Gary & Jannah Return To (The All-New) Saddlebrook Resort!

Checking Out The Changes Since Mast Capital’s $92-Million Investment To Return The Resort To Its Former Glory 

Gary & Jannah Nager started off a short staycation at the all-new Saddlebrook Resort with a glass of champagne in their recently redecorated two-room suite overlooking one of the completely revamped Saddlebrook golf courses. (Photos by Charmaine George & GN)
Pyramid Global corporate chef James Messinger (left) and Saddlebrook GM Jeff Mayers at GOAT. 

The last time Jannah and I stayed at Saddlebrook Resort was the night we got engaged back in 2015. Our room was big, but dated and musty. The restaurants we both loved — especially Dempsey’s Steak House — were either gone or no longer worth the money. We didn’t tell anyone at the resort, but we did tell each other that this would probably be the last time we would visit Saddlebrook unless we had a very good reason to do so. 

A little more than a decade later, the resort’s new ownership group — Mast Capital — has largely completed its $92-million revamping of Saddlebrook, and has finally given us that very good reason to return. 

The delicious grilled grouper at GOAT Kitchen & Bar. 

Although Jannah and I had already visited (and I reported about it in these pages more than once) the new RARE 1981 steak house multiple times, there was so much other new “stuff” to do that we decided to take a short “staycation” in one of Saddlebrook’s recently revamped rooms to check out the upgrades to the legendary Superpool and Palmhaus pool bar & restaurant, and watch a Tampa Bay Lightning game at the new GOAT (aka “Greatest Of All Time”) Kitchen & Bar, which definitely has an upscale sports bar feel but with better food than any of the chain restaurants in Wesley Chapel. 

Lorena the bartender making specialty drinks at the Palmhaus pool bar. 

The only things we didn’t get to enjoy were the resort’s now-27 holes of true championship golf — since neither of us still plays at all; I was terrible when I did play — or the new eight beautiful, new pickleball courts or the European-style Esthetics813 “The Spa at Saddlebrook.” 

The good news is that everything we did do was so impressive that we surely will be back! 

In the meantime, you can check out everything we enjoyed during our return trip and all of the tasting and indulging we shared. 

The bottom line is that the new Saddlebrook Resort is now well worth your time and money. If you haven’t been there recently, you honestly haven’t been there at all! 


All of the carpeting & furnishings in every guest room at Saddlebrook have been updated. 

The Superpool now has a large number of cabanas & umbrellas. 
Gary & Jannah Return To Saddlebrook — & Love Everything About It! 

After experiencing the RARE 1981 steak house media preview and the separate Saddlebrook Media Day, both back in Nov. 2025 (both of which I reported about extensively in our Dec. 23 issue, so you won’t see RARE photos in this feature), and the much more recent media preview of the new GOAT Kitchen & Bar, Jannah and I decided to reserve one of the resort’s fully redesigned hotel suites because we wanted to experience as much of the all-new Saddlebrook as possible for this story about everything new. 

GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) Kitchen & Bar! 

(Top to bottom & l.-r.) The GOAT Kitchen & Bar is all-new and features great elevated sports bar fare like fish & chips, double smash burger, Hall of Fame short rib nachos and a decadent bananas Foster cheesecake.

I then interviewed Saddlebrook general manager Jeff Mayers to make sure I wasn’t missing anything that the resort’s new owner Mast Capital had redone as part of its $92 million makeover. Bottom line? Although you can’t really do all there is to do at Saddlebrook in one day or even an entire weekend, you can get a pretty good taste of what was once a worn out “old lady “of a resort returned to her “Grand Dame” former glory. 

Fully Renovated Hotel Rooms! 

On these pages, I hope you’ll get enough of a feel for all there is for couples and families to savor at the all-new Saddlebrook to want to stay there yourselves, or at least have a great meal. Want more good news? If you do visit just to dine at RARE 1981, GOAT or the also-new Palmhaus pool bar, ask your server to validate your valet parking ticket (there is no more self-parking at the resort) and Mayers says your $30 valet charge will be waived! 

