Canyon Ranch Lenox — Hotel in Lenox

I booked a weekend at this hotel to celebrate my birthday with some R&R and was shocked by how different the experience was compared to my expectations, especially considering the $2,000 per night rate. I’m happy to spend money on great experiences, but this wasn’t it.

Rooms: Pictures attached to show how outdated and unpleasant the rooms are. When I asked if there were any other available rooms, I was told they all looked the same. The staff mentioned that the hotel’s focus wasn’t on room comfort but rather on the outdoor experience. An interesting way to justify poor room quality.

Entertainment: None. During my stay in September, there was no evening entertainment, so after dinner, your only option is to return to your (uninspiring) room. We asked if we could use one of the fire pits but were told it wasn’t possible. The nights felt depressing, and I almost left after the first night. The saving grace was meeting some nice people and finding peace in the property's surroundings and the nearby town of Lenox.

Activities: I didn’t visit CR to work out, so I can’t comment on the classes. I did go on one hike, which I had been excited for, but it fell short of expectations. The supposed strenuous "level 4" hike was neither challenging nor long enough, coming in an hour shorter than advertised. Most of the activities I was interested in required an additional fee, so I signed up for a few. However, the costs felt unjustified. i.e., I paid $150 for paddleboarding, which involved a short 5-min drive. While serene, it was essentially just me with the two women leading the adventure - who mentioned that they would have come whether or not anyone had signed up, which made me question the pricing logic. Similarly, the on-site ropes course, while challenging, wasn’t worth the $200 price tag.

Spa: Perhaps the biggest disappointment despite being the main draw for CR. The facilities were underwhelming. The men’s spa area was under construction, so the spa was co-ed for several hours, which wasn’t ideal. I had a massage booked for Friday evening, and while the massage therapist was kind, he was very clearly, very new. He even pointed out his own missteps during the session. I asked how long he had been doing massage, and he said three months. Three months! I couldn’t believe I was paying luxury spa prices for someone with only three months of experience. The entire 80 minutes was frustrating, and I felt duped. When I mentioned this to the hotel staff while canceling my other spa services, they did refund me, which I appreciated. But that’s 80 minutes I’ll never get back. On the positive side, I had two metaphysical sessions that were nice and informative.

Food: Okay. I liked that you could get half portions of as many dishes as you wanted, but I learned this from other guests, not from the hotel staff. Lunch was better than dinner, mostly because the lighting at night was terrible—bright fluorescent lights with no ambient or uplighting. They have a lovely outdoor terrace, and it’s a mystery why they don’t use it for dining - a missed opportunity. I'd say favorite part of the food experience was the coffee from the café.

Staff: Mixed. The front desk staff were indifferent and lacked enthusiasm, while the spa front desk women were sweet and funny. The activity leaders were knowledgeable and seemed to genuinely enjoy their jobs. However, one man working valet made me uncomfortable with overly personal questions and too many compliments. As a solo female traveler, this crossed a line. I was so uneasy that I reported my concern to the front desk just to have it on record, in case anything happened.

Property: The grounds were beautiful and well-maintained. I genuinely enjoyed walking around and taking in the scenery.

In conclusion, nearly everyone I met at the property expressed disappointment, and we were all confused by the lack of honest reviews reflecting the reality of the hotel. I loved Lenox and will definitely return to the area, but I won’t be staying at Canyon Ranch again, nor would I recommend it to...

