In April of 2011, Glen Ivy Hot Springs presented a three-day, two-night retreat experience led by celebrated author and life coach, Elizabeth Trinkaus.  The experience offered guests the opportunity to enjoy an extended stay at Glen Ivy while partaking in the benefits of a life transforming retreat.  On the surface, this event does not seem momentous in any way; an overnight retreat experience at Glen Ivy Hot Springs featuring personal and creative renewal seems an obvious fit and one would think it to be a regular offering.  However, The Law of Attraction Retreat with Elizabeth Trinkaus in April of 2011 marked the first time that Glen Ivy guests were able to schedule an extended stay with Glen Ivy Hot Springs in nearly 50 years.  This special weekend epitomized Glen Ivy’s commitment to creating a future based in authentic healing and rejuvenating experiences by drawing on its longstanding history of being a resource of health, healing, and spiritual and creative renewal.

In preceding decades, the undeniable draw of Glen Ivy Hot Springs extended beyond a soak in the natural thermal mineral waters, the sharing of good food or even a day of relaxation.  While all reasonable motives to visit Glen Ivy, the history of this land reveals more to us.  Once a healing and spiritual site shared by various tribes of the indigenous people of southern California, in the early 1900’s the Hot Springs carried on traditions of healing and rejuvenation through the offering of classes and programs designed to revitalize the spirit, nourish the mind and foster inspiration and creativity.    Historically, Glen Ivy Hot Springs overnight accommodations were standard with a visit to the natural mineral springs spa.  Glen Ivy was known as a haven in which to reconnect with nature, revive inspiration and evoke creative impulses.  Visitors traveled south from the Los Angeles area, north from San Diego and west from the desert communities for a week or weekend of health, fitness and camaraderie.  Until the later 1900’s these sojourners faced a long trek to partake of the healing waters and lands found at Glen Ivy.  With the inevitable changes that come with time, travel became easier and the land on which the original inn at Glen Ivy sat was partitioned off from the spa.  By the later 1970’s, Glen Ivy Hot Springs became known as a “daycation” destination; a unique day spa experience that is easily accessible from major southern California metropolises, Glen Ivy continues to offer an escape from the daily grind – a sense of spending the day in a remote tropical paradise – but in reality only a short drive away.

Many guests of Glen Ivy do not know the history of the property and are unaware that the original inn at Glen Ivy, The Lodge, is still standing and fully operational as a retreat center.  Day spa guests often comment that they wish they could stay overnight to enjoy more time to rejuvenate.  With the renewed vision of Glen Ivy Hot Springs as a center of personal, creative and spiritual renewal, it seemed only logical to return to offering extended stays and meaningful classes, programs and retreats to Glen Ivy guests.

The reasons for partaking in a Glen Ivy Hot Springs retreat are numerous and varied – some seek to extend their stay only as a means of enjoying more relaxation time – an effortless and easily reached destination that feels so far from the grind of daily life, while others, the Glen Ivy overnight experience represents the opportunity to reconnect with nature, to enjoy delicious, healthy, organic meals and to take pleasure in learning a new skill or life approach through the retreat activities.  Still others seek the personal transformation that only a retreat experience can provide.  Whether facing a major life transition, personal or spiritual awakening, or the feeling that life is somehow stuck or that an indefinable something is missing, extended stays and retreats at Glen Ivy offer a pathway back to life balance, an avenue with which to reunite with one’s true essence and a quiet space with gentle guidance leading to a more peaceful and happy life.

Glen Ivy has committed to offering extended stays and retreats led by professionals who hold a sincere desire to support and guide Glen Ivy guests to discover their personal best selves.  Glen Ivy’s retreats are held in the serenity of The Glen Ivy Center, our sister property that is home to over 58 acres of organic orchards and gardens, indigenous wildlife, Coldwater Creek and Glen Ivy’s original inn, The Lodge. Glen Ivy offers guests an all-embracing retreat experience:  Spa time each day, a Spa treatment, organic meals and the prospect of embracing life-changing rejuvenation.   And when we hear guests comment about how much they love these “new” offerings, we simply smile and stand in silent repose – knowing that Glen Ivy has, in fact, simply returned to the authenticity of its legacy.

Warm water wishes,
Seraphina Ashe,
Guest Experience Program Director