“We have had much higher engagement and better response from both our members and the local community regarding all of the improvements,” Mayers says. “RARE 1981, in particular, has seen tremendous turnout for member events and from local residents, although GOAT and Palmhaus also have gotten great reviews.” He also told me that the number of memberships has increased significantly since the improvements have been open. 

On a recent Friday afternoon, Jannah and I checked in to our completely overhauled two-bedroom, two-bath suite (one of 451 rooms at the resort) — which is bigger than some of my previous apartments. It not only had all-new carpeting and furnishings, but also new fixtures in the bathrooms, and the kitchen was full-sized, with a new freezer and ice maker, plus a full oven and four-burner cooktop, as well as a full coffeemaker (although there is also the BREW lobby cafĂ© for artisanal coffee drinks and on-the-go bites). Unlike when we last stayed at the resort, everything smelled as clean and fresh as it looked. The bed was super-comfy and there were also bedside connections for electronic devices. 

27 Holes Of Championship Golf! 

Our patio looked out onto the 9th hole of the newly revamped 9-hole Oak golf course, one of three 9-hole Rees Jones-designed layouts (left photo) that have replaced the two 18-hole Arnold Palmer-designed original courses. The former driving range, located just inside Saddlebrook’s front gate, is gone and has been replaced by a much better driving range and putting green using some of the former golf course space. 

I was told by a guy at the golf and racquet sports pro shop that both the Oak and Pine courses are completely redone and together are now about a 7,000-yard, par-72 track. The Cypress, the third nine-hole course, is still having its renovations finalized. And yes, you can still play golf (as well as tennis and pickleball) at Saddlebrook without having a membership (see info below), whether you stay over at the resort or not. 

27 Holes Of Championship Golf! 

You also don’t have to be a member to play on Saddlebrook’s fabled 41 tennis courts that include every championship surface (even Wimbledon-style grass) or its eight gorgeous, new pickleball courts. You might, however, get to see some current and future tennis or golf pros training at the Saddlebrook Golf Academy, Happy Hopman Tennis Academy and Saddlebrook Preparatory School, all of which train at the resort, which also is the home of both the Professional Tennis and Professional Pickleball Registries. There’s also an amazing fitness center that resort guests can use as part of their $28 per night (per room, not per person) resort fee. And of course, there’s also the renowned Saddlebrook Superpool, now made even better by the addition of the Palmhaus Pool Bar, which also features live entertainment on the weekends. Don’t want to deal with kids running around? The resort also has an adults-only pool. 


Palmhaus Pool Bar! 

(Top-bottom & l.-r.) The Palmhaus Pool Bar also features delicious food, like the ahi tuna poké bowl, a poolside burger, grilled mahi-mahi tacos and a variety of frozen drinks. 

“The Superpool now offers DJ music on the weekends,” Mayers says, “and there are sound system enhancements being added out there.” 

He adds that there already are new sound systems installed inside GOAT and RARE that have outdoor patio broadcast capabilities, “even for sporting events.” 

You also don’t have to be a member or even a resort guest to indulge yourself at the Spa at Saddlebrook, also known as Esthetics813, operated by Kyymara Rose Wickiser, an Aveda Spa alum and long-time aesthetician in the Wesley Chapel area. 

Kyymara says, “Esthetics813 is a premier holistic wellness and spa program. We are proud to be among only two resorts in Florida offering a fully curated, comprehensive wellness program that goes far beyond traditional spa services.” She adds that the Spa’s philosophy is “Bare-Faced Naked, which has nothing to do with the absence of makeup. It is the courageous, beautiful act of being fully comfortable and confident in who you are.” 

Spa services include customized facials, therapeutic massages, body treatments, manicures and pedicures, yoga, stretch and aqua classes, guided meditation and more. 

Memberships & Club 

Saddlebrook offers a variety of memberships, from social to racquet sports to golf, and each membership type comes with its own set of privileges. 

