Behind the Golden Door: Luxury spa has new look, but same dedication to guests

By: PATRICK WRIGHT - Staff Writer | Saturday, June 3, 2006 6:58 PM PDT ∞

ESCONDIDO ---- Tucked into an Escondido valley is a gateway to another world. The portal to this luxury location doesn't stick out. Even with great directions, it is easy to drive right by it. The one thing that catches the eye is what makes this place so unique: its big, golden door.

But one thing is certain. Those who enter don't ever come out the same.

"It was life-altering," said Lisa Ekus-Saffer, a customer who celebrated her 10th trip to Escondido's Golden Door health and fitness retreat in early May. "It allowed me to find my sense of self and sense of balance. It gave me the beginning of who I am."

Many people talk of getting away for the summer, and few people get away farther than the clients of Golden Door. Founded in 1958, Golden Door offers a wide range of physical and health benefits to clients nationwide and 31 countries around the world. For $7,500, customers get a week of activities meant to help them understand and improve their physical and mental health.

The 377-acre site offers everything from aerobics and Zen archery (a technique that develops focus and concentration through shooting arrows) to breathing techniques and meditation. The resort has a 40-guest capacity, and those guests have 160 employees dedicated to serving their every need, including a personal fitness guide. It could be the reason the resort boasts that 65 percent of guests return for at least one other visit, and that this year, one customer reached his 100th visit since 1975.

The whole program is designed to fit the Golden Door's philosophy of self-interest.

"We encourage the guests to leave the outside world outside," said Sue Annetts, Golden Door public relations specialist. "We want them to think about nothing but themselves."

Family beginnings

It is a philosophy that has become more popular than the founder ever thought possible or wanted. Deborah Szekely (pronounced say-kay), 84, created the Golden Door in 1958 as a women-only version of her popular Rancho La Puerta fitness resort in Tecate, Mexico. Szekely and her husband, Edmond, created Rancho La Puerta in 1940. The Szekely family ran the Golden Door until 1998. Deborah's son, Alex, was diagnosed with melanoma in 1997 and had one wish before he died.

"He asked me if we could sell the Golden Door and use some of the money to fund his dreams and life goals," said Szekely, who now lives in San Diego. Alex Szekely, 44, died in 2002 of melanoma.

So they did. The Szekelys sold it to a company called Patriot American in Dallas, which later became Wyndham International, for $28 million. One week later, Alex regretted the decision, and the family has been trying to buy back the Golden Door ever since.

In August, the Blackstone Group, a New York City-based investment firm that also owns Legoland California in Carlsbad, bought Wyndham for $3.24 billion, according to a Blackstone official. Today, the name Golden Door has been connected to other spa resorts around the country and Puerto Rico, including The Boulders Resort and Golden Door Spa in Carefree, Ariz. But those are only spa resorts, which don't offer the classes or services of Escondido's Golden Door.

While the ownership may change, the business of caring for people remains the same at Golden Door. The entire estate is designed to resemble Japanese-style Honjin lodgings. Honjin was a town's principal inn catering to dignitaries or rich merchants. During a 25-day trip to Japan before opening Golden Door, Szekely and an architect visited 21 inns to get the building design exactly right. Every detail in the Golden Door has been meticulously designed for an authentic Japanese feel, from the koi fish in the pond to the Japanese antiques throughout the buildings and gardens. The most recent appraisal valued the resort's antiques at $1 million.

Remodeled, but still focused

Recently, the resort restyled all the bedrooms to blend in better with the Japanese decor. Each bedroom has new curtains, carpets and bedspreads and bamboo floors and countertops. Bamboo is a more environmentally friendly resource because it matures in three to five years, compared with 10 to 50 years for other trees.

Once guests enter, the whole experience is meant to remove their previous identities and connect them to their real selves. Even their clothes must be removed and replaced with resort-issued garments for the entire week.

"It serves to take them out of their outside element and put them on a level playing field," said Annetts, the public relations specialist.

Guests are then given their week's agenda. Every program is personalized to a guest's personal life goals and motivations. A guest who wants to lose weight gets a different set of classes and exercises than one looking for spiritual awakening. Not only do guests get a tailored experience for this week, but they get a different experience every time they return.

But don't confuse pampered with easy. A typical day starts before 7 a.m. ---- and sometimes before 6 a.m. ---- with a brisk hike. After that, guests have breakfast and start a series of classes and exercises, breaking now and then for a fruit plate or meal. Although each program is varied, guests get a massage every day and two herbal wraps per week.

Also, it might take a day to get used to the completely health-conscious atmosphere. There is no smoking, unhealthy snacks or alcohol served during the week, with the exception of a farewell glass of wine on Saturday. There is no red meat served, and poultry meals could include ostrich.

When the focus isn't on self, it's on community. Golden Door all but eliminates TV viewing and Internet access. Newspaper access is kept to a minimum. Even regular cell phones don't get reception on the property. Instead, guests meet and befriend other guests and employees, or staff, as Szekely prefers them to be called.

'Content and happy'

"Staff is a support word; it is something that supports you," she said. Staff members are carefully screened to find "people who are content and happy."

Lynne Landi has worked for the Golden Door and Rancho La Puerta for 24 years and said that working with Szekely's selected staff has its benefits.

"It's nice working around people that are happy and content," said Landi, one of Golden Door's fitness specialists. "It kind of rubs off on you, too."

But the experience doesn't end when guests leave the following Sunday. Golden Door makes sure they leave with a packet of information on how to continue the process started at its resort. People looking to lose weight get detailed paperwork on how to eat healthy, exercise properly and take a disciplined approach to both. People looking for more metaphysical results get charts on when to meditate, if they want, and keep their own notes on what they learned during the week.

Annetts said some guests have a better second visit than their first one, simply because they know what to expect and are prepared for it.

That is what happened to Ekus-Saffer. The 48-year-old public relations agent for cooks and cookbooks made her first trip to the Golden Door in 1996. She said she was divorced that year, 80 pounds heavier than she wanted to be, and had "no idea who I was." The fact that her career meant daily exposure to chefs, cookbooks and high-quality cooking didn't help her ability to lose weight. Her high school friend Lizanne recommended Golden Door as a way for Ekus-Saffer to do something for herself outside of her responsibilities to children and career.

Golden Door changed her whole outlook on life.

"They taught me what I can do, and gave me positive reinforcement," she said. "I thought I couldn't dance, and never had the confidence to try."

The enjoyment of dancing is just one of many things she said she received at Golden Door. She learned different physical and mental health techniques with each visit, and has lost 70 of the 80 pounds she carried 10 years ago. Since her first visit, she got remarried, and tries to plan her visits to coincide with friends she met during her first visit. She credits Golden Door with her weight loss and better outlook on life.

"I would have never given myself the gift of a week alone," she said. "It was the best investment I ever made in myself."

Contact staff writer Patrick Wright at (760) 739-6675 or pwright@nctimes.com.