Pritikin

I loved the Pritikin experience. Food was A plus, seminars, some better than others. Dr. Blum was excellent… I would go to all his seminars. Exercise program was great, rooms were comfortable and spacious.

Next time I go, I would find a dinner table that is small….I sat at a table for 8, and one woman was an aggressive mean spirit, which was unfortunate because we were there to relax and get well. Other than that, it was excellent!

I visited the Pritikin institute in the summer of 2022 and stayed there for 2 weeks. The program definitely works! And is almost like a body reset. For example, I lost 14lbs and since I have yet to regain all the weight back despite a less than stellar diet. My triglycerides were halved; however, my cholesterol results did not move by much.

The program focuses on the following:

Diet: A diet free of additional salt, fat and sugar. Takes one day to get used to but is otherwise delicious. I never once felt hungry

Knowledge: the lectures and knowledge you receive cuts through all the irrelevant information you find on the net and is eye opening. The fee for this alone was worth it

Exercise: about 60 minutes a day. Key is you are put in groups based on a fitness test so you don’t feel out of place.

Free programs: Yoga, swimming and many others

Paid programs: stretching, state of are scans, metabolic measurements, consultation on pain with a very well-regarded doctor and so on
Blood work before and after with doctor consultation

I’ve read comments that the staff treat recurring customers better but to be honest I had one of the best services by staff (except administration more on this later) ever. I think the perception is wrongly interpreted, it's more a case of familiarity than anything else.

I’ve also come to realize that the doctors here are world class, some of the people I interacted with claimed that they were saved by Pritikin Drs by diagnosing illness which were missed by their own cardiologist etc. My own experiences were good with some exceptions (see below).

Ok so if everything’s great why the 4 stars? For one thing I felt the administrators while empathetic were not coordinated or structured, examples below:

Room: I had booked a golf view room month in advance, long story short I struggled for two days there until I received a partial view room. Keys not working, running back to room for issues while missing events was not ideal. Pritikin works with Trump hotel, and it is clear they are not well coordinated on this aspect.

The start:
Introduction missed many parts of the program which I understood later with the guests that were regular – I ended up missing many events and advantages the program has to offer

Some guest received an electronic Ipad or note pad. Apparently, all were to receive it but none of this was mentioned to me. Im still not sure if I was made aware of all the advantages the program offered.

The middle:

My point of contact:
i. Went on leave which is fine but I was not informed. It was left to me to find another point of contact and they were not as aware of my situation as my initial point of contact.

ii. She was however totally on the ball when I fell sick ensuring a quick covid test and food was sent to my room

iii. My doctor was excellent and mentioned she would be available to me for additional queries. Unfortunately, she was available only once to me for follow-up questions. Her replacement was not ideal as she did not have the background (my first meeting was more than an hour with my initial doctor)

iv. The initial blood tests check for almost everything, but subsequent ones do not. If you are a hypochondriac this can be stressful.

The end: billing was incorrect, lots of mistakes. For a professionally run organization this is unacceptable. It was not malicious, but I would have ended up paying more than $1K if I had not checked.

Afterwards:
No word on my last blood test, was not uploaded to our portal weeks later and when asked I was directed to the medical facility which kept me on hold forever (I was calling from an international location).

Some of my friends from the program mentioned a tip to the waiting staff. I was totally unaware of this and frankly they were the best part of the experience.

Would I go there again? Probably. But I would consider frequent visits if Pritikin was better coordinated

Absolutely amazing! There are no words for what I experienced. I felt so good, so spoiled, so relaxed that I’m going there every time I can. The place is mind blowing. The masseuses were TOP, they really were amazing, and so respectful. They made us feel very comfortable. Everything is top, from the bathroom, pools, services, restaurants. Definitely a 20/10.