Mayers says that although there have been ongoing discussions about converting or replacing the building that formerly housed Dempsey’s Steak House as a private club for Saddlebrook members, “nothing has been finalized yet. But, we will provide updates as those plans solidify.” 

In other words, if you last visited Saddlebrook before all of these improvements came online, you owe it to yourself to visit again. Don’t expect anything to be “cheap,” but I believe it is now well worth the money you’ll spend. 

For reservations and more info about Saddlebrook Resort (5700 Saddlebrook Way), call (813) 973-1111 or visit Saddlebrook.com. To book services at Esthetics813, visit Esthetics813TheSpaatSaddlebrook.com or call (813) 474-4486. Or, see the ad below. — GN 

Esthetics813 — The Spa At Saddlebrook — Is One-Of-A-Kind In Wesley Chapel! 

The friendly, professional staff at Esthetics813-The Spa at Saddlebrook Resort includes (l.-r) Gabi Diaz (guest relations), esthetician & brow artist Lorena Muñoz, esthetician Cassidy Sirmans, spa director & esthetician Kyymara Rosey Scott, esthetician Makya Kendrick & senior spa coordinator Valeria Medina. (Photo by Charmaine George)

There are only a handful of true resort spas in the Tampa Bay area, icons such as Safety Harbor Resort & Spa and Innisbrook. Guests staying at these spas are in for much more than a quick massage or facial at a strip mall. Instead, they experience a true resort where they can relax by the pool, eat lunch on the terrazzo and get away for complete rejuvenation. 

Now, Wesley Chapel’s only resort spa is open once again at Saddlebrook Resort, thanks to Kyymara Rosey Scott, owner of Esthetics813. 

After the Saddlebrook spa closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it sat motionless for almost four years. That was until September of last year, when Kyymara reopened the 7,000-sq.-ft.. space, now known as Esthetics813-The Spa at Saddlebrook, located at 5700 Saddlebrook Way, a short drive from S.R. 54 near Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. through the Saddlebrook neighborhood. 

Local residents and resort guests alike can experience a variety of luxurious spa services, including massages, facials, skin treatments, waxing, microdermabrasion, brow sculpting, spray tans and more in one of the spa’s 14 treatment rooms. 

Indulge yourself with a luxurious spa facial! 

“We’ve been able to make the spa super cozy and intimate,” says Kyymara. “Every person who works here knows the clients come first. We stay on top of our game as far as how we make people feel, helping them improve themselves esthetically, and how they feel inside.” 

She says that in addition to spa treatments, she also offers workshops and events to help people truly experience wellness. “It’s not just applying lipstick,” she says. “It’s everything, feeling whole on the inside and the outside.” 

Kyymara explains the spa’s slogan, “Look Great Bare-Faced Naked.” 

“When you’re not wearing makeup, you don’t have to put up walls and barriers and filters,” she says. “Who you are is enough to make you great.” 

Often, she says, guests look in the mirror after a treatment and say, “What did you do? I look so beautiful!” 

But Kyymara insists all she does at the spa is reveal someone’s natural beauty. “This is you,” she says. “That glow is your happiness.” 

The Move To A New Location 

Kyymara opening her original location of Esthetics813 in the Windfair Professional Center in Wesley Chapel in 2013. As her business grew, she needed a larger space and, in 2019, Esthetics813 moved to a storefront on BBD at County Line Rd. 

Just a few months later, she had to close the doors and wait out the pandemic. 

Although she was able to reopen Esthetics813, Saddlebrook struggled to do the same. Kyymara had had her eye on the resort and knew that if anyone could make the most of the spa’s potential, it was her. 

Walking into that long-dormant space was emotional for Kyymara. 

Relax with a glass of champagne at the spa’s outdoor area. 

“It was like going into a museum,” she explained. “Everything was the way it was when they told them to close. There were rooms with bowls set up for facials and manicure materials that had sat there for four years.” 

