Mountain Retreat Promises to Rejuvenate You — for $10,000 a Week

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If you come across a 23-acre of property awash in crystals in the Santa Monica Mountains, just an hour north of LAX, you’ve likely found Aja Malibu, a recently opened high-end wellness and luxury retreat.

Have you ever felt the intense desire — or need — to unplug and get away from it all (alcohol and cellphone included)? Aja Malibu may be a good fit for you, but be prepared to pay for access to five-star wellness. A weeklong stay at the mountain retreat costs a whopping $10,000 per week per person.

Yikes.

A stay at Aja Malibu does sound pretty divine. According to its website:

Restore, rejuvenate, transform and reactivate your inner spark at Aja Malibu. … Aja offers world-class facilities for the health and wellness seeking connoisseur. A full service living foods kitchen and apothecary for health and nutrition workshops, oxygenated and ozonated water swimming pool, seven chakra themed gardens, a crystal infused spa with far infrared sauna and Jacuzzi, library, meditation and sound healing room and, of course, the peace and serenity of a luxury rejuvenation retreat.

What you won’t find are televisions or telephones, junk food, alcohol or access to the internet, the Los Angeles Times reports. And in the evenings, it’s lights out at 10 p.m. at Aja Malibu.

Australian artist Inannya Magick, founder of Aja, told the LAT that the retreat is not just about weight loss, rehab or a spa getaway. Says the LAT:

“Instead, Aja — the name comes from that of the goddess of medicinal herbs in African folklore — is a place, said Magick, ‘that is about flowers and plants and healing.'”

Everything at Aja — from the shampoo and conditioner to the cooling system — is all-natural and sustainable, according to MindBodyGreen.

Sounds pretty New Age-y, but Magick says the approach is more old than new.

“I want to show how we can be in nature and beauty, eat these foods, share beautiful rituals together, and that can put us in a state of bliss without the use of alcohol or other intoxicants,” she said.

“So many people are stuck in negative thinking patterns. They are addicted to their phone, unhealthy foods, the TV, other unhealthy aspects in society. We need a place of respite and rejuvenation. But we’re also not reinventing the wheel. We’re exploring ancient rituals, and those will help us remember what we’ve lost along the way.”

I must admit, Aja Malibu sounds amazing. But it’s definitely out of my price range.

What do you think of Aja? Dreamy or too New Age-y for you? Share your comments below or on our Facebook page.

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