Practice Wellness with the Family at Carillon Miami Wellness Resort

Incorporate wellness into your next beach resort escape at Carillon Miami. The Carillon is both a family vacation destination and a dedicated wellness facility with full-service, beach-front resort amenities within a splendid apartment/hotel on Collins Avenue in Miami Beach. It’s well-located on 68^th Street, not far from the shops and restaurants at Bal Harbour.

Kids can play in the Atlantic Ocean and on the sand, and ride a bike on the paved boardwalk. Kids aged 5–13 (accompanied by an adult) can climb a two-story indoor rock wall or swim in three of the four pools (the spa pool is adults’ only). Kids can partake of fitness opportunities that promote family fun, interaction and physical activity.

Rockwall. Photo: Carillon Miami

I saw a slew of strollers and a bunch of tykes, for whom the concierge will book a nanny, so parents can head to the spa or dine alone. Teens, 14 and older, can use the fitness facility and choose from more than 20 exercise classes each week. The daily menu is printed and displayed on light screens in front of the elevator and in strategic locations.

All accommodations are within luxurious, renovated, contemporary and spacious (720–950-square-foot) one-or-two-bedroom apartments, with light-filled, floor-to-ceiling windows. The entry leads through a full-service and well-equipped kitchen with an island and past a large bathroom to a living room with a sofa bed. My one-bedroom suite also had two queen beds, (king-sized beds are available). Every unit offers well-designed storage, including a series of deep drawers on the bedroom side of the divider-wall, which has two

Dining. Photo: Irvina Lew

TVs. My unit also had two separate balconies with pool and Atlantic Ocean views. It’s comfortable for families and some whom I met spend weeks at a time.

Dining options — indoors and out — are on the entry level: The Strand at Carillon Miami, The Corner Store and in-suite dining (24/7). There’s a full menu, a fixed-price and a wellness menu with healthy items. The registered nutritionist gives talks on Sunday morning and also develops individually designed meals which the chef executes for her clients. Vegan? Keto? Whole 30? Weight Watchers? The chef prepares it.

On my first evening, we dined at the bar and the residents sitting next to me knew how to order — they shared a huge steak, fingerling potatoes and veggies on a family-sized wooden carving board. I ordered a filet mignon.

Dining. Photo: Irvina Lew

I chose healthy items at the breakfast buffets: fruits, smoked salmon and scrambled and hard boiled eggs and delicious dishes from the wellness menu (five ounces of protein plus vegetables and fruit). I enjoyed a great gazpacho; a nice mango and shrimp salad (dressing on the side); succulent roast chicken; a fruit salad; and sampled the thin-crust pizza. One night, we walked around the corner to a terrific, long-term restaurant staple: Prima Pasta. It was hopping on a Tuesday and for good reason; the Italian food was authentic and really good.

As for the world-class wellness component, the 70,000-square foot spa facility was built for Canyon Ranch — which spa-goers know from its well-regarded destination resorts in Tucson, Arizona; Lenox, Massachusetts; and Cunard cruise ships. It has a fitness facility overlooking the beach and 27 treatment rooms on the third floor, accessed via stairs or private elevator. The spa boasts a European-inspired Thermal Experience, with a hydrotherapy circuit, including a variety of rain showers, a foot bath and whirlpools. As for the treatment menu, it’s beyond extensive and included both familiar (I loved them all: a ginger-coconut scrub and a massage, followed by a Kombucha Radiance 80-minute Facial) and some non-traditional treatments. I tried a few of the experiences spa director Tammy Pahel — a career-long spa professional — and her team of experts launched: a salt float bath with 80 pounds of Epson Salt within an egg-shaped pod (a comfortable, meditative way to detox); an infrared bed (the plastic bed is a bit hard and I preferred sitting with the light on my face); a massage atop a sheet over teeny quartz stones (okay, that wasn’t so comfortable for me, either); acupuncture with needles, electric current and ear seeds (Dr. V impressed me enormously, and it didn’t hurt); and a cryotherapy facial (Elaine performed the pleasant procedure which stimulated collagen and even I could see the “lift”).

Fitness Center. Photo: Irvina Lew

Oh yes, with or without the kids, this is a fabulous wellness resort!