She was thrilled when she was able to come to an agreement with Saddlebrook to reopen Esthetics813 at the resort, which finally happened in September of last year, after months of updating and refreshing the space. 

Although Kyymara was originally hoping to keep the location on BBD open, she ended up closing it, acknowledging it was too hard for her personally to run both locations. 

She says the Saddlebrook location offers much more for her guests anyway. 

“In terms of space and privacy, it’s totally different,” Kyymara says. “We have different types of saunas and a wet room where we can do true body scrubs and wraps. I can give my guests everything they need in terms of wellness — massages, body scrubs, facials and more — whether they come in for an hour or the whole day. It’s so versatile.” 

The staff includes senior spa coordinator, Valeria Medina, and spa manager, Arely Rosas, plus four massage therapists, four estheticians — including one who specializes in both makeup and permanent brow makeup, a manicurist and a cosmetologist. 

While Kyymara’s husband, Kurt Wickiser, isn’t technically on staff, she says he is hugely supportive of the business, including serving as the de facto maintenance man, fixing anything that breaks or needs attention. 

Kyymara says that most of her clients from the previous location have moved with her to Saddlebrook. Although it’s a little harder to get to, they love it once they try it. 

Among the 14 treatment rooms at Esthetics813-The Spa at Saddlebrook are the infrared sauna (above) and the licensed massage room (Below)

“It’s a gorgeous drive,” she says. “You get through that gate and it’s a beautiful two and a half minutes until you get to the spa and hand over your keys.” 

The spa is valet only, with Esthetics813 paying for the valet service with any spa service of one hour or more. 

Once you enter the spa, your treatment begins with 30 minutes in the sauna to just relax. 

“Slow down, put on a robe, and sink in to the sauna,” she says, “then come in and get your service.” 

While this level of luxury may seem out-of-reach for some, clients say the prices are extremely reasonable. Kyymara offers discounts and contests for free services on social media, and also offers a program to give bonuses to guests who refer friends. 

Melissa D. is a client who started at Esthetics813 in 2015 and moved with Kyymara twice. 

“When I leave, I feel absolutely gorgeous,” Melissa says. “You feel like you’re in the lap of luxury for a reasonable price.” 

She says the drive is farther than the previous location, but it’s quicker than you think. 

“And then, when you get there, it’s just a beautiful place,” Melissa says. “You’re by the golf course, you can go swimming in the pool, you don’t have to worry about parking. You just go down the steps and it feels like a grand experience.” 

She says her facials are always customized just for her, with remarkable results. 

“When you feel good,” Melissa says, “it really does affect all of the areas of your life.” 

Nathan Erickson got his first facial when a girlfriend gave him a gift certificate as a gift. 

“Now I go every month,” he says. “It’s always a great experience. Kyymara is so easy to get along with, and the results are amazing!” 

In fact, he says, sometimes he doesn’t even book a specific facial. He comes in and lets Kyymara suggest the best treatment for his skin. 

“It was already awesome,” he says, “and the new location is even better.” 

Esthetics 813-The Spa at Saddlebrook Resort is open Mon., Wed., Thur. & Fri., 10 a.m. –6 p.m., and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Sat. & and Sun. For more information, follow “Esthetics813 – The Spa at Saddlebrook Resort” on Facebook or Instagram, call (813) 474-4486, visit Esthetics813TheSpaAtSaddlebrook.com. 

Business Briefs — Hobby Town USA To The Grove; The Spa At Saddlebrook Cuts A Ribbon 

Although The Grove at Wesley Chapel already has a Michael’s Arts & Crafts and there also is a Hobby Lobby store on the north side of S.R. 56, a lot of locals are excited that HobbyTown USA is opening in The Grove. 

Whereas Hobby Lobby and Michael’s are both much more crafts-oriented, HobbyTown USA is a much more male-skewing hobby store, focusing mainly on model airplanes, boats, cars, trucks, drones, helicopters, rockets and toys. 

