Venetian Resort & Casino and Canyon Ranch Spa Club

Just as the opening of The Venetian set a new standard for hospitality, luxury and convenience - the $275 million Venezia hotel tower furthers that legacy. The 12-story addition includes 1,013 suites and is Las Vegas' only concierge-level resort. This “hotel within the hotel” promises both world-class gaming and entertainment… host to some of the finest restaurants in town! Say the name of a famous chef (Emeril Lagasse or Wolfgang Puck, for example) and he probably has a restaurant here…from the Delmonico Steak House (for the lo-carbers) – one of the best steaks on the planet, to Aquanox, for fresh seafood and unique sushi. There is something for everyone.

The standard suites are an average of 700 square feet of pure luxury, which is about twice the size a typical room in Las Vegas. The Venetian offers guests three levels of suite accommodations to suit every taste and style, including the new Venezia tower, where we stayed on this trip. The accommodations are grand, with a separate check-in on the fourth floor of this tower, and an exclusive express check-in on the 10th floor. Each room has three dual line phones, fax/copier/printer, high-speed Internet, personalized wake-up call, access to the 4th-floor pools at The Venetian, and to the private garden on the Venezia Villa Deck, complimentary newspaper and shoeshine service.

For the elite, there are the five top floors of the Venezia tower, which is the concierge level (122 suites), with private check-in on the 12th floor (top floor), private elevator access, unpacking services offered, bottled water, chocolate, cotton mat with turndown service, special pill and bath menus, a duvet instead of the regular blanket, 100% cotton blend triple sheeting, slippers, a bud vase with an orchid, 15” LCD TV in the bathroom, and the complimentary newspaper and shoe shine service to boot.

They also have access to the Concierge Lounge, which includes: Personal assistance with travel and/or show arrangements, a DVD library, Continental breakfast 6:00 – 11:00 am, morning coffee-to-go station, plus canapés, beer, wine and mixed drinks served from 5:00 – 8:00 pm.

The Venetian tower doesn’t have quite as many amenities, but it is above the casino and is closest to the restaurants, convention center and the Grand Canal Shoppe’s, and the Canyon ClubSpa and Café is also in this tower Keep this in mind when you plan for your visit. If you don’t mind a bit of a walk, the Venezia tower has more to offer for amenities in the rooms.

The Venetian, of course, has gondola rides through the shopping mall the Grand Canal Shoppes. Canyon Ranch also operates Living Essentials, a distinctive boutique located in the Grand Canal Shoppes.

If you’re taking a meeting here, you will have access to the Sands Expo (1.2 million square feet of show floor and meeting space), just minutes from your suite. Nowhere else in North America will you find this amount of meeting space directly connected to luxury suites. In addition to the 4,049 suites at The Venetian, they are also building a third tower, spending $1.6 billion, for the 3,025-room the upscale-designed Palazzo Casino Resort. The 15-acre site chosen for the 50-story Palazzo also is adjacent to the Sands Expo & Convention Center. Palazzo will offer a 105,000-square-foot casino, a 375,000-square-foot entertainment complex and 450,000 square feet of meeting space. When the third tower is complete the Venetian will be the largest hotel in the world! It is a destination in itself. There are also another 40,000 hotel rooms within a ten-minute walk of the complex to accommodate even the largest of trade show audiences.

Destinations : Nevada : Las Vegas : Venetian Resort & Casino and Canyon Ranch Spa Club

Canyon Ranch SpaClub at the Venetian – resort guests only  Cavitosonic room

The Cavitosonic room is a unique environment using highly specialized technology in a black-lit room. It is meant to give your whole system multiple health benefits. The services held in this room are:

Tibetan Bowl Healing
50 minutes
Experience vibrational healing in this service which uses crystal sounding bowls, essential oils, chakra stone placements and acupoints. All focus on balancing the body’s energy fields. Combined with the negative ionization of the Cavitosonic chamber which restores your energy, this service offers the complete restoration of body, mind and spirit.

Sea-Esta!
80 minutes
Lose yourself in a background of ocean sounds as both warm and cool sensations engulf you in a specially designed Cavitosonic chamber. Breathe negatively ionized “sea air” as warm sea muds, seawater mist, warmed ocean stones and cooling gel caress your skin in this remineralizing treatment. Enjoy a special moisturizing scalp massage as the finale. (You must shower after this treatment to rinse out the scalp treatment.)

Craniosacral
50 minutes
The craniosacral system encompasses the ebb and flow of cerebrospinal fluid. Using light touch, the therapist monitors this motion to determine where restrictions are located. This technique gently encourages optimal fluid movement to nourish all the tissues of the body, causing a self-correcting response. The result is a deep sense of calm, well-being and greater self-awareness. Loose-fitting, light clothing is recommended for this full-body massage.

