Top 6 self-led retreat accommodation venues
In addition to the benefits of personal growth, retreat travel is also an amazing opportunity to go off the tourist track and explore non-mainstream accommodation options. Tourist hotels look pretty much the same all over the world. For a self-led retreat aimed at personal transformation, you’d need to step off the beaten path and outside your comfort zone and find something more uncommon.
Below are my favorite venues scattered across three continents. While they are completely different from one another (some are low-cost - others are pure luxury; some are very private - others offer shared facilities; some are under the hot sun - others are covered in snow), they all had one thing in common for me. They inspired me to change! They gave me a boost of fresh energy and creativity. They brought me new ideas, visions, revelations, desires, decisions.
I hope they will inspire you as well. Check out my favorite self-guided retreat accommodations and go to discover yours.
Casa Genoveva, a luxury villa in Brazil
Casa Genoveva sits on a peninsula hilltop in a local resort town of Ubatuba located in the state of Sao Paulo. The Mediterranean-style villa is overlooking 3 beautiful sandy beaches with its 270-degree ocean view. It´s luxury at its best. Waking up to the woosh sounds of the oceanfront below, stepping into the courtyard and diving into a clear blue personal pool, looking into the horizon, preparing fresh fruits for breakfast and relaxing in the hammock on the 2nd-floor balcony – this is a morning to enjoy!
This prestigious mansion is exactly the place to feel motivated and driven to accomplish great things. If your focus is on building momentum in your achievements, monetary or otherwise, then Casa Genoveva is a perfect venue for a personal growth retreat to boost your levels of performance and to do some high-flying goal setting. Luxury helps to create momentum and sets your brain into achievement mode.
While there are no world-famous sightseeing sites in Ubatuba, its main attraction is its natural beauty. With over 100 splendid beaches, lush tropical vegetation and numerous waterfalls, Ubatuba is one of the last unspoiled places in the region. In addition to some ambitious goal setting, water sports, trekking, birdwatching, cycling, and skydiving can also be included in your self-led retreat program. Why not start practicing your millionaire lifestyle even before you officially become one? Find your own luxury villa for rent and make a quantum leap into the life of your dreams.
ÖÖD Mirrored House, a glass cottage in Estonia
Imagine waking up in the morning inside a glasshouse, to a 270-degree view of the trees covered in snow and a half-frozen river. Straight out of your bed, you observe two early birds calmly floating down the current, in whom you recognize elegant swans. No, it's not a fictitious fairytale – it is an absolutely real mirrored glass cottage that could be your next self-guided retreat venue.
Originally designed in Estonia, ÖÖD Mirror House concept has now spread to many other countries. It's hard to imagine a more comfortable place for self-led retreat activities. Three of the four walls of the house are fully made of mirrored glass. When you are inside the cottage, it seems that you are actually in the midst of nature. On the other hand, no one can see you from the outside with the daylight; all the passersby can see is their own reflection in the mirror. Only after the sunset, the cottage walls become transparent, and you might want to pull the curtains together for more privacy.
Glass cottages are usually installed in the most beautiful natural environments, mirroring and reflecting all the wonders of nature, be it a colorful sunset on an isolated beach or a mystical forest under the stars. Even if it's freezing cold outside, the prefab mirrored house is fully equipped with all modern facilities. The one that I rented even had an external wooden-heated sauna overlooking the river. If you live far north and decide to retreat in winter, or even if it rains non-stop for weeks, look for a glass cottage, cabin or igloo. Then, even the most brutal weather won't interrupt your retreat.
A treehouse in Estonia
A treehouse cabin is another inspiring retreat venue option that gives you an opportunity to reconnect with nature. You literally become its part. When the weather is calm and sunny, you hear the birds singing right above your head and see rays of sunlight breaking through tree crowns. When it’s rainy and windy, you hear the soothing rain sounds and feel the treehouse gently swaying back and forth. A perfect setting to easily achieve a meditative state.
My treehouse retreat took place in the woods of Estonia. Cozy colorful interior, wooden walls and furniture, a fireplace, a suspension bridge leading up to the house hanging on pine trees, created a romantic atmosphere. You'd never forget the moments of meditating or drinking aromatic herbal tea in a hanging chair on the terrace, seeing nothing but trees all around. In the evening, the treehouse and the suspension bridge are illuminated by colorful led lamps which make the whole setting even more enchanting.