I booked a weekend at this hotel to celebrate my birthday with some R&R and was shocked by how different the experience was compared to my expectations, especially considering the $2,000 per night rate. I’m happy to spend money on great experiences, but this wasn’t it.||Rooms: Pictures attached to show how outdated and unpleasant the rooms are. When I asked if there were any other available rooms, I was told they all looked the same. The staff mentioned that the hotel’s focus wasn’t on room comfort but rather on the outdoor experience. An interesting way to justify poor room quality.||Entertainment: None. During my stay in September, there was no evening entertainment, so after dinner, your only option is to return to your (uninspiring) room. We asked if we could use one of the fire pits but were told it wasn’t possible. The nights felt depressing, and I almost left after the first night. The saving grace was meeting some nice people and finding peace in the property's surroundings and the nearby town of Lenox.||Activities: I didn’t visit CR to work out, so I can’t comment on the classes. I did go on one hike, which I had been excited for, but it fell short of expectations. The supposed strenuous "level 4" hike was neither challenging nor long enough, coming in an hour shorter than advertised.|Most of the activities I was interested in required an additional fee, so I signed up for a few. However, the costs felt unjustified. i.e., I paid $150 for paddleboarding, which involved a short 5-min drive. While serene, it was essentially just me with the two women leading the adventure - who mentioned that they would have come whether or not anyone had signed up, which made me question the pricing logic. Similarly, the on-site ropes course, while challenging, wasn’t worth the $200 price tag.||Spa: Perhaps the biggest disappointment despite being the main draw for CR. The facilities were underwhelming. The men’s spa area was under construction, so the spa was co-ed for several hours, which wasn’t ideal. I had a massage booked for Friday evening, and while the massage therapist was kind, he was very clearly, very new. He even pointed out his own missteps during the session. I asked how long he had been doing massage, and he said three months. Three months! I couldn’t believe I was paying luxury spa prices for someone with only three months of experience. The entire 80 minutes was frustrating, and I felt duped. When I mentioned this to the hotel staff while canceling my other spa services, they did refund me, which I appreciated. But that’s 80 minutes I’ll never get back.|On the positive side, I had two metaphysical sessions that were nice and informative.||Food: Okay. I liked that you could get half portions of as many dishes as you wanted, but I learned this from other guests, not from the hotel staff. Lunch was better than dinner, mostly because the lighting at night was terrible—bright fluorescent lights with no ambient or uplighting. They have a lovely outdoor terrace, and it’s a mystery why they don’t use it for dining - a missed opportunity. I'd say favorite part of the food experience was the coffee from the café.||Staff: Mixed. The front desk staff were indifferent and lacked enthusiasm, while the spa front desk women were sweet and funny. The activity leaders were knowledgeable and seemed to genuinely enjoy their jobs. However, one man working valet made me uncomfortable with overly personal questions and too many compliments. As a solo female traveler, this crossed a line. I was so uneasy that I reported my concern to the front desk just to have it on record, in case anything happened.||Property: The grounds were beautiful and well-maintained. I genuinely enjoyed walking around and taking in the scenery.||In conclusion, nearly everyone I met at the property expressed disappointment, and we were all confused by the lack of honest reviews reflecting the reality of the hotel. I loved Lenox and will definitely return to the area, but I won’t be staying at Canyon Ranch again, nor would I recommend it to...

Canyon Ranch has the best spa program in the country! No place else will you find so many facilities for every sport you can imagine. I would rate the athletic facilities 6 stars out of 5 especially given the indoor tennis & pickle-ball courts, spin studio, as well as on premise snowshoeing and cross country skiing if weather allows. Although the pool needs a paint job and the common areas need new carpet and cushions, the sheer amount of choice here allows for a no boredom stay. Instructors are friendly and classes are fun, if a bit dated (no hot yoga but step class is still offered as example).

Spa treatments I rate a 5 of 5 with all my therapists experienced and most having worked here over 20 years! I particularly loved my Thai Massage. The brand new ladies locker room is gorgeous. My main complaint here is that many classes are offered during the same morning time window, and then treatment time spots are not available in the late afternoon 4-5pm as I would prefer, with many days being forced to take treatments 2 or 3pm, leaving too much unused time thereafter. I felt robbed of half the day I was paying for. The hotel manager blamed this on Covid and snow scheduling issues, and did agree to give me a couple of day passes as our in-laws live nearby, but then did not reply to my emails requesting them as she advised me to do (yes yes but then ignore, only lead to anger).

After reading many reviews before my visit, I was pleasantly surprised how nice the room was. Sure the bathroom is outdated, and furniture could use a refinish, but I only slept here and never actually bathed in my room, always used the spa facilities after treatment. The rest of the room had beed updated with new carpet, upholstery etc.

Dining was the main disappointment. Before our visit we were told the earliest dinner spots for all of our nights was 7:15pm which seamed ok at the time. Although you are no longer forced to count calories, and they do offer splenda and salt if you ask, I found the menu too restrictive for me. The menu is outdated and feels like you are at a “fat farm” despite the fact that half the people here do not need to lose weight. In the age of all inclusiveness I find it odd that Canyon Ranch is still very much focused on dropping weight rather then body acceptance and healthy eating at any size. I was literally starving the entire week, and told to order double protein or two entrees! I did do that but still found the food mostly tasteless and inedible. Moreover, with my treatment times earlier then I wanted (some moved earlier due to weather); some days I waited from 4pm starved until 7:15pm and they refused to seat us earlier (they agreed one day to a 6:30 seating, only after my hangry melt down, sorry but you caused this).Also there is NO room service, so that explains the 4 star rating on most official apps.

Why serve dessert at lunch and dinner, but then no healthy but caloric sauces or ingredients like avocado anywhere on menu? This is not healthy and sustainable way to eat! Lunch was the same exact 5 choices and same exact salad bar every day; everyone was angry and talking about this during our stay. Inexplicably, in season healthy vegetables like asparagus, Brussel sprouts and artichokes were nowhere on the menu. Correction; one day there was artichoke entree that tasted like cardboard and was literally 3 bites. The same pasta with peas was served at the salad bar everyday. Yawn. No Asian or Italian influence anywhere on menu. So glad I did not take my husband or daughter here, as we would have to leave the premises for meals; I would have done this but we were snowed in.

We did still enjoy our stay here, and the staff was able to deal with a full day without power, swapping treatments they could still do from ones that they could not do, and a generator for the spa allowed for most classes to still take place. However by late in the day, with the power still off in our rooms, and snowed in, we still were all worried we might freeze that night. Luckily power...