22 accommodations on Larry Ellison's former 230-acre Rancho Mirage estate — Sensei by Nobu, a private 18-hole Tom Doak golf course, the Sensei diagnostic-led wellness model. The most committed wellness retreat in the western United States.
"Larry Ellison's former private compound, repurposed as a 22-key all-inclusive wellness estate where the Sensei programme assigns each guest a personal coach for the duration. There is nothing comparable in California — possibly nowhere comparable in the western United States. Three- to seven-night minimums, north of $1,500 a night, no day visitors."
Porcupine Creek began as a private estate that Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison assembled across the 1990s and 2000s — 230 contiguous acres on the Rancho Mirage flats with a private 18-hole Tom Doak golf course (originally built for Ellison's own play), a 19,000-square-foot main house, multiple guest casitas, two- to four-bedroom villas, and an aviation hangar at the southern boundary. In 2018 Ellison partnered with the Sensei brand — the wellness venture he co-founded with Dr David Agus — to convert the estate into the second Sensei retreat (after Sensei Lanai, which opened on the Hawaiian island of Lanai in 2021). Sensei Porcupine Creek opened to guests in November 2022.
The 22 accommodations are split between the original Estate House (now eight guest rooms in the converted main residence), eleven 600-square-foot Casitas with mountain or fairway views and private heated spas, and four two-to-four-bedroom Villas. The Estate House rooms are the headline product — the original Ellison residence preserved and refitted, with public rooms (drawing room, library, dining room) shared with the small number of in-house guests. There are no other guests on the property. Porcupine Creek operates strictly as a residential wellness retreat — three-night minimum stays, no day visitors, no day spa traffic, no event business.
The Sensei programme is the second proposition. Every guest is assigned a personal "Sensei guide" for the duration of their stay; the guide runs a comprehensive intake interview at arrival (typically 90 minutes) and assembles a custom programme across movement, nutrition, recovery, and rest using the Sensei diagnostic centre on-site (functional movement screen, body composition, blood biomarkers, sleep tracking). Treatments and classes are unbooked at arrival and scheduled through the guide as the week unfolds. The Spa Hale (six treatment rooms in a separate Hawaiian-influenced building) handles the touch-therapy programme; the Yoga Pavilion and Fitness Pavilion handle the movement programme; the diagnostic centre handles the data programme.
Sensei by Nobu is the single restaurant — Nobu Matsuhisa's Sensei concept (Hawaiian Pacific Rim with strict ingredient sourcing) running breakfast, lunch, and dinner with no choice from a fixed menu most evenings. The food is included in the rate, as are all classes and one treatment per night of stay; additional treatments are billable. The 18-hole golf course (Tom Doak, originally built for Ellison) remains private and bookable only by in-house guests. The combination is unique in California: the only ultra-luxury wellness retreat operating an all-inclusive personalised diagnostic-led model with a private golf course attached. The pricing — north of $1,500 a night with a three-night minimum — filters for guests treating the stay as a serious wellness intervention rather than a long weekend.
For serious wellness retreats Porcupine Creek is the strongest property in the western United States and arguably anywhere outside Europe. The diagnostic-led programme means the week is built around the data the intake produces; the Sensei guide is genuinely one-to-one for the duration; the Sensei by Nobu kitchen handles the nutrition piece without it feeling like a clinic. Five-night and seven-night programmes are the conventional length; three nights is the shortest the property will accept.
For solo intentional travel Porcupine Creek is the flagship desert option. Single occupancy is fully accommodated; a Casita gives the privacy of a freestanding building; the Sensei guide model means the days are structured without requiring negotiation with a partner. Reading, hiking on the surrounding Santa Rosa trails, the morning yoga, and the diagnostic intake gives the week a clear arc. The all-inclusive rate removes every transactional decision.
For anniversaries that the couple wants to use as a wellness reset rather than a celebration weekend Porcupine Creek is the considered choice. Book a Villa for the privacy, work with the Sensei guide on a paired programme (some couples prefer parallel programmes that converge for the morning hike and the evening dinner), and use the golf course or the Casita's private heated spa as the slow-day infrastructure. Not the pick for the celebratory anniversary; perfect for the recalibration anniversary.
42895 Tonopah Road
Rancho Mirage, CA 92270
United States
Palm Springs International Airport (PSP) 25 minutes; downtown Palm Springs 30 minutes; private aviation directly to the on-site hangar by arrangement
22 accommodations (8 Estate House rooms; 11 Casitas; 4 Villas)
Discover Sensei programme from $1,523/night
Casitas typically $2,000–$3,000/night
Villas (2–4 bedroom) on application
Three-night minimum stay
Check-in: 4:00 PM (intake interview within 24 hours)
Check-out: 11:00 AM
Opened November 2022 on the former Larry Ellison Porcupine Creek estate
Sensei by Nobu (single restaurant)
Personal Sensei guide for the duration
On-site diagnostic centre (Dr David Agus design)
Spa Hale, Yoga Pavilion, Fitness Pavilion
Private 18-hole Tom Doak golf course
All meals and one treatment per night included
22 keys / 230 acres / no day guests
From $1,523/night all-inclusive. Three-night minimum. Closed July–August (peak desert summer). November–April high season; book six months ahead for late January through March.
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