WELLNESS...AT A PRICE NEW HEALTH OASIS OFFERS EXCLUSIVITY.

Byline: JULIA M. SCOTT Staff Writer

WESTLAKE VILLAGE -- Nestled near the Santa Monica Mountains is the ultimate retreat for the rich, replete with private spa suites and secret backdoor entrances for celebrities who don't want to be seen coming in for a Botox treatment.

Serene massage rooms look onto private gardens. Individual cabanas outfitted with flat-screen televisions, mini refrigerators and phones are just steps from the pool.

The retreat fuses a deluxe spa run by a new Four Seasons Hotel with the workshops and medical offices of the California WellBeing Institute, a new healthy living center. Both will open Wednesday.

Packages range from $250 for a two-hour gourmet-healthy cooking class to $4,500 for an executive physical, a head-to-toe assessment of one's wellness that lasts three days.

The oasis is the brainchild of David Murdock, a billionaire and health enthusiast who owns Dole Food Co. The brick facility is a stone's throw from the Ventura Freeway and across the street from Dole headquarters, where Murdock has his offices.

Murdock spent $400 million to build the place and furnish it with marble floors, grand wood staircases, and custom-made French ovens.

``Since we are reasonably knowledgeable about what to eat and the world seems to be quite confused and you've got 60 percent of the people who are overweight and 40 percent who are obese,'' said Murdock in a telephone interview, ``I thought it might be a good idea to do something for the benefit of mankind, of which I am a part.''

Murdock eats no saturated fat, loads up on fruits and vegetables, and exercises daily. ``I walk everywhere I possibly can and I'm quite in the habit of running,'' he said.

Murdock is 83 according to his birth certificate but considers himself 45 because he can do anything a 45-year-old can do, he said.

While Murdock considers the WellBeing Institute a contribution to mankind, the pricey services cater to the well-heeled.

``It's a health disparity,'' said Liz Torres, executive director of Worksite Wellness LA, which aids uninsured low-wage workers. ``I don't want to say the old cliche, but it's true. It's the haves and have-nots. It's a totally different world.''

Staying healthy doesn't have to be costly, Murdock believes. ``If you eat properly and exercise properly, you are going to be healthy,'' he said.

A few of the preventive procedures are routinely covered by health insurers -- mammography, for instance -- but the bulk are not, said spokeswoman Heidi Geier. So be prepared to pay out of pocket.

The institute accepts cash or credit and employees will supply reimbursement forms if clients choos to file a claim with their insurer on their own.

Even if a procedure is covered, insurers might not reimburse at rates charged at the institute.

``We have a billion and a half members,'' said Lance Lang, a senior medical director at Health Net, an insurer based in Woodland Hills. ``We can't allow all those folks to go to the Four Seasons, but we can provide a service that meets that need.''

A few of the treatments push the envelope. Clients can peek into their state of well-being via snapshots of their DNA. The procedure is not yet approved by the Federal Drug Administration, and is used to measure improvements, not to make a diagnosis, Geier said.

The introductory rate for a 60-minute massage is $110 and treatments span well into the thousands.

So they wouldn't appear too exclusive, the institute offers day packages from $250 to $850.

``We created this for the locals,'' said Geier. ``We don't want to be seen as just exclusively high-end.''

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Total luxury

Pampering abounds at the California WellBeing Institute and Four Seasons Spa in Westlake Village:

Introductory rate for a 60-minute massage: $110

One-night stay at the Four Seasons Hotel: $285

Weight Management treatment that looks ``beyond fad diets,'' using a 360-degree approach: $3,500

Three-day head-to-toe Ultimate Men's or Women's Health assessment: $4,500

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) A pagoda stands in the middle of the garden at the new California Wellness Institute in Westlake Village, set to open Wednesday.

(2 -- color) Limestone rock from the River Kwai in Thailand will welcome visitors to the spa.

Tina Burch/Staff Photographer

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Total luxury (see text)