Consultant and Author, D. K. Christi

Regency Resort Health Spa, Home Away from Home June 28, 2009 3:00 PM

Consultant and Author, D. K. Christi

Suddenly, I knew the weekend required a special place. I had writing to complete for a short story submission and a novel, The Virgin Odyssey that seems to be coming together in bits and pieces. I threw some casual and work out clothes into a pretty big suitcase, gave mybird food and water for two days, and drove East to where the sun rises in the Atlantic instead of setting in the Gulf.

I could feel the calm settling in as I saw the Hallendale exit and knew that my trip through thunderstorms and an endless Everglades was nearing its end point. The Hallendale water tower was a welcome site as memories flooded my senses. I had not been to the Regency in years; I was grateful that it was still there, an unassuming old, Florida hotel/motel squeezed between highrises on the Atlantic side of Ocean Drive.Its red tile roof still says "old Florida." as well asits two story motel row leading to a three-story hotel on the beach. How they have held out against the rise of high rises is beyond me; but my gratitude is immense. A left turn under the second floor work out room into the driveway is like stepping through a mirror.

Once I parked the car, the rest of the world disappeared along with its cares and distractions, its obligations and its memories. This was a place of pure, unadulterated indulgence in health and well-being. It still is. I hauled in my suitcase to register. I was early. The room was ready. My folder for my brief, weekend stay was also ready. I noted that the doctor and the chef were still the same; the doctor a reknowned person in the field of chiropractic and nutritional health through a vegan diet; the cook a master of taste sensations oozing with healthful vitamins and minerals and no animal products: none.

Check in is such a casual affair. It's just a cut above moving in with Aunt Sally for the weekend. They are just too pleasant and accommodating to be a real hotel. A white board in the lobby announced the day's activities and dining times. A menu also displays the weeks dining masterpieces. To me they are masterpieces because they are so delicious yet so good for health. Nothing on their menu is found in the television adds except for the Saturday morning cartoon characters (vegetables) on public television. The room key is real, the old fashioned kind of key that hangs on hooks and may be left at the desk if a swim is in order.

Swimming. The view out the dining window takes the guest across a tiled courtyard, past a small pool and a deck to the Atlantic in all its calm wonder and storming fury. Dining has three choices, the sun porch, the darker dining room and private tables for silent dining in the lobby area. Most diners sit at the communal tables where people of all ages, generations and ethnic backgrounds meet with one common goal: improve their approach to a healthy life.

Personal backgrounds may be left behind or discussed; but the conversations are in the present for the most part, "Did you take the 7:00 a.m. walk? What did you think of the aerobics instructor? Wasn't that water class fun! Are you going to the health lecture?" Wherever people began, they drift into an easy camaraderie at the table where breakfast is a fruit buffet, lunch is a salad buffet and dinner may be as many as four courses, delivered by wait staff who will turn the kitchen upside down to meet a special need. The daily schedule can be grueling if followed to the letter. However, each person picks and chooses their own pace and fills in with massage or special sessions with doctors and spa services. An excellent weight room provides the opportunity for personalized training. And Friday nights, the good doctor and his friends still play rock and roll and blues to the delight of guests who want to dance a little. During my stay, a young woman guest joined in with a deep, throaty Liza Minelli sound that perfected the evening.

The morning Atlantic was the best, floating in the sea with wispy clouds above and cumulus threatening in the distance. I knew I had arrived even though I live near the Gulf and have even warmer water. What made the difference? The staff at the Regency, without exception, including every service from food to exercise, know how to provide gentle and unobtrusive comfort to each guest. The atmosphere is casual and totally non-threatening. No one is a stranger; no one steps over bounds. Each person with the help of staff seems to find their friends, their dining companions, their daily plan, their rest and their choices for better health naturally.

I have been to other health spas. The buildings were pristine, the help in crisp uniforms, the exercise students were in their workout clothes with their headbands and wrist bands perfectly matched, and we dressed almost formal for dinner with assigned dining partners. The guest rooms were up to date, perfect decor, new fixtures in the marble baths. The whole experience was very expensive, very stiff, and it wasn't for me. I lived on a sailboat three years, traveling from Ft. Lauderdale to Venezuela and back along the islands. I lived in undeveloped countries and sophisticated European nations where accommodations variedand might be considered, "quaint" for their differences from expectations and part of the elan of foreign travel. I would put the Regency in that category. It has its "quaint" elements: furniture that's a little dated, evidence of renovations that cover aging sins but not all of them. Some of the rooms are small with their own air conditioning unit. Some look out on an alley instead of the Atlantic. I was fortunate to enjoy an Atlantic view room. It was a little piece of Heaven itself. No, it's not the Ritz; but it has a price that's affordable and value that's immeasureable.

Summer guests tend to be a different group than those I've encountered in the winter months. Summer guests are often working people with a summer vacation when they can take advantage of the reduced summer rates. Winter guests are often escaping the northern cold and with the higher prices bring a more formal atmosphere, more often bringing their friends with them and staying in their little familiar groups. Winter is still special; the Regency staff is still the same; I just prefer the more casual air of summer and the warm Atlantic. Aunt Sally's house was like the Regency. Itwas an older homebut tidy and special because no one could make you feel as welcome as Aunt Sally. That's how I feel about the Regency House Resort and Spa. For me, returning after many years was like going home. A few pieces of furniture changed, but enough remained the same, includingseveralwonder members of the staff,for a perfect weekend to regenerate my promises to myself for healthier living. I made a few new friends, too.

About the writing; well, there's tonight.