Relax Reconnect and Recharge at The Four Seasons Westlake Village

As a food critic and a recent recipient of a pre-diabetes diagnosis, I was a little skeptical and anxious to go on a four-day well-being retreat at The Four Seasons in Westlake Village.

Would the food taste like cardboard and be carb-free? Would we be subjected to hot yoga? These and other questions arose as I battled traffic on the 101 freeway.

The AAA Five-Diamond Award-winning Four Seasons Hotel Westlake Village has recently undergone a multi-million dollar transformation. As I entered the resort, I immediately felt relaxed amidst the calming design combining elements of water and air reflecting the resort’s holistic approach to health and wellness.

I declined the complimentary cake pops (after all, I was here for a wellness retreat) as I checked in for California Health & Longevity Institute’s (CHLI) Signature Retreat.

My first appointment was with CHLI Director of Nutrition Paulette Lambert. Paulette is an encyclopedia of food knowledge. Throughout the retreat, she patiently answered all of our questions about Keto, Paleo, good vs bad carbs, calories and much much more. She examined all of my recent medical tests and prescribed an easy to follow diet tailored to my specific needs. She also allowed me to view food in an entirely new way, stressed the importance of a balanced nutritional plant heavy diet and encouraged me to make small changes that would make a huge difference in my overall health.

After my personal nutrition consultation, I checked into my luxurious Four Seasons suite and met with my co-participants in our CHLI four-day wellness experience group. These strangers soon became fast friends and confidants, providing support, advice and information throughout the weekend. All of us shared a desire to improve our eating habits and learn to live a healthier lifestyle.

Throughout the weekend, our group experienced hands on culinary lessons including cooking organic and mostly plant based meals, body composition assessments, meditation and yoga classes, hikes, circuit training and a stress management workshop. We also had the opportunity to dine out, using our new nutritional knowledge, at the Four Seasons Coin & Candor restaurant.

The modern indoor/outdoor eatery highlights California’s best ingredients in a wide variety of dishes. The mid-century design combines bright colors, natural textures and beautiful views of the Santa Monica mountains. We passed through Coin & Candor’s bright white interior dining space centered with a large modern circular bar and elegant black and gold bar chairs as our large group headed outside for an al fresco dinner. What would I have ordered pre–Signature Retreat? The charcuterie platter, huge rib-eye steak, hand cut fries and dessert. After a few days of Lambert’s informational cooking demos, I ordered a delicious little gem salad with dressing on the side and the 6 ounce Ora King salmon. I also had a few small bites of dessert and half of a glass of white wine. During dinner, we shared how all of us experienced a sense of feeling satisfied but not heavy after eating the nutritional meals at the CHLI Welcome Kitchen and Feel Good Dining Room.

At the end of the retreat, we were given all of the recipes from the weekend as well as lists of healthy food for easy grocery shopping and Lambert’s “The Wellness Kitchen Cookbook.”

For myself, the Four Season’s CHLI Signature Retreat was life-changing. As a travel and food writer, my eating habits slowly became increasingly more unhealthy over the past decade. By jump starting a personalized nutrition and wellness lifestyle plan, I drove home with a new supportive group of friends that shared the CHLI experience, a new fact-based perspective on nutrition and most importantly, as a result of the meals, classes and accommodations, I felt an overall sense of peacefulness and well-being.

The Four Season's Westlake Village offers the Signature Retreat monthly, for reservations call 818.575.3000.