Maria is a 20-something actor from the UK. Sarah and Estelle are a mother-daughter couple from Canada. Ali is a newly divorced nurse from Hong Kong. And I’m a travel writer living here in Bali. We’re from different countries, differing stages of life and different worlds but it is fast becoming apparent that we have similar habits. Namely, to instinctively put our yoga mats away at the end of a class; to busily tidy up communal dishes after a meal, and to dutifully deliver our towels to the laundry basket after a swim.
Letting go at Escape Haven, Bali.
This shared compulsion to pick up after ourselves and others is ingrained, but here at Escape Haven it’s not necessary and indeed not wanted. Part of the philosophy of the resort’s women-only wellness retreats is for guests to give themselves permission to be completely nurtured and cared for. This includes dropping the domestic niceties, the perceived etiquette, and not doing anything for ourselves that the ever-caring staff can do.
Being excused from the responsibilities of daily life is incredibly liberating. As mothers, daughters, women, these behaviours are apparently baked into our beings, but there’s nothing like a seven-day retreat in a tropical paradise to at least give them a rest.
Escape Haven is tucked away in a quiet, green pocket of busy beachside Canggu on Bali’s southern coastline. Re-opened last year after a COVID-19 remake, the new sanctuary (an expansion of the original Bali retreat opened in 2008) now boasts bigger premises and dreamy facilities including a curvaceous saltwater lagoon pool and a recovery centre with infrared sauna, ice plunge pool and eight-seat jacuzzi.
The resort’s 17 ensuite rooms and suites are designed to feel like cocoons of homely indulgence. My Danu suite has the opulence of a manor house with a king bed plush with Belgian linen and feather pillows (on request). A blue colour palette is softened by artisan touches such as a shell chandelier and cane desk. The mosaic tiled ensuite has a jacuzzi, which I soak in one evening surrounded by rose petals. On other balmy nights, I sit on my little porch, sipping on chamomile tea, taking in the garden, pool and chirrup of the geckos.
The week-long retreats are based around themed options: yoga, surf, fitness, Ayurveda, spa, healing, detox, Pilates, adventure, wellness, “bucket list” and mother-daughter. Depending on the choice, guests might start the day with a yoga class, fitness session or a sunrise letting go ceremony, and end it with gourmet meals around a communal table (with menus to suit different needs such as detoxing) and Balinese ceremonies around the poolside fire pit.
Surf is on the menu for Escape Haven’s women-only wellness retreats.
In between times, we can choose between cooking workshops, sightseeing outings, cultural experiences and unlimited spa treatments. Chill-out time and sleep are equally important and encouraged, with sleep rituals including bedside aromatherapy diffusers, little gifts – an eye mask, an essential oil, left on the pillow at turndown, and inspirational notes to remind us why we’re here: to reconnect, reset, recuperate.
Escape Haven owner and founder Janine Hall, who has welcomed more than 10,000 women to the retreat over the years, tells me surf and yoga packages have traditionally been the most popular. But the pandemic years, “which gave women valuable insights into their mental and physical wellbeing” has seen the focus turn to more healing experiences. It prompted the addition of a package focused solely on Bali healing modalities including chakra balancing and purification ceremonies “for a more profound and transformational healing experience.” It is now the most popular choice for guests.
While having staff wait on me takes a bit of adjusting to, it is marvellously easy to indulge in two, even three spa treatments each day. I start the week with deep tissue massages, body scrubs and a pedicure and by the end of the week I’m dipping into Bali-style creme baths (for hair) bamboo massages (dry brushing the skin) and chakra balancing (with a Balinese healer).
Poolside workout.
I wander from yoga class, to gourmet meals, to spa in a sarong-clad daze, as do the women sharing the experience. We might be from different worlds, but we’re all in agreement that taking time-out from responsibility is the answer to real rest and recuperation.
THE DETAILS
FLY
Qantas flies daily non-stop from Sydney, Melbourne and Perth to Denpasar’s I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport. From there, it’s a one-hour transfer to the retreat. See qantas.com
STAY
Seven-day retreats from $US2595 ($3895) a person, including unlimited spa treatments, sightseeing and cultural experiences, chef-prepared meals, wellbeing workshops, cooking lessons, twice daily yoga and meditation, Balinese healing including a cacao ceremony, and airport transfers. Jalan Padang Linjong, Canggu. See escapehaven.com
The writer was a guest of Escape Haven.
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