“I feel like I came broken and have left feeling stronger and healthier…”   A., Residential Retreat Guest in 2019

Residential Retreats

 We have two private, luxurious Havens for our residential retreats.

Haven-by-the-Sea is by the sea on the fabulous Ile de Ré, just off the coast from La Rochelle, France.  Over many years this was our place of refuge, to blow away the cobwebs, take time out to think, relax or recouperate. We are thrilled to be able to now offer it to our clients too.

Haven-in-the-Vines is deep in the beautiful countryside of SW France where we have lived for over 20 years.

Each has it’s own unique character therefore you can choose which one appeals to you most for your tailored residential retreat! 

Haven by the Sea

Located in La Flotte, a beautiful small market town famous for its white walls and houses, its ancient market, pretty harbour and colourful hollyhocks lining the narrow streets.

For your residential retreat you have the private cottage to yourself. From here you can relax on your sunny terrace, walk or cycle to amazing beaches and the lovely harbour. Also, the surrounding countryside is lovely to explore with long cycle paths through the woodland and along the coast.

The pretty sitting room has large glass doors leading to a terrace with woodburner, table, chairs and sun lounger. There is a dining and kitchenette area, a TV with netflix and DVD player if required and selection of books.

Opening onto the terrace the bedroom has a very pretty and comfortable iron bed.

In the bathroom is a stunning wooden Japanese soaking bath. Relax and unwind allowing the stresses and toxins to soak away in the essential oil baths salts provided for you.

Extra options available

We can arrange spa sessions in the local 5 star hotel, just ten minutes walk away. Firstly you can enjoy the warm salt water pool, jacuzzi, steam room and sauna. This is followed by a one hour deeply theraputic massage by some of the best therapists we have tried. Finally, relax and enjoy a tissaine in the salt lined relaxation room – utter bliss!

For a more dynamic experience, from April – October, we can arrange surfing or paddleboard classes.

Yoga classes can be arranged all year around either one to one or joining a group class.

Haven in the Vines

Our guest accommodation for our residential retreats at Haven in the Vines is deep in the countryside near Angouleme. A beautiful stone cottage overlooking the pool and gardens. We are, as you probably guessed, surrounded by vineyards where grapes for the local Cognac makers are grown.

The cottage is spacious, private and luxurious

Consisting of a large, comfortable living room with woodburner in winter, a lovely bedroom, bathroom with bath and walk-in shower and a sauna area. It’s also perfectly placed for instance to watch the sunset in the evening from the garden, have breakfast in the morning sun by the pool and to walk through the ever changing woods just along the lane.

We need to feel the wind in our hair, the sun on our face and the earth beneath our feet. On the other hand, sometimes we just want to snuggle down into a big blanket and be wrapped up like a child. Here, you have both.

Pool

In the summer months, usually May – September depending on the weather, the outdoor heated pool (28°-32°) is open. The 12 metre pool is good swimming and a lovely place to lie on the terrace bathed in sunshine. It has a retractable cover so that on the rare occasion the weather is awful you can still enjoy it.

Release toxins and aid relaxation in the infrared sauna. Heat, tranquillity, rest… perfect. Relax in the, very effective, massage chair.

Enjoy breakfast on the terrace, lunch by the pool, dinner at your dining table – or take some or all your meals in the cottage if you prefer, you choose!

For residential retreats, we provide support when you need it and appreciate your need for quiet time, privacy and space.

Gourmet Delights for Guests of our Residential Retreats

For guests of our residential retreats, we offer a delicious, high raw, gourmet, plant food diet. It is very healing, nourishing and cleansing whilst also satisfying the desire and need to ENJOY your food. It has been very highly reviewed by guests of past retreats.

That doesn’t mean going through an awful detoxification process (though we can offer more intense cleansing when required), but you will still be cleaning out toxins and reinforcing your immune system from day one.

A plant based diet:

is made up of fresh, ripe fruit and vegetables, nuts and seeds. Most of the focus of our meals is on raw produce however, especially during the cooler months, we do include some cooked food too (we give the option). The meals we achieve using first-class equipment (high-speed blenders, dehydrators, sous-vide water baths, sprouters and masticating juicers) are amazing. Every mouthful nourishes the mind and body, soothing and energising.

Why?

We provide juices, smoothies, meals and snacks throughout the day to really pack those nutrients in. These are prepared with mostly organic produce, often fresh from our garden or local producers, to nourish you on every level including pure indulgence! In the cooler months especially, some cooked elements can be included.

Juices allow speedy absorption with minimal digestion. Green smoothies satisfy both on a nutritional level and alleviate hunger pangs (as well as increasing our stomach acids – all will be explained to you if you are interested).

There will be cake and chocolate, snacks and savoury morsels.

Nutritional help

During your residential retreat we provide, if required, nutritional and well-being consultations with Desri, addressing any problems you have. Any food or lifestyle-related topics can be covered, E.G. feeding a family or avoiding afternoon brain fog.

You can learn how to substitute healthful ingredients and recipes to create better versions of your favourite foods. This could enable and empower you to continue on your new path. We can cover how to achieve that ever-elusive 5-10 fruit and veg a day, meal planning and how to sneak nutrients into picky eaters.

We all need delicious and nutritious!

NB: This is a simple example of a day: your stay with us will be tailored to your requirements.

We can also offer a deeper detox of mainly fresh juices and/or lighter meals if required.

Options for our residential retreats

We have several options for the Residential Retreats. To ensure the most effective benefits, we limit the number of clients staying at the Haven to one or two people who come together at any one time. 

NB: From August 2021, we also have retreats at our Haven by the sea on the Ile de Ré. Get in touch to book in!

Intensive Emotional Residential Retreat: 3+ nights

Example 3 nights

Price: £2,195  (aprox 10 hrs 1-to-1 overall).

Includes all therapy, coaching, energy work (optional), accomodation, meals, juices and snacks.

Example 7 nights

Price: £4,350 pp (aprox 30 hrs 1-to-1 overall).

Includes all therapy, coaching, energy work (optional), accomodation, meals, juices and snacks.

Gourmet Raw Food Retreat

Gourmet Raw Food Retreat: Cleansing retreats for a health boost, weight loss and regaining your glow. Includes accomdation, all meals, snacks, juices and drinks (teas, pure filtered water, tisanes), a nutritional consultation, NLP and motivational work or help to resolve the causes and move forward more healthily, guided walks and the use of all facilities.

Example 3 nights

Price: £1,355 pp.

Example 7 nights

Price: £2,990 per person.

We can offer a lighter regime, resulting in a deeper cleanse/detox and over a longer period of time if required. Please contact us to discuss.

NB It is possible for a couple to come together at Haven in the Vines without following the same program. For example, one person can have an Intensive Emotional stay, whilst the other has the Gourmet Raw Food Retreat. We also offer couples therapy.