Fort Worth-based Canyon Ranch receives $500M backing from company behind Caesars Palace

Canyon Ranch, the resort and retreat company based in Fort Worth and owned by business leader John Goff, is looking to become a global brand after receiving $500 million in investment from the entertainment company behind Caesars Palace.

The company, which has four destination spa and wellness centers including in Las Vegas and Tuscon, Arizona, plans to open a fifth in Fort Worth this fall. It will be part of The Crescent Hotel along West Seventh Street and Camp Bowie in the Cultural District.

New York-based VICI Properties first invested $200 million for Goff and his team to build a Canyon Ranch in Austin, expected to open in 2025. Now, VICI has provided $150 million in capital for the company to grow, and another $150 million to help finance Canyon Ranch’s existing properties in Tucson and Lenox, Massachusetts. A resort in Long Island, New York, is also in the works.

“I’m very excited about what we can do with this company, this brand and this team,” Goff told the Star-Telegram. “It was very important for us to find the right capital partner. We definitely found them, and we didn’t have to give up any ownership. They’re supplying the capital for our growth, but we’re still going to own the company.”

And more funds could be on the way. Goff, who also owns Crescent Real Estate LLC, told the Star-Telegram that VICI intends to invest more than $2 billion over the next five to seven years to help the company keep growing — first nationally, and potentially next globally.

“The intent is to add additional resorts,” Goff said. “The focus will be North America, but ultimately this is a brand that can be overseas in other countries. There is a huge appetite for wellness since this brand began over 40 years ago.”

Canyon Ranch is more than what one may think of when hearing the word “spa.” The centers have several doctors, nutritionists, exercise physiologists and PhDs on staff. The former U.S. surgeon general, Dr. Richard Carmona, is part of the team.

Canyon Ranch CEO Jeff Kuster said the spa is not just a place to get a smoothie and a massage.

“All of the treatment is outcome based and scientifically backed,” Kuster said.

Holistic health services include behavioral therapy, wellness coaching, spiritual guidance, body and facial treatments, hiking and biking excursions, group fitness classes, alternative medicine treatment, nutrition consultation and more.

Goff said guests typically stay anywhere from a few days to more than a week, but the Fort Worth location will be a first of its kind.

“The biggest thing we get from our guests is they have this wonderful experience at Canyon Ranch resorts, and then they go home and they go back to all their bad habits,” Goff said. “They say we need a way for the brand to stay relevant in our lives.”

In response, the company plans to create Canyon Ranch Wellness Clubs in most major U.S. markets, and Fort Worth will be the first. Wellness Clubs will be a way for members to visit the facility a few days per week near their home, rather than traveling for a week-long vacation.

The 25,000-square-foot Fort Worth wellness facility will feature a luxury spa with 10 treatment rooms, a beauty salon, a fitness center with group exercise rooms, jacuzzis and saunas, lounges, event space and more than 50 fitness, health, spa and salon services.

The Fort Worth Wellness Club will open one month after The Crescent Hotel’s September opening. A Houston Wellness Club is also under construction and will open in 2024. Goff expects to eventually open Wellness Clubs in Dallas and Austin.

The company is also expanding digitally and expects to stay connected with their guests through the Canyon Ranch phone app. The product will be developed further over the next few years, Goff said.

The company has 2,000 employees across the country, and the Fort Worth location is looking to hire at least 50 to 100 more. While the company will do some national recruiting, most hiring will be local to North Texas. Canyon Ranch is also in the process of growing its corporate leadership team nationally.

Goff first began investing in Canyon Ranch in 1997 and gained full ownership of the company in 2017.

“I truly believe that the Canyon Ranch opportunity is every bit if not bigger than Crescent was,” Goff said.

As momentum for Canyon Ranch grows, plans are on track for Crescent Hotel coming to Fort Worth next month.

The five-story hotel has 200 rooms, 12 of which are luxury suites. It also features more than 14,000-square-feet of event space across 10 indoor and outdoor venues, and a courtyard at the center of the hotel.

“There’s a lot of work that goes into opening a property like that, particularly here in our backyard,” Goff said. “We really want to get it right, because this is our home court.”

Goff’s investment fund Crescent Real Estate also owns the Ritz-Carlton Hotel and Crescent Court Hotel in downtown Dallas. The Fort Worth hotel will be similar to the Dallas hotel in management style and customer experience, but the architecture and design elements will differ.

“We want it to feel Fort Worth, but not necessarily reflect Western heritage,” Goff said. “This is a hotel that is meant to accommodate guests that are coming in from all over the world into these incredible museums. We really wanted to bring a new element of design and function to Fort Worth, and not be just another product that necessarily speaks of the heritage, but we definitely want to pay great respect to the architecture and incredible venues of the Cultural District.”

Last-minute details include putting trees in the courtyard, seeing the landscape put into place and curating a menu for the restaurant, Goff said.

The luxury property features several dining options, including upscale Mediterranean restaurant Emelia’s, fine dining option Blue Room at Emelia’s and lobby bar The Circle Bar. Preston Paine of Food Network’s “Ciao House” is the executive chef of Emelia’s.

Reservations for stays starting in September are available for booking on the hotel’s website. One night stays for September range from around $380 to $540 per night. Access to Canyon Ranch is included with hotel stays.

Dynamic pricing is expected to fluctuate based on the time of year. Event weekends in the Cultural District and TCU football game weekends would likely mean higher rates.

This is the first phase in The Crescent’s mixed-use development. The property will eventually include 170,000 square feet of office space and nearly 170 luxury apartments along West Seventh Street that can all access food service from the hotel.

“We’re very excited about the inflow of inquiries and bookings that we’re already getting,” Goff said.

Several companies within Fort Worth are slated to relocate to the office property and some will relocate from other cities, Goff said. A list of companies that will occupy the building has not yet been released, but more announcements are expected to come in September.