5 Comments

1. Price – quality ratio 3 stars.

   Keep in mind while food is vegan and well prepared, the portions will be the same for 125lb or 250lb person. Which might be odd from nutritional value stand point considering intensive mountain daily hikes on average 10-12 miles, fitness class and yoga (which I most enjoyed with Donna, who has been teaching for over 25 years).

   The daily massage will be scheduled not at the end of the day to wind down as one might expect but before all fitb get as classes or in between.

   The property is pretty. The garden is nice but mostly to show off organic status of the place. The Garden alone won’t be possibly able to sustain all guests for one week with all produce.

   You are stuck in this place and if you like to explore this is going to be challenging to sit on one spot with hikes, classes and pool (too cold in winter, they did not want to raise temperature a little to a comfortable level not hot!). Also the sauna was not allowed to be used.

   Overall the staff is friendly and seem happy.

   Last day transportation was very disorganized. It felt that the program is over so you can leave and we don’t care about all the details.

   Also,keep in mind that when advertised as a week program it is only 5 days. So you pay $8200 not for 7 days. First day you arrive and measurements are taken, lunch is served and property hike is done. Last day you’ll ha be breakfast and property hike and out you go by 10am.

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2. A Great place to get away and get back to yourself! It’s a wonderful mix of working out and down time. The plant based food is delicious and the property is a beautiful oasis tucked away in the Santa Monica mountains in North Malibu.

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3. A great way to kick-start healthier life habits. If you can shoulder the cost, the experience is well worth it. The staff is very positive and encouraging; the coastline and mountains are serene; and the diet + exercise leave you feeling fantastic by the week’s end.

   One should definitely follow their preparation advice once enrolled. Those in my group who did not suffered unnecessarily. I would also advise using wool hiking socks and a size-larger pair of shoes to avoid blisters during the ~10 miles of hiking per day which is part of their program.

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4. Just the best! You can go to other, lesser boot camp spas and have your steak and wine with dinner. But not here. The Ranch is the real deal. Their program sold me before my arrival. Their management and staff, at every level, delivered during my stay. It wasn’t an easy week but that’s on me. The hiking guides supported me in every way possible. They kept me moving on hikes step after step, day after day, and encouraged me when I wanted to throw in the towel. The food was thoughtful and well presented. The accommodations were calming and peaceful. The massages were excellent; the exercise and yoga classes great. It was a beneficial week that, hopefully, I can build on moving forward. And I could have that corn and zucchini warm soup every night for life!
   While The Ranch and its staff deserve high praise, their guests do not neccesarily rate 5 stars. They can be quite dismissive of you if you don’t have anything to offer them when they want to network. I wasn’t expecting it to be so many Type A personalities that wanted to market their companies or themselves. At times it felt like a conference for high achievers. As a retired architect, I had nothing to offer to all of these successful entrepreneuers. I was often odd man out as a result. I thought it was supposed to be a time to unplug, not time for networking. It’s really something to consider before going here. It was at times painful. I would give one guest… internet savvy-obsessed, CEO of two companies, constant dress wearing (at The Ranch?), fellow Charleston resident, NYC native, Harvard grad ONE star. So thankful we don’t run into each other in our small town. Different circles, you know. What I would give to have gone a different week and not met her. A famous actress would likely have been friendlier. Just CEO’s, entrepreneuers, dog food company owners, physicians, S.F. area tech executives, trust funders. However, I did enjoy one NYC psychiatrist and we laughed all week long. Just food for thought before you spend all of that money for a week of potential ‘rejuvenation’.

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5. Everything about the Ranch experience was 10 star (I’m sad I only have 5 to allot). We did this as a fun mother/daughter bonding week with amazing hiking. We both hike all the time but even so, you can always hike faster (since I usually do winter mountaineering, I’m used to slow uphills) so I pushed myself as the hills are not as steep as east coast hills (1500-2000 feet over several miles of switchbacks, not our 4000 feet in under 4 miles type of hikes).

   I have never hiked this fast, but that was just because I wanted to. Don’t be scared! We were a very disparate group but it doesn’t matter. Many hikes are out and back and it’s by TIME (4 hours) so you can walk at your own pace and turn around when it’s time so everyone ends around the same time. Even the through hikes had an out and back option for the faster hikers (I was not the fastest -we had a few “rabbits”) so some days I’d really push, some days I’d be a bit more measured but normally I was in the front crew or near. It’s up to YOU. After the hike, delicious lunch. I’m 56 and I can say that even with the 1400 calorie diet, I was NEVER HUNGRY. I took the detox seriously and cut out caffeine and most sugar and alcohol 2 weeks ahead which is a big help.

   After lunch, you kind of figure out your schedule – though a 50 minute massage is included, I definitely recommend the add on option of at least 3 100-minute massages. I also did 3 minutes of cryotherapy (extreme cold) which is supposed to help with weight loss but for SURE helps with stiffness. Between massage and cryo and yoga, I was fresh every morning. I also did the fitness/weight class every day which was GREAT. Vinny was amazing and I lift weights 4 times a week and still learned a lot. He was a highlight and one day I had him all to myself for a personal lesson. They accommodate by offering the fitness class in 2 slots and the yoga class in 2 slots so everyone can fit everything in even with the IV offerings (I did one but next time I’d try more). Then dinner at 7, a bit of work and then to be by 9 or so for the 5:30am wake up for 6am stretch.
   Some highlights:
   Bobby was amazing but ALL the guides (Paisely, Nikki) were also amazing with GREAT energy – thanks to all. You are blessed to have a great staff. I LOVED the food – -so filling, so vegan, so healthy and they were VERY accommodating to those with anyissues. For my daughter, they assured us she could have more food anytime and they kept to that so she often got a sliced banana with almond or peanut butter after lunch or dinner, extra snacks, etc…
   Loved the cryo (though it sucks to do it, it’s only 3 minutes)
   Loved Vinny/fitness
   Loved the hikes (especially Sandstone mountain -I’d be in favor of more hikes to a peak as they are more exciting
   The kitchen staff went above and beyond (there are some high maintenance types here but they do their best to cater to everyone).
   The people – met some super nice folks and enjoyed the diverse group.
   The rooms are very nice – my daughter and I shared a king bed

   My advice – just go. Don’t stress. Whether you are super fit and looking to shed some winter weight (I lost 6 pounds/11 inches!) or struggling with weight and are not sure if you can walk 4 hours, just do it! You can walk slow, you can ask for more food if you are truly hungry and you can do it for sure. Many guests were older but still had no issues with the hiking and again, you can always do less or slow down or take a day off if needed. It’s a boot camp with a heart. This is YOUR WEEK. One person dropped 50 cholesterol points in a week. It’s a fantastic reset for anyone. Now I’m on a healthy track and know I will drop more weight and adopt new habits. It was stress relieving, it was invigorating, it was inspiring and the staff CARE. The owners are also fitness junkies and practice what they preach. it surpassed even my highest expectations.

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