There is something magical about treehouses. They take you back in time, back to your childhood when it was perfectly normal to climb a tree and sit there for hours daydreaming, or to swing on a rope swing until getting completely dizzy. In the modern adult world, you so often lack such closeness to nature, easiness and spontaneity. If you ever decide to go on a creativity retreat to eliminate your creative blocks and unleash your artistic potential, look for a treehouse.
A houseboat in India
Houseboats have been the top attraction of the Alleppey region in Kerala, India for decades. Used for transportation of rice and spices in ancient times, Kerala houseboats have now been adapted to serve tourists who wish to navigate the lush backwaters of this beautiful region. Kerala backwaters are comprised of 900 km waterways, including lagoons, canals, rivers and lakes. A typical modern houseboat is basically a floating hotel featuring all necessary facilities and even a catering service.
However, you don't have to catch the first airplane to India in order to experience this unique adventure; similar houseboats and floating homes can also be found in many other parts of the world and are available for your self-guided retreat. Imagine living on the water for days with no shore nearby, no clear boundaries or limits. You are somewhere in the middle of the water in the midst of nature, just going with the flow, letting go of everything that no longer serves you. What a liberating feeling!
Even if you just rent a floating home that doesn't sail across hundreds of kilometers in the backwaters of India but stays in the same place, it's still an extraordinary experience. The proximity to water calms you down and makes you forget all your daily problems, frustrations and stress causes. If you are on a healing retreat, be as close to the water as possible. It will clear all your past pains and help you to renew yourself.
Torri Superiore, an ecovillage in Italy
Just a few kilometers from the French border, at the foot of the Ligurian Alps, sits an ecovillage of Torri Superiore, a part of a well-known global network of ecovillages. Dating back to the 13th-century, Torri Superiore is basically a huge fortress-style building with over 160 rooms with several courtyards and terraces connected by a complex network of internal and external stairs, passages and corridors. An abandoned medieval village, which had become a ghost town, was completely restored and transformed into a charming oasis of ecotourism in 2016.
Torri Superiore's sister city Torri is located in the lower part of the valley, a few minutes walk away. Time stands still in the town of Torri. There are no shops, restaurants or other places open to the public - just old houses, villas, gardens and bridges. Torri streets come to life only once every two hours, by the time the bus arrives. Otherwise, the empty medieval streets belong entirely to a few rare tourists who happen to explore the town. Once Torri's sightseeing tour is complete, it is worth taking a scenic nature walk along the Bévéra River, which starts at the top of the hill and descends gradually lower and lower until you reach a splendid swimming spot hidden between the rocks.
Torri Superiore is a place where the dream of slow living has come true. By the way, it was Italy who gave the world the philosophy of slow living, from which many global slow movements (from slow food to slow cities) evolved. In Torri Superiore, everyone lives in the here and now. There is no place for a stressful hurry and rush between the magnificent green mountains. Guests and locals sit on the terrace for hours, reading, contemplating nature, chatting, enjoying delicious vegetarian food. Maybe you could be one of them, doing your self-led retreat right in the here and now?
B&B Botton d'Oro, an eco-friendly bed and breakfast with an animal shelter in Italy
Bed and breakfast Botton d'Oro is a small paradise tucked between the gorgeous mountains of Valle Imagna, located just 35 km from Milan Bergamo Airport, managed by a lovely Italian family who will welcome you at their place as one of their own. A stylish, eco-friendly design thought out to the smallest details, a delicious and healthy breakfast, unforgettable mountain views, fresh air and complete silence, interrupted only by domestic animals’ and birds’ voices, will make you fall in love with this place.
If you are at a crossroads in your life and are in need of time to think or not to think at all, this is the place to be. Being in nature and close to the animals will give you all the answers you need and even those you haven’t yet asked for. At Botton d'Oro, there is a small animal shelter where you will get a chance to meet lovely sheep, a donkey, ducks, chicken, hens, etc., who all live in a free and well-kept environment, in harmony with nature and with each other. If you wish to give the hosts a hand with feeding and caring for the animals, you are most welcome to do so.
For your self-led retreat activities, you can use a cozy meditation corner located in the shared kitchen, as well as nice sitting areas on the terrace, or even practice your yoga, meditation and journaling on the territories separated for the animals. For your mindful walks, Imagna valley offers plenty of hiking trails, passing through enchanting forests and fields, small charming towns and villages with a remarkable cultural and architectural heritage, steep mountains and picturesque waterfalls with crystal clear water. A perfect place to get lost in order to find a new direction in life.