Photo: Courtesy of Eaglewood Resort & Spa

Contemplate the new you by the fire pit on the grounds at the Eaglewood Resort

The Biggest Loser Resort Chicago opened yesterday at the Eaglewood Resort & Spa (1401 Nordic Rd., Itasca, 630-773-1400), a conference-focused hotel located on sprawling grounds in the western suburbs. Modelled after the hit TV show The Biggest Loser, the upscale fitness and weight loss program is the franchise’s fourth in the country (the other three are in Malibu, California, Ivins, Utah, and Niagara, New York). And, apparently, there’s a ready audience for these services: According to data collected by Fitness Ridge Worldwide, LLC (the parent company behind the Biggest Loser Resorts) before the opening of the Chicago location, people from Illinois—mostly from Chicago—made the region the fourth largest source of visitors to Biggest Loser resorts around the country.

Housed within Eaglewood, BLR Chicago uses 40 dedicated guest rooms (of the hotel’s 295) and its participants have access to 106 acres that include walking paths, three lakes, and an 18-hole golf course. There’s a new fitness center, a sky-lit indoor pool, gourmet meals, and consultation with registered dieticians and personal trainers. The quintessential seven-day experience (singles from $2,995) also includes 10 hours in the classroom.

But we wondered, why Itasca? According to Howard Cohl, chief marketing officer of Fitness Ridge, the Eaglewood resort offered the perfect mix of outdoor and indoor fitness spaces, meeting rooms for classroom activities, and a central Midwestern location—about 35 minutes from the city and 20 from O’Hare.
 

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