Wellness innovator taps top talent in luxury hospitality to helm first overseas immersion resort set on ancient lands of sun-drenched Aegean coast in Turkey
Forth Worth, TX – November 24, 2015 – Canyon Ranch®, the founding voice in holistic wellness for nearly 40 years, has appointed Markus Iseli Managing Director for its inaugural international immersion resort, Canyon Ranch Wellness Resort at Kaplankaya, slated to open July 2016 as the anchor brand of an exclusive waterfront enclave on the south Aegean coast, near the city of Bodrum.
Iseli brings more than 30 years of international luxury hospitality experience to the brand, which chose the site in Turkey for its confluence of stunning landscape, rich history, and thousands of years of healing tradition. In his new role, Iseli will oversee all operations for the strikingly modern property, which will boast 141 sea-view guest rooms; a 107,500 square-foot Spa, Fitness and Wellness center; two gourmet, Mediterranean-inspired restaurants; and the luxury residential complex, Canyon Ranch Living. Iseli will be influential in further establishing Canyon Ranch internationally, and for shaping the guest experience at Kaplankaya to create a sought-after, year-round luxury travel destination.
Throughout his career, Iseli has helped transform the standard of European hospitality, having led numerous high-profile property launches spanning three continents, including Four Seasons Damascus and Mahé. During his time in Turkey, Iseli served as an integral part of the opening team at the InterContinental Hotel in Istanbul, and held the position of Hotel Director at the Four Seasons in Istanbul for four years. He has held previous management roles at The Chedi in Muscat, Oman; Palazzo Parigi Milano in Milan, Italy; and Palace Luzern in Luzern, Switzerland.
"I feel privileged to join the renowned Canyon Ranch brand in its global mission of advancing the concept of transformative wellness," says Iseli. "My innate creative nature fuels my love for curating guest experiences that are not only excellent, but extraordinary, and there is no place more inspiring to accomplish this than Kaplankaya."
Iseli is a native of Switzerland and studied at the Swiss Hotel Management Academy Lucerne. Iseli is happily married to his wife, Christine, with whom he has a daughter, Tiffany.
