Ultimate Wellness Retreat at Four Seasons Westlake Village

Four Seasons Westlake Village is a hidden gem in the Santa Monica mountains tucked between Malibu and Santa Barbara. If you are looking for the ultimate wellness retreat this is the place. It is such a beautiful destination on its own and as a part of a California road trip. My husband and I recently spent 2 nights at the Four Seasons Westlake and had the greatest time. In this blog post we are sharing all of the details on how to get there, when to visit, the best activities, and more! We would like to thank the team at the Four Seasons Westlake Village for their hospitality and access to their wonderful facilities. We can’t wait to return!

Getting to Westlake Village is very easy, we started our trip from Monterey, California. We stopped along the coast at Pismo Beach and Santa Barbara before arriving at the FS Westlake. In all it was a 4 1/2 hour drive. From Malibu it’s a 30 minute drive and it’s about an hour from Los Angeles. 

Best Time to Visit 

You can visit Westlake Village any time of the year, of course summer months May to September are always a good time to be in sunny Southern California. Due to the mild climate spring, fall, and winter bring their own special experiences. 

We visited in August and found the weather to be a perfect 80 degrees, ideal for a day at the pool, hike, or outdoor yoga. We really found that this location lived up and exceeded the expectations set at any Four Seasons resort. This location felt really special as well with all if the opportunities to relax and recharge. They have an award winning spa and the famous California Health & Longevity Institute on site.

Staying at the Four Seasons Westlake Village

Staying 2 nights at the Four Seasons Westlake Village was such a perfect weekend trip! We do wish we had one more day though. The resort has numerous room options, including suites and rooms with a view of the beautiful waterfall. We had a king room with a view of the waterfall for our 2-night stay and also had the opportunity to tour and take photographs in one of the epic One-Bedroom suites.

The hotel recently underwent a massive renovation project that was just completed a few months ago so the rooms felt brand new. They had a California coast meets Hollywood glamour feel to the rooms. There were also coastal and nature inspired touches that made it feel relaxing. Another thing we really loved about the Four Seasons Westlake Village was all the beautiful walking paths situated around the resort’s massive space of 11 acres.

There is a Chinese Pagoda near the spa that was so beautiful and relaxing. We found ourselves here much of the time due to it being the perfect space to relax, read a book, or meditate. The pagoda is actually from China and is held together without nails or glue. The boulders around the property are over 2,000 years old from the River Kwai in Thailand, they were brought over at quite the cost. You will see much of the owner David Murdock’s private collection dotted along the property. Murdock picked up these items during his travels around the world. We were fascinated by his story, he is 97 years old and is truly committed to health & wellness. He founded the onsite California Health & Longevity Institute and is CEO of Dole foods.

The adults only tranquility pool was surrounded by private cabanas. The cabanas had a sun-bed, loungers in the front, and a tv as well. During this time of social distancing it was really nice to have a private cabana. We had really great food and drinks here as well. The Pina Colada is highly recommended. We were excited to find that they use fresh ingredients, not overly sweet syrups like some places.

There is also an indoor pool that is family friendly.

Restaurants

Every meal we ate at the Four Seasons was delicious. Overall, we had a wonderful stay at the Four Seasons and would return in a heartbeat! Their restaurants are also taking advantage of their beautiful outdoor patio space and reducing capacity to guarantee social distancing.

Stir is a gourmet coffee shop with quick bites located in the lobby. They have house made pastries and fresh gelato as well. The pastry chef is Patrick Fahy hailing from the French Laundry so you know all desserts and pastries are going to be delicious.

Onyx is a wonderful sushi restaurant with all of the Japanese classics. Nigiri sushi and sashimi are made to order and the hot items are just as delicious. They have quite the sake selection as well. We have never had great sake previously, but our friend spotted one she had tried in Japan and she got us to try it. I have to say it was better than any we have had before. We also recommend the chocolate cake dessert.

Prosperous Penny Speakeasy is a cozy little speakeasy tucked away in the hotel.

Coin & Candor is a California cool restaurant serving up locally sourced ingredients. The food was absolutely phenomenal, and the team really created a fantastic experience that exceeded our expectations. Hannah, took care of us all night and was such a pleasure. Chef Jesus Medina is spectacular. His dishes are inspired by his childhood in Mexico and his travels around the world. Fresh local ingredients are a staple here, truly every dish that came out just topped the next. The hospitality here really stood out. This restaurant experience was truly one of the highlights of our trip.  

Room Service is our favorite recomendation. Four Seasons just does room service right. Their food is always delicious and again we were not disappointed by this location. On our first day we had wine and a charcuterie tray delivered then we ended up getting breakfast in bed and it was such a highlight. The breakfast was absolutely delicious, we definitely enjoyed having a leisurely meal in the comfort of our room.

Best Things To Do

Some people visit the Four Seasons Westlake Village purely for a relaxing and wellness focused getaway, while others are looking for a bit of adventure as well. My husband and I enjoy vacations that include beautiful scenery, opportunities to relax, and also fun activities to try out. This location had more than enough to keep us busy for the weekend.

These were our favorite activites to try and to plan for the next trip:

-Getting a cabana by the pool

-Yoga

-Hiking the Santa Monica Mountains

-Picnic 

-Wine tasting

-Getting a spa treatment (we didn’t have enough time but heard so many rave reviews)

Yoga

As of now to comply with California law the gym has moved outside to the patio and waterfall lawn. This was the best thing they could do, you now get a beautiful view of the waterfall and hotel grounds. We did Yoga right in front of the waterfall, it was so relaxing to hear the water and see all of the ducks swimming around. There are also classes that occur near the pagoda lawn.

Hiking & Picnic

There are quite a few hikes right around the hotel. These are the two recommendations that we received.

1. Los Robles Trail for great views of Westlake Village and the Conejo Valley (The trail we took and it was only 10 min from the hotel)
2. Triunfo Canyon Trail

After our hike we headed back to the hotel and had our picnic at the Rose Garden on the property. It was such a beautiful space and after the hike we were absolutely starving. The food that was prepared by Coin & Candor was spectacular and they put in a bottle of Rose which we thoroughly enjoyed.

We had a truly relaxing stay at the Four Seasons Westlake and we hope you make a trip to this wonderful hotel. It’s the perfect place for a personal retreat with active leisure and personal growth. Thanks again to the team at Four Seasons Westlake Village for their hospitality. We can’t wait to return!

This blog post was made in collaboration with the Four Seasons Westlake Village. All my opinions are my own.

Thank you for reading!

Photos: Jenn Petty @ Jelauphotography

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