Mon 21 October 2024

I have a good friend in California who is a loyal customer of the Ranch Malibu and goes to their hiking and health weeks in Southern California at least once a year.

Now I understand why.

Reset. Cleanse. Recharge. Detox. These words mean different things to different people, but they are words you hear a lot at The Ranch, especially from the many repeat customers. When I visited the recently opened New York campus, there was a gentleman who had been going to Malibu annually for ten years, without his wife, for what he called his annual solo “reset.” The concept of disconnecting from work, eating very clean healthy food with no alcohol, hiking, working out and doing yoga while getting daily massages and basically diving into round-the-clock self-care is extremely appealing, and having done it, I can say that reset is a pretty good way to describe it. Or recharged, which is how you feel when you leave.

The original property in Southern California has been acclaimed for years, has a long A-List celebrity following, was Travel + Leisure Magazine’s Number One Destination Spa in the country in the 2023 World’s Best Awards, is currently ranked in the Top 3 Destination Spa Resorts in the country by Conde Nast Traveler magazine, the 100 Best Spas Worldwide by Vogue, and just won Best Wellness Retreat in California (which has plenty of competition) from the 2024 World Spa Awards and Best Wellness Retreat in the World from Yoga Journal. But the satellite New York campus, across the country, just debuted this spring and quickly also won Best Wellness Retreat New York at the 2024 World Spa Awards.

For those who have done Malibu, there are some major differences with the new Ranch Hudson Valley campus, besides the setting, most importantly the retreat length. While weeklong has been the standard in California, New York offers either 4-day/3-night or 5-day-4-night sessions, Monday to Thursday and Thursday to Monday respectively.

Besides the amazing health program, the “resort” itself is worth a conversation, as it is a big part of what makes the place so special, and just earned a Hotel Great Design Award from Architectural Digest magazine—a far cry from most spas. Guest rooms, meals, massages and fitness classes are all ensconced in the main house of Table Rock Estate, a robber baron-esque 40,000-sqaure foot mansion that was built 120 years ago by financier J. P. Morgan as a wedding gift for his daughter, who married Alexander Hamilton’s great grandson. It is everything the happy couple could have desired, and you could film scenes from the Great Gatsby in the place, which has preserved or restored almost of all its opulent detail, including fireplaces big enough to roast whole cattle in (but unlikely given the vegan menu), impossibly high ceilings, lots of detailed glasswork, moldings, ornate carved wood paneling, period furniture and stunning architecture everywhere you look.



Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/larryolmsted/2024/10/17/the-ranch-malibus-wellness-and-weight-loss-retreats-come-to-new-york/

Media Partners

Our Other Awards