There’s one place the rich and famous head to sober up – Malibu. So why is the town turning against its biggest business? Ann Friedman visits the rehab riviera where they will clean you up – and clean you out
‘Some people have a lot of entitlement or narcissism, but does that mean they don’t get to recover?’: Robert Weiss, Senior VP of Elements Behavioral Health, at Promises Malibu. Photograph: Barry J Holmes
On the drive up to Cliffside Malibu in early September, a breeze is swaying the palm trees that frame a view of the crystalline-blue Pacific. It smells of saltwater and dusty sage. The pristine white clapboard house, situated near the top of the hill on a secluded cul-de-sac, has raffia wallpaper and overstuffed leather couches. Small bundles of fresh rosemary and lavender rest on top of each of the beds, which are fitted with 1,000-thread-count sheets. It’s lunchtime, and the meals here, many of which are made using produce from the organic orchard on the premises, rival those on the menu at five-star restaurants. (Today it’s seaweed soup, Korean-inspired beef sushi, sesame cucumber salad, Perrier.)
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