Hobby Town USA, which has more than 125 stores in 39 states (with the closest location being on N. Dale Mabry Hwy. in Carrollwood; photo left), will move into the former Bed, Bath & Beyond space at The Grove. We had not yet heard of an opening date for the Wesley Chapel location. 

Esthetics813 Cuts A Ribbon At The Spa At Saddlebrook 

Although, as we reported several issues ago, Saddlebrook Resort is currently undergoing major renovations, we send out our congratulations go out to Esthetics813 (located at 1051 Bruce B. Downs Blvd.) at owner Kyymara Rosey, who recently reopened the long-dormant 7,000-sq.ft. Spa at Saddlebrook Resort (5700 Saddlebrook Way). 

Kyymara and her husband Kurt Wickiser hosted a well-attended North Tampa Bay Chamber ribbon-cutting ceremony on Sept. 8 (top photo), with tours of the many treatment rooms, where both hotel guests and locals can receive a variety of luxurious spa services — from massages, facials and skin treatments to waxing services, microdermabrasion, brow sculpting, spray tans and many more. There’s even a Far Infrared Wellness Sauna (right), hair salon cuts and blowouts, separate men’s and women’s dressing rooms and much more. 

For more information about the The Spa at Saddlebrook Resort, call (813) 474-4486 or visit spa-at-saddlebrook—esthetics813.square.site and please tell Kyymara and her crew that we sent you! — GN 

Esthetics813 Helps Renew Your Mind, Body And Spirit


The team at Esthetics 813 (l.-r.) includes Crystal Santos, Kurt Wickiser, Hannah Mazzilli, owner Kyymara Rose Scott, Tyra Richardson and Anna Mazzei. (Photo: Charmaine George)

Kyymara Rose Scott has owned Esthetics813 for seven years and, in that time, she says she has lost count of the number of clients who have entered looking or feeling frazzled who left with a little slice of peace and happiness.

Providing that transformation is exactly why Kyymara started Esthetics813, which is located at the northwest corner of Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. and County Line Rd., in front of the Super Target (a few doors down from Anytime Fitness).

Kyymara says she knows all about feeling frazzled, and the need to undo that feeling. When she was in her early thirties, life threw everything it had at her. First was a divorce, followed by a job selling insurance that she hated, followed by a cancer diagnosis.

“It was the most horrible, painful experience of my life,” she says.

In between cancer treatments, when Kyymara needed some zen, she visited a spa for soft massages — her body was too run down from cancer treatments to tolerate a traditional massage — and facials. They helped her relax and escape, if even for only a few minutes.

One day, while waiting in the lobby for her appointment, she couldn’t help but stare at the woman working there, and her big smile.

“I asked her, ‘Are you always this happy, or is this just for us?,’” Kyymara recalled. “And she told me, ‘I work at a spa, everybody is happy to come here. Why wouldn’t I be happy?’”

It was that moment that Kyymara says set her on a path that led her to open Esthetics 813, where she runs a spa that relishes wellness, renewal of your spirit and satisfying happy clients by offering a plethora of comforting and revitalizing services.

Although she had attended the New York Institute of Technology in Old Westbury, NY, for advertising when she was younger, Kyymara reversed course and returned to the Dominican Republic, where she spent much of her youth,  and attended a skin care institute for 18 months. 

She then returned to the U.S. and studied Esthiology for a year at the Aveda Institute in Clearwater before opening the original Esthetics813 in the Windfair Professional Center behind Dickey’s Barbecue Pit in 2013.

As her business grew, so did the need for a larger space. In 2019, Esthetics813 moved in front of the SuperTarget.

She says that unlike other “closed cabin” type designs, Esthetics813 is loft-style, like you might find in Europe, California or even the Dominican Republic, where Kyymara used to wash hair as a teenager at a spa so she could afford to get her own hair done every Saturday.

Because a different location fell through, Kyymara says the current spa was built with “blood, sweat and tears in the 11th hour.” She says she couldn’t have done it without husband Kurt “The Duke” Wickiser.