Body Thermal treatment

In the Hydrothermal room are treatments such as:
Body Thermal
50 minutes
Enjoy the pampering of a steam bath and Vichy shower without leaving the treatment table. Begin with a full-body exfoliation followed by an application of natural Moor mud, clay or seaweed in our Hydrotone Thermal, where you will enjoy a steam bath and Vichy shower rinse. The treatment concludes with a moisturizer.
There is also the Soft-pack System is a bed that you lie on that gives you the feeling of floating, as you are gently cradled on a soft bed.

SpaClub guests must be at least 18 years old. SpaClub is a nonsmoking facility and alcohol is not served or permitted. Cellular phone use is permitted in the lobby only. Guests of The Venetian have priority access to SpaClub services. SpaClub is open daily from 5:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Before visiting the world-famous spa, why not experiment with Canyon Ranch’s new distance learning program? Examining everything from your sleep schedule to daily fitness, this book’s aim is for you to feel your best in every respect:

The Canyon Ranch Guide to Living Longer by Andrew Weil (he is my favorite, as he combines the West and the Eastern medicine…he takes the best of both worlds and puts them together)

Canyon Ranch SpaClub at the Venetian – resort guests only

When you’re finished with the spa day, you’ll probably work up an appetite so why not stop by the Canyon Ranch Café?

Spa cuisine? Nah, just plain old great cuisine! I was pleasantly surprised?

Eating at the Canyon Ranch Café is a culinary treat, for those who like to eat healthy! I say that, because if you like to eat greasy, fat-laden food, this isn’t the place for you. If, however, you’re looking for tasty and healthy food, go for it!

First of all, when you take a look at the menu, you’ll see that it lists everything on the menu with calorie count, fat and fiber content. It proper meal structure, as they also have breakfast, lunch and entrée courses broken down the same way. Chef James Boyer doesn’t disappoint, as all of the food here is as tasty as it looks. The staff was courteous and friendly and the atmosphere casual, as it is located just outside the doors of the Canyon Ranch SpaClub. Located on the fourth floor of the Venetian Hotel Resort & Casino, it’s out of the way, but worth the trip. It is open from 7 AM – 6 PM daily. And, if you’re lucky, you may even make a star sighting, as many stars visit the Canyon Ranch Spa. The folks at Canyon Ranch were nice enough to include some of the recipes. They follow below;

I started with the Margarita Ceviche, which is served in a large martini glass. First, they take premium halibut and shrimp and marinate it in lime, lemon and orange juice and serve it up with some julienne-cut jicama, with a crisp thin cracker, to help eat the Ceviche. What a great blend of them all! Both tables on each side of me stopped their conversations and asked what it was, because the presentation was great! It tasted as good as it looks!

• Juice lemons, limes and oranges. Deseed and brunoise (dice) jalapeno pepper, add to juice. Add cilantro and onion and mix well. Flame tequila. Add to juice mixture.
• Shock halibut and shrimp in boiling water. Drain water and add fish to juice mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Allow to marinate for 4 hours.
• Combine cucumber, jicama, salt and chili. Place 1/2 cup in bowl. Top with 4 oz. of ceviche.

Next onto the grilled polenta…topped and surrounded by a tomato asparagus salsa. The tomatoes and asparagus gave a little crunch factor to the polenta. The polenta was topped by a bit of melted cheese. Breakfast is served all day since Lisa Wolfrum, the dining room manager states, “People come out of their treatments at 3 or 4 and want breakfast, so we serve it all day”.

Grilled Polenta
145 Calories, 6 Fat Grams, and 1 Fiber Gram
Servings: 12
3/4 cup diced onion
2 tablespoons butter
1 quart low-fat milk
1 cup polenta or corn meal
1 & 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese
1/2 teaspoon olive oil

• Lightly coat an 8 X 8-inch baking pan with olive oil.
• In a large sauce pan, sauté onions in butter until translucent. Add milk and bring to a simmer. Add salt, pepper, sugar and stir well. Sprinkle in polenta and continue to stir until all ingredients are combined. Simmer until thickened, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add cheese and mix until melted. Pour into prepared baking pan and let cool. Cut into 12 servings.
• Lightly coat a large sauté pan with olive oil. Sauté polenta squares until golden brown on each side.

The Southwest salad is a signature dish and is included in a couple of their recipe books, one of which is the Canyon Ranch Cooks, another great book by Rodale. Loaded with tons of great recipes and beautiful photos, its 342 pages are chock full of delicious and innovative recipes from Canyon Ranch. Another great cookbook is Canyon Ranch Cooking.

Canyon Ranch Guide
to Living Longer
by Andrew Weil

Why not experiment with Canyon Ranch’s new distance learning program? Examining everything from your sleep schedule to daily fitness, this book’s aim is for you to feel your best in every respect:

The Canyon Ranch Guide to Living Longer by Andrew Weil (he is my favorite, as he combines the West and the Eastern medicine…he takes the best of both worlds and puts them together)

Dr. Weil also has a great, new program, called Optimum Health Plan, where you will find his "diet" and a vitamin calculator, to help you to understand which vitamins that you personally need:

Join Dr Weil’s My Optimum Health Plan and connect with thousands of others just like you! Share your concerns, tips, recipes, and more!

