Luxury: Bali

ESCAPE HAVEN

It’s only day three of our seven-day stay, and my friend Emma has already reached peak luxury. “I can’t do it. Ninety minutes is just too long,” she says, with a pained expression on her face. “Why can’t my spa treatment be only an hour so I have more time to lie by the pool and read my book?”

There’s an easy solution to this First World problem because easy solutions are what luxury wellness retreats are all about. Emma can read in the shade by the Instagram-ready infinity pool while Wati, our ever-smiling Balinese spa therapist, gives her a 90-minute pedicure and reflexology treatment. Luxury means your options are endless.

It’s testament to the excellence of Escape Haven, a women-only active spa retreat in Bali’s beautiful beachside town of Canggu, that the most stressful decision each day is which treatment we want. Don’t scoff — the menu lists more than 15 different options, and with only seven days to play with, it’s almost impossible to choose which to fit in.

Escape Haven, founded in 2008 by New Zealander Janine Hall, was last year named the Best Luxury Wellness Retreat at the World Luxury Hotel awards and is this year in contention for three more awards. It is also the No 1 retreat in Bali on TripAdvisor and has had more than 5000 women through its picture-perfect doors since its launch.

Everything has been carefully thought out and executed, from the big-picture planning of each guest’s weekly schedule to the tiniest details, like the artfully-arranged frangipanis left daily on our beds.

Running back-to-back throughout the year, retreats welcome up to 15 women each week. Guests choose between four different packages: Refresh (yoga), Renew (fitness), Revive (surf) or Ayurvedic (healing), and the week is carefully planned out from there. Whatever package is chosen, guests still enjoy daily yoga classes, spa treatments, and meditation, and receive meals, butler service, airport transfers and late check-outs. The idea is to give women a break from their everyday lives, and a chance to reconnect with their true selves — something that often gets lost in the busyness of keeping on top of work, family, relationships, health . . . otherwise known as life.

Sitting in a circle, relaxed and activewearadorned after our first group yoga class, it’s not long before the tears start to flow. Our retreat leaders Renee, Lucy, Mel and Sandra, an Aussie, a Brit, a Kiwi and a German, have told us all about “their journeys” to get to where they are today — professionally, physically, spiritually and mentally. There are stories of high-stress careers, bad relationships and severe health problems, which eventually lead to personal revelations that lifestyles needed to change. All four are radiant with the glow that can only come from healthy eating, plenty of fresh air and exercise, and the inner peace the retreat guests are hoping to replicate.

With nothing but encouragement and support in the air, we take it in turns to share the reasons we have booked a week at Escape Haven. Starting as strangers, 15 women quickly become friends, talking openly about career changes, loss, grief, depression, stress. Mothers talk about how they give so much to their families they have nothing left for themselves; women on the cusp of 40 reveal their fears about this next chapter in their lives; burned-out professionals ask for help to rediscover what brings them joy away from work. We all agree on one thing — we just need a break from real life.

Sharing our stories is like a huge exhalation — a sense of calm is already starting to spread throughout the group as we gather round a perfectly dressed dining table for a healthy, hearty, wholefoods meal. It seems, for some women, the first hurdle in reconnecting with life has already been conquered — just acknowledging they need some time out and having the support from the group to not feel guilty for that.

The mood continues to change over the next few days as we are cocooned in our bubble of luxury. You can see women getting brighter and mentally lighter as the days roll by and we have nothing to worry about. Need a drink? Someone will get it for you. Want to change your chosen spa treatment? No problem, it’s already taken care of. Heading into town to do some shopping? Easy, there’s a driver on standby. Want to do absolutely nothing? Totally fine, find a spot on a sun lounger and relax for as long as you like.

The tropical warmth and tranquillity of our surroundings no doubt helps — the retreat is nestled in the Balinese jungle and the sounds

of birdsong, cicadas, and calls from local Emirates flies direct from Auckland to Bali, with return Economy Class fares from $919. Six-night, seven-day retreats at Escape Haven Canggu start from US$2195pp. Flights are additional.

Despite being surrounded by perfect luxury, for me the relaxation is slow to come. My brain won’t switch off; I spend my spa treatments mentally running through to-do lists, then get frustrated for not being fully in the moment.

This is what Buddhists and yogis call “the monkey mind”, the niggling thoughts that won’t go away, the self-criticisms bringing barriers to relaxation and inner peace. It seems I’ve brought all my monkeys on holiday with me, and they’ve invited all their friends for one massive monkey party. Unlike some of the other women, who, by day three, seem to be floating on air, I’m getting more and more frustrated at not being able to relax.

It doesn’t help that I’m being drastically unsuccessful with my chosen Revive package. Every morning, our professional instructors pick us up, drive us to one of the island’s excellent surf beaches, and we get in the water to attempt to ride the