Promises was the premier rehab center in Southern California for years.
It’s where Lindsay Lohan went after several of her arrests and where Britney Spears stayed when she was released from her 51/50 hold. Charlie Sheen, Robert Downey Jr and Matthew Perry have also reportedly gotten help at the center.
But now the facility has been redone beautifully and is called the Cliffside Malibu.
DailyMail.com has a first look at the recent revamp after the property took a hit from the Woolsey wild fires of November 2018. The grand re-opening of the facility is on June 13.
Plenty of room to recover: The Cliffside Malibu has plenty of space for addicts looking to make a change in their life. The property was revamped after it suffered damage from the 2018 wildfires
She was there: Britney Spears got treatment when Cliffside was Promises; she is seen here in 2018
The center is located near the Pacific Ocean, offering spectacular views. They promise ‘unparalleled comfort and insurmountable service and attention.’
Cliffside Malibu is a treatment program that does not lock its doors and returns cell phones to patients after 72 hours of in-house sobriety.
According to CEO Richard Taite, Cliffside Malibu has treated 2,000 patients as of November 2014.
The new remodel is spectacular. The quarters are clean, with beige walls, stone tiles, wicker furniture and plenty of room to move around in.
Luxe digs: The center is located near the Pacific Ocean, offering spectacular views. They promise ‘unparalleled comfort and insurmountable service and attention.’
A new way: Cliffside Malibu is a treatment program that does not lock its doors and returns cell phones to patients after 72 hours of in-house sobriety. According to CEO Richard Taite, Cliffside Malibu has treated 2,000 patients as of November 2014
Easy on the eyes: The quarters are clean, with beige walls, stone tiles, wicker furniture and plenty of room to move around in
Most rehab centers have small beds or bunk beds. At Cliffside there are private rooms with queen beds and nightstands. There are also private bathrooms with all the amenities, like a fancy hotel.
TVs are in the rooms and there is internet access.
There is even a rose garden: the beautiful Grandiflora Roses, Spanish Lavender and local wildflowers.
And there is a yoga studio as well as a massage facility.
A place to unwind: There is a common area for people to watch TV, use the internet or chat
A place to dine: The dining room has a wood table with comfortable chairs that has a nice view of the pool
Nice touched everywhere: There are fresh flowers, plants and earth tones to soothe
She was there too: Lindsay Lohan attended the rehab center when it was Promises; seen in early 2019
There is also plenty of outdoor space with a back yard, a swimming pool and hot tub that has a look at the panoramic ocean view.
A sun deck overlooks the pool and has lounge chairs. There is room for socializing, reading a book, sunbathing, and beyond that is a pretty meditation garden.
A gym has all the up to date equipment to work off stress.
The main dining room also has an ocean view and the meals are served buffet style for a range of choices from a private chef.
In the evenings and during other periods between treatment and scheduled activities, many Cliffside residents gravitate towards to the living room to watch TV, play games, and hang out with new friends.
Taite, the CEO of Clifside, was an addict himself for 20 years before getting clean.
He became professionally successful, then started Cliffside Malibu.
So he understands what patients need.
‘If you had told me twenty years ago that I would one day get sober,’ Taite told Forbes in 2012, ‘marry an amazing woman who consistently inspires me to be a better man, have a child who is the love of my life, and become the founder of one of the leading addiction treatment centers in the world, I would have laughed in your face. Then I would have taken another hit of crack.’
Fancy: Most rehab centers have small beds or bunk beds. At Cliffside there are private rooms with queen beds and nightstands. There are also private bathrooms with all the amenities, like a fancy hotel
Sharing: This room has two beds with a window, a nightstand, and paintings of the beach
Background: Richard Taite. the CEO of Clifside, was an addict himself for 20 years before getting clean. He became professionally successful, then started Cliffside Malibu. So he understands his patients’ plights
His take: ‘If you had told me twenty years ago that I would one day get sober,’ Taite told Forbes in 2012, ‘marry an amazing woman who consistently inspires me to be a better man, have a child who is the love of my life, and become the founder of one of the leading addiction treatment centers in the world, I would have laughed in your face. Then I would have taken another hit of crack’
He also said, ‘I’m the worst CEO on the face of the Earth, FOR SURE. If you run a business like a love call, you are a bad businessman. But you get to help a lot of people, and in the end that’s exactly why we are so successful.’
Cliffside Malibu provides am addiction treatment model in a boutique setting.
They use intensive psychotherapy with complementary whole-health practices.
There is intensive one-on-one psychotherapy by professionals. There is ‘a myriad of adjunctive whole-health therapies to our residents, to help them heal on the levels of mind, body, and spirit,’ according to the site.
Not a bad way to chill out: Here is an oversized bathtub with a view of the outdoors
Their treatment is called ‘synergistic.’
‘We involve our residents in intensive one-on-one and small group therapy anywhere from four to six hours each day along with whole-health therapies that are integrative and evidence-based.
‘Our goal is to help the brain develop new neural pathways – changing not only chemistry, but function – so that clients who complete treatment with us have had not just a psychological change, but an actual change in the way the brain works, allowing them to stave off relapse and remain sober long term.
So much room to think it out: Not only is there a swimming pool and hot tub, there is a tennis court, a yoga room, a gym and a massage center
‘We’ve managed to create an exclusive sanctuary for recovering drug addicts and alcoholics by limiting our enrollment and by offering a myriad of cutting edge treatments. Our state-of-the-art treatment methods are also paired with the talents of acupuncturists, herbologists, massage therapists and holistic medicine practitioners.’
Another A lister: Robert Downey Jr reportedly went to Promises. He has since become a top A list movie star thanks to Iron Man. Seen here in April
The celebrity past of Promises is rich.
Spears is the best known star to have gone there.
In January 2008 she was hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center after police that arrived at her house noted she appeared to be under the influence of an unidentified substance.
She was committed to the psychiatric ward of Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and put on 5150 involuntary psychiatric hold. The court placed her under temporary, and later, permanen conservatorship of her father James Spears and attorney Andrew Wallet, giving them complete control of her assets. She was released five days later but went to rehab.
The Toxic singer has received treatment again this year but is doing better. He conservatorship looks like it will also be extended to other states.
In January 2007 Lohan started rehab. First she was in Wonderland Center then Promises where she stayed for 45 days.
Later came the Cirque Lodge Treatment Center in Sundance, Utah for a third stint at rehabilitation in the year, staying for three months until her discharge in October.
She also visited the Betty Ford Center, a drug and alcohol treatment center, where she remained on court order for three months until early January 2011. Between May and July 2013, Lohan spent 90 days in rehabilitation.
Downey maintains that he has been drug-free since July 2003, and has credited his wife with helping him overcome his drug and alcohol habits, along with his family, therapy, meditation, twelve-step recovery programs, yoga, and the practice of Wing Chun kung fu the martial art he learned from Eric Oram, who is also a fight consultant in several of Downey’s movies.
All grown back: Though Cliffside took a hit during the fires in 2018, the trees are doing well and the land looks unscathed