Lourdes Alers has been coming to Esthetics813 since the original spa opened in the Windfair Professional Center. With her husband working and her kids at a friend’s house, Lourdes decided to pop in at an Open House.

“I was going to get a free swag bag and then take off, but I ended up being the first one there and the last one to leave,” she says. “I booked a facial and I haven’t looked back since. (Kyymara) works her magic and I trust her completely.”

Esthetics813, however, offers more than just facials. It offers body sculpting and wraps, microneedling, waxing and tanning, various light treatments and a variety of spa packages.

Kyymara strongly believes that visiting a spa shouldn’t only be a birthday present or an occasional treat for you; it should be a regular part of your wellness and self care. And in fact, she says the majority of her clients come in once or twice a week.

Clients are provided a robe and a glass of water or wine, and all of their personal items — especially their cell phones — are put away in a locker. The spa’s staff — Anna Mazzei, Tyra Richardson, Crystal Santos and Hanna Mazzilli — make it a personal experience by remembering what you like, right down to your drink preference. 

The most popular treatments are often seasonal and, for this time of year, “everything that has to do with stripping away the old and rejuvenations are very popular,” Kyymara says. “That includes chemical peels, micro-needling and miraculously, and to my delight, body treatments.”

The Art Of Body Sculpting

Body sculpting is the most requested spa treatment, which Kyymara thinks may be a byproduct of the Covid-19 pandemic, which trapped people inside and led to many of us putting on a few extra pounds.

Body sculpting (see after-and-before photos on the next page) involves eliminating cellulite and localized fat through muscle therapy and non-invasive ultrasonic cavitation, which uses vibrations to break down fat cells, which can then be expelled via lymphatic massages.

Other popular body treatments are waxing and tanning.

“These were all very popular in the Dominican Republic,” Kyymara says. “I tried to get people to like it here but couldn’t at first. But now I’m like, ‘Yes!’”

Esthetics813 also has two nurse practitioners on staff to administer Botox and other fillers, which remain go-to treatments for many.

Another offering at Esthetics813 is Red Light Therapy (RLT; see photo above), which Kyymara says was created by NASA “so it’s actually rocket science!”

Kyymara says RLT helps cells bind themselves together again, which helps skin and muscle tissue re-tighten, helping to reduce wrinkles, cellulite and sagging.

Blue Light Treatment (BLT) oxygenates your skin, helping with acne, and Green Light Treatment (GLT) helps reduce inflammation, Kyymara says.

Kyymara thinks there are many things that differentiate her spa from others, and one she is most pleased about is that facials at Esthetics813 are oxygen-centric, as opposed to merely products with oxygen in them.

“We use actual oxygen,” she says. “It’s antibacterial and we infuse it, so it penetrates the skin. It fills, plumps and gives you a nice glow. It’s a more advanced facial.”

Kyymara says Esthetics813 uses top-of-the-line effective products like HydroPeptide, PCA SKIN and FUSION.

Always looking to offer the latest and the greatest, Kyymara says her spa will soon be offering a Blow Out Bar, to liven up your hair-do, which is expected to open by Nov. 1.

There are even treatments for men, including facials and upper and lower body waxing.

“We even have man-sized slippers and robes, so you can be comfortable and not feel like you are tip-toeing around in a woman’s space,” Kyymara says. 

Kurt jokes that while men may be hesitant to try the spa, “Once you try it you won’t want to leave.”

Each service can be purchased individually, and Esthetics813 also offers VIP memberships. Groups and parties also are welcome.

Because the community has been so good to her, Kyymara does what she can to be good to it, too. She is an Ambassador for the North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Wesley Chapel Rotary Club and recently organized a fashion show that raised $1,600 for Bridging Freedom, a child and human trafficking rescue organization. She has even run a diaper drive for the Oasis Pregnancy Care Center. 

Esthetics813 is located at 1051 Bruce B. Downs Blvd. Its hours by appointment are Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m., and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on Saturday. For more information, call (813) 474-4486 or visit esthetics813.com.