The Spa at Carillon Miami Wellness Resort: A South Florida Sanctuary Focused on Rejuvenation
Carillon Miami Resort is a luxury getaway where innovative wellness and balanced indulgence come togeher in a beachfront setting. Courtesy of Carillon Miami Wellness Resort
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“Come As You Are. Leave As You’ve Never Been.”
These are the words on the wall of Carillon Miami Wellness Resort. I explored the Miami getaway with my two girls, and it was the perfect place to experience a first as a family.
For the first time, my daughters and I experienced a spa day together, and I’m crossing my fingers we’ll have lots of spa days togethers in the future.
To me, it’s a bonding activity centered around relaxation, stillness, and conversation. Now that my girls are 16 and 21, our time together feels more like spending time together as girlfriends rather than as mom and daughters.
And time together has become more precious as they embark on their own independent lives. I’m hoping my love and appreciation for relaxation and stillness I find in spas will be passed on to my daughters.
The resort is home to a cutting-edge wellness center paired with amenities designed to relax and rejuvenate. Courtesy of Carillon Miami Wellness Resort
We opted for the Touchless Wellness Circuit, which was the perfect choice for us. My daughters were squeamish about massages so the entire experience was a lovely, gentle introduction to spa culture.
We were greeted by the friendly staff, who were so kind to the kids. They could sense their trepidation, but the spa attendants were very gentle. First, we were escorted to an expansive locker room and spa area.
The spa includes several different amenities: there was a large jacuzzi with lounge chairs, an igloo room, Finnish sauna, a crystal steam room, and an herbal laconium room, which is like a dry sweat room filled with aromatic herbs. It’s heated to 108 degrees with 40% to 60% humidity.
After we changed into bathing suits and robes, we congregated in the lounge area, which would serve as our meeting spot and base. Every time slot and experience was planned so smoothly that the girls and I would run into each other only in the lounge area.
The Spa at Carillon Miami Wellness Resort’s crystal steam room is enhanced with aromatic essential oils, refracted colored light, and a large healing quartz crystal. Courtesy of Carillon Miami Wellness Resort
For our first treatment, we tried a simulated EVEREST Cryo experience together. This involved a whole-body Cryo experience in a Cryobuilt chamber that lasts two to three-and-a-half minutes.
There are four levels: beginner, intermediate, cryo pro, and cryo extreme. The therapist guided us through the experience, with us taking turns entering a room that looked like a freezing cold room lined with frost.
Of course, this was the treatment that my daredevil 16-year-old jumped at doing first. We wore latex gloves and protective clothing and made sure not to touch anything inside. It felt like it was snowing inside the room, even though it was a balmy 80-degrees-Fahrenheit in Miami in November.
The spa’s whole-body cryotherapy chamber helps with fatigue, soreness, chronic pain, and inflammation. Courtesy of Carillon Miami Wellness Resort
One of their ultimate treatment stations is a giant salt float bath therapy chamber that can fit two people. With 800 pounds of Epsom salts, the weightless saltwater bath with color light therapy is spectacular — a true luxury sensory deprivation tank experience.
In a quiet, dimly lit room with a shower area, the salt float bath has a top cover that can be pulled closed like a clamshell, so it feels peaceful inside the bath. I was given a neck rest to float more comfortably in the warm saltwater bath, which eased my muscle pain and calmed my stress.
Carillon Miami Wellness Resort also offers non-traditional spa experiences including salt float gravity therapy, where guests float in a weightless saltwater bath. Courtesy of Carillon Miami Wellness Resort
Next, we tried the BioCharger room, where we settled comfortably in lounge chairs with the BioCharger machine emitting red lights for 20 minutes. The machine uses “recipes” to address a range of ailments, including restful sleep, brain support, bone support, zen focus, and pain management.
The Wellsystem Wave Massage room is centered around a relaxing water massage table with customizable music and lights. The dry water massage hit the pain points in my back and shoulders.
The Wellsystem Wave Massage uses dry water massage to relieve tension and retain fitness in a relaxed manner.. Courtesy of Carillon Miami Wellness Resort
In the exceptionally large Himalayan Salt Chamber, my girls sat next to each other in the lounge chairs, chatting and catching up. They found this room to be their favorite sanctuary.
My older daughter had flown in from college in snowy New York and she was fighting a small cold. The SALT FX Halogenerator dispersed the salt particles in such a subtle way that the girls hardly noticed they were in a treatment room.
For my older daughter, who had arrived from freezing temperatures, the salt room relieved her respiratory discomfort and cleared her lungs.
The spa’s loungers in the hydrotherapy circuit are warmed by radiant heat that relaxes the muscles in-between thermal experiences. Courtesy of Carillon Miami Wellness Resort
There, I also tried the Avacen Medical Palm Pain experience. I inserted my hand into a small machine, which acted like a mitt. Using heat and negative pressure, the machine helped with blood circulation to reduce joint pain throughout my body. The machine is categorized as a non-invasive medical device that’s been FDA-cleared.
I also tried the NEO red-light therapy bed. For 10 minutes I lay in an enclosed chamber. With four choices that include Restore (inflammation, collagen stimulation), Pulse (sports recovery), Cleanse (skin improvement, bacteria reduction), and Calm (green light for migraines), I opted for Restore, which was a relaxing experience in and of itself.
I lay on the bed and focused on emptying my mind and thinking of nothing, a meditative exercise I don’t practice enough of.
Vibroacoustic Electro Magnetic and Infrared Therapy (V.E.M.I.) uses healing sound resonance in tandem with full-body vibrations, natural earth frequencies, and infrared. Courtesy of Carillon Miami Wellness Resort
Insider Tips: Make sure not to shave before going in the weightless saltwater bath float (it’s also a more enjoyable experience if you don’t have cuts or wounds).
Leave enough time to really slow down so that you can fully relax in the Himalayan saltwater room and the various other rooms in the spa. My personal favorite? The herbal laconium.
To learn more about Carillon Miami Wellness Resort and to book your next visit, visit their website or call (866) 800-3858. Follow @carillonhotel on Instagram.
Carillon Miami Wellness Resort is located at 6801 Collins Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33141.
[Photos courtesy of Carillon Miami Wellness Resort]
Helen I. Hwang is an award-winning journalist, author, and mechanical engineer. Her works have appeared in The New York Times for Kids, Eater San Diego, People Magazine, Parents.com, Trip Advisor, Huffington Post, Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel Magazine,TravelSavvy.com, and other publications. She has also written a book, titled All Grown Up: Please Touch Museum and Its Move to Memorial Hall, for the Please Touch Museum, a children's museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In addition, Helen worked as a researcher for the Peabody Award-winning NPR radio program, Fresh Air with Terry Gross. Over the years, she's lived on three continents and traveled to more than 40 countries. She currently lives in San Diego, CA, the 16th place she's called home. More about her can be found at helenihwang.com.