involves piña coladas consumed in a reclining position. Not this time. I will return home fitter than when I left. I may even start juicing stuff.

Although boot camp is about to begin—as are yoga and spin classes—I decide I’ll ease my way into well-being by starting at the spa. Spanning 70,000 square feet, it’s the largest in South Florida—so large, the White House could fit inside it. The treatment options are myriad: acupuncture, energy healing, sound-massage therapy, even seminars on healthy aging. I select the Supernatural Ultrafacial with the hope it will live up to its name.

With an hour to spare before my treatment, I enter the Thermal Experience, where I follow a hot-and-cold circuit that’s supposed to promote circulation and detoxification. In the crystal steam room, I focus my eyes on colorful lights that are believed to replenish energy. In the Finnish sauna, I sweat out my bad food choices from the previous week. In the igloo, a turquoise, tiled room with freezing-mist showers, I last fifteen shivering seconds before fleeing to a radiant-heated lounger to relax until my name is called.

My facial lasts eighty blissful minutes that involve a lot of brushing and slathering of products made by organic skincare mogul Tata Harper. Although my complexion isn’t supernaturally transformed by the time I pay, it does have a happy glow. And I feel utterly relaxed.

During the rest of my stay at Carillon, I stick with my healthy program, trying Pilates classes, eating fresh seafood, and taking walks along the boardwalk. I wake up to panoramic views of the water from my suite, and I watch the sunset every night from the vantage point of the rooftop pool. I do indulge in a few cocktails, but they’re mixed with organic spirits and fresh produce such as carrots and acai, so I don’t feel especially guilty. After all, I’ve already had plenty of green juice.

6801 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach, Florida, 866-800-3858, carillonhotel.com 

Don’t Miss

Miami Marathon and Half Marathon, January 28, 2018, 6 a.m.

While you’re in fitness mode, test your endurance during the sixteenth running of this popular race. The flat course travels through Miami Beach and features numerous views of the water. Not ready for a long run? Try the Tropical 5K on January 27.

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