Those who know us, have heard us go on (and on) about our love for The Ranch. Having been five times, one could say we found a place we truly connect with.
Located in Malibu, California and surrounded by stunning mountain landscapes, The Ranch is more than a luxury boot-camp get away. It’s an opportunity to go off the grid, to reconnect with nature, our selves, our relationship to food, to stress and so much more.
And it’s not for wimps.
Before one goes to The Ranch, they send you a fitness and nutrition program. The idea being they want you to get your body ready for the intense amount of exercise and healthy eating ahead.
Each day starts at the crack. Morning stretch and breakfast followed with a 4-hour hike. After lunch, it’s nap time, followed with a massage and afternoon workout class if you choose. All in, you’re looking at up to 8 hours of low-intensity activity. So the more prepared you are in-advance, the better.
The food – oh, the food.
Despite keeping us to about 1400 calories a day, without coffee, gluten, dairy or sugar, we’ll admit The Ranch’s food is a huge (huge) draw for us every time. Prepared onsite by their stellar chefs, everything is garden-grown-fresh, plant-based, and off-the-charts delicious.
Highlights include their signature granola with almond milk and berries in the morning. Followed with their always changing spin on traditional comfort foods, such as spinach and zucchini lasagna, or kelp noodle alfredo made with cashew nut cheese. So good, we’ve seen meat-eating-men lose their marbles over every it.
Power down, to power up.
When most people hear no WiFi and no mobile phones, they think torture. But it’s far from it. By day two, you’re so bloody tired from hiking, the last thing you want to do is jump on your phone or catch-up on emails. More like, sit out on your balcony and enjoy the fresh air and views.
Be social – or not.
With a cap of 18 people, on all of our trips, we’ve always made a new friend or two. It’s a beautiful thing, and something we don’t take for granted. But having said this, one can be as social as they want. There’s no pressure to bond if you’d rather otherwise.
Same for adding on additional workout classes or cooking workshops. After you’ve hiked, ate, napped, massaged – you can pretty much decide what more you feel like doing (or in our case, not doing).
With five retreats behind us, it’s unlikely we’ll go again, but never say never. Especially as our daughters are getting older. The idea of doing Mother-daughter retreats has crossed our mind a few times, but in the meantime, we’ll keep savouring the memories.