Malibu Rehab, With All the Trimmings
The reception for the lavish Malibu resort lacked only one thing: cocktails. It was not forgetfulness on the part of the hosts but a deliberate omission--this was a party to celebrate a new drug and alcohol rehabilitation center billed as the most luxurious of its kind.
And on Friday about 150 guests came to schmooze on the expansive lawn overlooking the ocean.
“This is the ‘who’s who’ of the addiction community here today,” said the center’s owner, Chris Prentiss, 64, a real estate developer and author of inspirational books. The new facility, Passages, is slated to open Sept. 1.
With this $3.8-million remodeled, 12-bedroom estate, Prentiss is seeking a piece of an expanding market: luxury addiction treatment centers.
“There’s no universal healthcare, so people get what they can afford
Nonetheless, Malibu seems to be a hub for high-end drug treatment centers. It already houses at least five other drug rehabilitation centers, including Promises, three miles up the coast, and Wavelinks International, eight miles to the south. The two centers have recently been in the news. In July, actor Robert Downey Jr. checked into Wavelinks after a no-contest plea to drug charges. In early August, Ben Affleck announced he had entered Promises, seeking help for alcohol problems. Comedian Paula Poundstone is there as well.
Celebrity clients are good for business, said Prentiss’ 27-year-old son, Pax, who will be working at Passages. “It’s great advertisement,” he said. “We’re not open yet, so we don’t have any of those patients, but it wouldn’t hurt to have them.” A stay at Passages, which will accommodate a maximum of six clients at a time, will come with a hefty price tag. Clients will pay $75,000 for a minimum stay of two months. They will be fed by gourmet chefs, entertained on a 64-inch flat screen TV, and get limo service when needed. Acupuncturists and hairstylists will be available to address clients’ needs. Most addicts who undergo treatment experience a relapse. The success rate nationally for drug addiction treatment is 40% to 60%, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, a branch of the National Institutes for Health.
Prentiss, who has not owned a treatment facility before, envisions a program in which about 20 therapists will attend to the needs of Passages’ clients. “The idea is within those conversations, we will find out what’s causing the addiction,” he said.
Prentiss, a real estate broker and developer who has written several inspirational books, such as “The Little Book of Secrets: 81 Secrets for Living a Happy, Prosperous and Successful Life,” and (under the pseudonym Wu Wei) “The Zen of Happiness” and “The God Game,” said he decided to build the facility about a year ago after helping Pax end a six-year heroin and cocaine addiction. He and his son will live at the center.
Passages was not built without controversy. Some neighbors on Meadow Court objected to the project. But under state law, cities cannot intervene if the facilities accommodate no more than six clients at a time. In June, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Alan B. Haber denied the neighbors’ request for a temporary restraining order against the facility.
The state Drug and Alcohol Administration licensed the operation of Passages last month, and Prentiss celebrated Friday by opening the mahogany doors to guests.
Father and son beamed as they conducted tours of the estate, where koi swam in ponds near the entrance. Inside, 32-foot curved windows overlooked the garden from the circular living room.
“This is a treatment facility but we don’t want it to feel like a facility. We want it to be warm and inviting, for people to feel as if they’re in the comfort of their own homes, not in a hospital-like setting,” Pax Prentiss said. “This facility is probably the nicest facility in the country. We didn’t spare any expenses on comfort.”
The lavish decoration includes marble floors in most rooms, crystal chandeliers in every room and mahogany paneling. The facility sports a sauna, theater and a kitchen with marble countertops that can serve up to 150 people.
As they toured the mansion, guests such as Judi Shaw Slapin, marveled at the luxury. “It’s not a rehab facility as you would picture it,” said Slapin, who works at Promises and is studying to become a substance abuse counselor. “It’s going to be an extremely comfortable way to go through recovery.”
Although with the passage of Proposition 36, California law now mandates treatment rather than prison for many nonviolent drug offenders, Prentiss does not anticipate that Passages will be much affected. “As far as providing us with clients? Very few,” Prentiss said. Maybe “one-tenth of 1% of the people who are ordered to treatment will be able to afford what we do ....
“We’ll definitely have high-profile clients. Wherever you have an abundance of money, you have an abundance of addiction. They go together.”
Pax Prentiss put it more bluntly: “The clients that will stay here will be high-profile clients: power earners, children of the rich .... People are starting to pay more attention to the drug and alcohol addiction industry. Before it was sort of hush-hush. Now it’s like, everyone’s got their eye on it to see: Who’s checking in next? Who has the problem?”
