Auberge Mendocino's Diet Retreats Receive Rave Reviews; Guests Shed Pounds at Luxury Bed & Breakfast on California's Mendocino Coast.

Lifestyle Editors/Business Editors/Health/Medical Writers

MENDOCINO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 6, 2004

Guests are so thrilled with the low-carb diet retreats offered at Auberge Mendocino Seaside Inns & Cottages that they are returning for seconds.

Auberge Mendocino's Atkins Diet Retreats introduce participants to the popular low-carbohydrate diet while experiencing Mendocino's natural beauty. The five-night retreats begin Sundays on April 18, May 16 and June 6 and will be offered in the fall.

LaVonne Sheffield of Detroit lost 7.5 pound during her first visit in February and was so pleased that she returned the next month.

"The retreats are rejuvenating," Sheffield said. "The chef gives you plenty of delicious food. I was never hungry. Every night I saw the stars and constellations. I made a fire in the fireplace and I slept cozy."

Under the guidance and care of the staff at Auberge Mendocino and its innkeeper Richard Grabow, who is a 23-year Atkins veteran, guests learn a program that makes it easy and enjoyable to shed weight and exercise plus maintain the newly learned habits at home.

"Friends see the difference as soon as you come home," said Sheffield, who has lost 34 pounds since beginning her weight-loss program in December.

Participants enjoy healthy meals including daily gourmet breakfasts, delicious lunches, evening hors d 'oeuvres, light suppers and two dinners. The program features lectures, hikes, exercise and stress-reduction sessions, visits to galleries and area attractions, a salsa dance class, a cooking class, plus free time for sightseeing, shopping, birding, kayaking or horseback riding. A nearby spa offers hair care, facials, makeovers, pedicure and manicures, body treatments and massage.

Five-day packages begin at $775 per person, double occupancy. Single occupancy starts at $922. The package includes accommodations, daily gourmet breakfast, lunch and snacks, two dinners, five lectures, eight hikes, and all program supplies and venue fees.

A friendly French-style country bed and breakfast inn on Mendocino's coast, Auberge Mendocino is the ideal getaway to lose weight, savor delicious low-carb meals and rejuvenate the soul. The Inn boasts nine guest rooms and suites, two spacious cottages and an exclusive luxury ocean-view vacation estate, all in a setting of informal gardens, century-old cypress trees and hiking trails that wind gently down to the beach.

For reservations visit: www.aubergemendocino.com or call 800.347.9252.