New Westlake high-end hotel/spa focuses on health

GRAND OPENING--Four Seasons Wellness Community owner David Murdock, second from right, officially opens the hotel yesterday by cutting a garland ribbon with Wellpoint President David Colby, left, Westlake Village Mayor Susan McSweeney and Four Seasons President Jim Fitzgibbon. JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers The much-anticipated Four Seasons Hotel in Westlake Village opened its doors Wednesday, revealing a lavish décor of cherry and inlaid gemstone wall panels, marble floors and floral rugs.

The complex is spread over 20 acres and includes serenity gardens with waterfalls, sequoias, bonsai and rose gardens, an authentic Chinese pagoda, and free-form boulders imported from Thailand's River Kwai.

But this 270-room hotel on Lindero Canyon Road along the north side of the 101 Freeway is much more than a very nice place to sleep. It is being touted by hotel executives as a lifestyle center, a place where good health is promoted through nutrition and exercise, where guests can create personalized health improvement and maintenance programs.

"It's so unique of a property. The level of quality far exceeds anything within a 50-mile radius," said Four Seasons general manager and regional vice president Thomas Gurtner.

JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers ELEGANCE DEFINED--The graceful staircase in the new Four Seasons Hotel in Westlake Village features a colorful wall mural depicting the local estate of David Murdock, hotel owner. The vision of owner David Murdock, CEO of Dole Foods, headquartered across from the hotel, is to teach guests to live well.

"The opportunity people have here is to learn to be healthy," Murdock said. "Proper nutrition and exercise are the secret of longevity."

To help visitors achieve that goal Murdock designed an extravagant facility that includes a 40,000-square-foot spa with 28 private treatment rooms featuring bamboo floors, grass-cloth wall coverings and willow cabinets. Guests can be pampered with a variety of massage therapies, aromatherapy, steam rooms and dry saunas, or a feng shui-approach beauty treatment through celebrity hairstylist Billy Yamaguchi's salon.

A 12,000-square-foot fitness room contains 20 cardio stations, weight training equipment, an adjacent indoor Mediterranean-inspired pool and Pilates, yoga, tai chi and personal training. An outdoor pool is lined by cabanas, including two private outdoor suites with flat-screen TVs and splash pools.

Within the hotel is the California Wellbeing Institute, an independently operated facility offering personal consultations with experts in nutrition and fitness, gourmet cooking workshops in demonstration kitchens, and medical offices employing top professionals and advanced digital diagnostic tests including DNA imaging, radiology and cardiology.

The facilities are not restricted to overnight guests. Anyone may enjoy the spa, fitness facilities, medical services and the five restaurants under the direction of French chef Sandro Gamba, who has been featured on the Discovery Channel's "Great Chefs" series. In fact, hotel executives said they hope that area residents will make frequent use of the facility and are giving tours of the place to anyone interested.

The hotel also serves as a conference and special event center, with seven meeting rooms and a nearly 12,000-square-foot, 21-chandelier ballroom that can seat up to 1,000 guests. Reservations have already been made for a variety of events, from weddings and bar/bat mitzvahs to corporate and charity holiday parties, according to Gurtner.

A television studio will feature original health-related programming that Murdock hopes to offer to the public. Recreation rooms are available for youth--one geared toward 5- to 12-year-olds, the other for teens. Both programs are complimentary for hotel guests.

For Westlake, Mayor Susan McSweeney said, the new hotel is a boon in a number of ways. It provides the community with the prestige of a world-class establishment, offers access to unique health services, and generates sales and occupancy tax revenue. The 1,000-seat banquet room was something the Conejo Valley had lacked, she added.

"This is a gift to the community," McSweeney said. "It's exciting to be part of it."

On the effect Four Seasons may have on neighboring hotels and health facilities, McSweeney said it should be positive.

She believes that the hotel has energized other businesses to improve and cites the Hyatt Westlake Plaza as an example. The Hyatt hotel is planning an expansion and renovation.

Four Seasons reflects Murdock's well-known taste for elegant, detailed, high-quality design. Warm, rich woods, crown moldings, high ornamented ceilings, large floor-to-ceiling windows and silk wall coverings are among the opulent features.

Past the hotel entrance and front lobby is a wall-sized mural painted along a circular wood staircase. The colorful image depicts Murdock's nearby estate, including vineyards, a pagoda and his red-colored home.

Beyond the staircase is the Lobby Lounge, a large circular area for guests to relax, enjoy lunch, afternoon tea, cocktails, music and wall-sized views of waterfalls that Gurtner described as Niagara Falls.

"In this day and age no one builds a hotel like this, only Murdock," Gurtner said. "He has traveled the world and has an unmatched appreciation for quality and detail."

Off the lounge is a large bar/game room with wing chairs, flat-screen TV and three billiards tables. The cherry walls give the room a warm, club-like feel.

The hotel's signature restaurant, Hampton's, contains wine storage for 1,000 bottles visible at the entrance. An elaborate Sunday buffet brunch is offered. The show kitchen contains an imported French Bonnet stove and private reservable dining area.

Backlit onyx columns and a 2,000-gallon saltwater aquarium are among the features of the Japanese restaurant, Onyx.

For those who want a truly extravagant experience, the 2,525-square-foot presidential suite at the top of the seven-floor hotel features upholstered European silk walls, 24-karat-gold-lined sinks, a treadmill room, and cherry, quartz and red onyx accents. The room is $3,000 to $3,500 per night.

Four Seasons rates                  Hotel Introductory room rate: $285 Presidential suite: $3,000 weekends, $3,500 weekdays                  Spa Introductory rates 50-minute massage: $110 50-minute facial: $135 Full-day spa suite: $900 per person, $1,600 per couple    California Wellbeing              Institute Full-day package: $850 Half-day: $450 Two-hour gourmet healthy cooking session: $250 Executive physicals: $2,800- $4,500 Annual membership fees: $3,500 to $15,000