Vivian Henein

Four Seasons Tenure

• Originally hired 2014; now since 2022
• First Four Seasons Assignment: Spa Director, Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel

Employment History

• Ambassade Biologique Recherche, Los Angeles; Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel; La Costa Resort and Spa, Carlsbad; The Island Hotel, Newport Beach

Education

• Bachelor of Science, Business Management & Operations Management, California State University - Long Beach, College of Business Administration

Birthplace

• San Dimas, California, USA

Languages Spoken

• English

“Our approach is about giving people what they’re looking for,” says Vivian Henein of the programming she shapes as Director of Wellness at Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills. Whether guests arrive from a distance or from right nearby, more and more of them are focused on heightening their wellbeing. “They see us more as a peaceful environment where they can discover new wellness concepts to make them feel grounded and rejuvenated.”

Henein oversees a wellness oasis spanning the Hotel’s entire fourth floor, including a 3,700-square foot Spa, more than a dozen Wellness Rooms and Suites, plant-based dining options, plus a pool deck, fitness centre, and a new Wellness Meeting Room located on the Lobby level. Taken together, the operation provides a “safe space” to detach from daily stresses and engage in treatments, rituals and fitness for the mind, body and spirit, as well as for sleep health, “well-aging,” and more.  

The spread of options is designed to meet personal needs as wellness continues to evolve. “Our gym is busy at 5:00 am every day with people who really want to take time for themselves,” Henein explains. “They used to see us as a place to work out and get spa treatments. But now we’re a true wellness destination.”

Born and raised in a suburb of Los Angeles, Henein grew up engaged in fitness activities and fascinated by skincare products. Indeed, she once asked her mother to buy her Oil of Olay so she could discover the seven signs of aging. “I was only six years old,” she recalls with a laugh.

Henein studied business administration and a friend recommended a hotel on the coast of Newport Beach that had only recently reflagged from a Four Seasons. “She said the team still operated as if it was part Four Seasons, and it would be a good way to see what the company was about.”

Good call: Henein landed as a spa coordinator and knew at once she’d found her niche. After rising in management at the hotel and another resort, she joined Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel as a Spa Director and later was promoted to Senior Spa Director for the Americas. The role found her mentoring Spa Directors at five other Four Seasons properties while taking Beverly Wilshire’s Spa programming to new heights. Over six years, she led the Spa to its first Forbes Five-Star rating and grew retail revenue by impressive percentages.

She is particularly proud of the latter. “I live for retail! I can’t walk past a display without checking it out, and I’m always researching what’s the newest, hottest and best.” The trick to spa retail success, she says, is creating a story from packaging and displays “and then making sure the staff knows how to tell it.”

Now at Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills, Heinen is on a mission to make the property “an elevated luxury wellness space,” and she has the backing of management to instil the wellness operation with her vision. She also has a 20-plus-member team to cater to the needs of clientele.

“The push we’re making is to bring more awareness of our wellness space and the possibilities it holds. We’re constantly considering the amenities we offer and then methodically thinking of ways to elevate them.”

When not engaged at the Hotel, Heinen lives a healthy lifestyle with her fiancé, a body builder whose passion for wellness is on par with her own.  They enjoy cycling to the beach together, morning cardio sessions, snowboarding trips, and cooking healthy meals together.