The salad is served as stacked layers of chopped romaine lettuce and spinach, roasted peppers, red onion and guacamole, with pineapple orange vinaigrette. Lisa states that they change the dressing and contents of some items on the menu, to fit the freshness of their shipments…as only the finest ingredients make it into their dishes. This salad is fresh and light – not too much citrus – just right!

Southwest Salad
125 Calories, 6 Fat Grams, 5 Fiber Grams
Citrus Vinaigrette
3/4 C Orange Juice Concentrate
1/2 C Champaign Vinegar
3T Olive Oil
1 t Salt
1/2 t Black Pepper
1T Mint

• Blend all ingredients until smooth.

Salad Ingredients
1 Cup Spinach
1 Cup Romaine Lettuce
1/2 Cup Roma Tomatoes, julienne
1/4 Cup Red Onion, julienne
1 Yellow Bell Pepper, julienne
1 Avocado, mashed
1/4 Cup Citrus Vinaigrette

• Toss all ingredients together. Top with avocado.

Now, the Mongolian BBQ Salmon, which is really nice, and is one of Lisa’s favorites, and per the Canyon Ranch Cooks book, one of the most requested dishes they have. I thought it might have a sweet taste, but it wasn’t as sweet as I would’ve thought… and had just enough spice to make it BBQ. The veggies served with it were cooked just right…firm and colorful. They tasted like they had been in the marinade, also. Canyon Ranch serves this organic farm-raised Chilean salmon, only after a couple of years of researching it, to make sure that it was the best for their guests.

OK, on to the deserts. Deserts, you say, in spa cuisine? Yes, but they cut down the sugar content in the pecan pie by using shredded apples for the sugary taste. I must admit I’ve never liked any Pecan Pie that I’ve tried before, but this one was yummy! It was evident that it was fresh, as the pecans were crunchy, unlike Pecan Pies I’ve tried before. I think they should call it Pecan Apple Pie though because the apple flavor stood out. I really liked it! They also use about Ѕ the butter in the crust, so it’s not as fattening.

Pecan Pie
150 Calories, 7 Fat Grams, and 1 Fiber Gram
3/4 Cup Sugar
3/4 Cup Corn Syrup
4 Eggs
1 Tbs. Butter
7 oz Pecans (chopped)
1 Tbs. Vanilla
2 Apples (julienned)
2 tsp. Lemon Juice

• Combine sugar and corn syrup. Add eggs and beat until smooth. Melt butter, cool slightly and temper into egg mixture. Add pecans and vanilla and mix well.

Pate Brisse
2 Cup AP Flour
2 tsp. Sugar
1/2 tsp. Salt
2 oz Butter
3/8 Cup Water

• Mix dry ingredients in a food processor. Slowly add butter. Slowly add water. Refrigerate overnight.
• Mix apples with lemon juice. Spread 8 oz of apple into bottom of pie crust. Pour 2 & 1/4 Cup egg mixture over apples. Bake at 350 degree oven for 45 minutes or until set.
• Cool and cut into 16 pieces.

The Crème Brulee was also a bit smaller. 2 oz versus the 4 oz serving in a traditional restaurant. They also cut back by using 2% milk instead of cream, but it surely didn’t take away from the taste! It was just the right amount. I ate the whole thing! ;)

Crème Brulee
145 Calories, 6 Fat Grams, and Trace Fiber Grams
3.5 oz Half and Half
4.5 oz Evaporated skim milk
1 Tbs. Vanilla
2 Tbs. Sugar
2 oz Egg Yolk
2 tsp. Grand Marnier
1 tsp. Orange Peel
1/4 tsp. Orange Extract

• Combine half and half and evaporated milk. Add vanilla and sugar and bring to a simmer. Beat yolk in a separate bowl and temper with hot milk. Add Grand Marnier, orange peel, and extract.
• Pour mixture into custard cups and set into baking pan with hot water bath. Place in 325 degree oven and back for 30 minutes or until custard is set.

I liked the food so much I returned the next morning, before entering the spa. I ordered a strawberry and banana smoothie. I had an option of adding lo-fat yogurt and/or protein powder, so I opted for the yogurt. No added sugar, just fresh sweet-tasting fruit to start with and some ice for a great smoothie. After my morning in the spa, I tried the turkey wrap, which was sliced turkey breast with Mediterranean veggies and some garlic dressing in a whole wheat tortilla. It also was very tasty!

My only complaint is that it isn’t open later in the evening and is hidden away. Lisa assured me that guests really like that it’s tucked away, so it’s quieter and more personal. She did say that they’re thinking about adding another one into the new tower that’s being built. I also spoke with one of the servers who said that they were thinking of doing a stand-alone restaurant. I think those are both great ideas! I don’t think I’m the only one who wants to have some part of a vacation and/or business trip where I can have healthy and tasty options.

Destinations : Nevada : Las Vegas : Venetian Resort & Casino and Canyon Ranch Spa Club