Take a wellness weekend
Check out for a weekend, then check back into life. These wellness retreats offer you a rejuvenating break and can arm you with the skills and knowledge to reach your goals, writes Belinda Jackson.
Enjoy a 48-hour break at these health retreats
NSW: GOLDEN DOOR ELYSIA HEALTH RETREAT AND SPA
Best for Learning to reset within a friendly communal environment.
Who’s checking in? Couples, weekend re-setters, as well as those who have experienced trauma. With a predominantly female clientele, it has a 40 per cent return guest rate.
What’s on offer? Set on 10 hectares in the Hunter Valley, Golden Door’s signature morning ritual is its Tai Chi Qigong movement at sunrise atop Meditation Hill, which you can follow with a guided walk through the bushland or a swim class. Activities are available all day, which suits those on shorter programs, and one of the retreat’s key foundations is its communal dining. “It’s a sense of community, of being connected,” says Jaye Hoelscher, Head of Guest Experiences at
Golden Door Elysia. “Some people come to heal after trauma or illness, and they see they are not alone.” The daily program can include speciality interests, from weight management to developing leadership skills. There are indoor and outdoor pools and tennis courts, where you can correct your stroke, and its evening seminars see internationally acclaimed speakers’ topics ranging from positive psychology to gut health, managing depression or rewiring your brain’s approach to food. Golden Door Elysia Health Retreat and Spa was recently named Australia and Oceania’s Best Wellness Retreat in the 2018 World Spa Awards.
Come home feeling Inspired to set new goals, and armed with knowledge, recipes as well as coping techniques to avoid slipping back into bad old ways.
Get in touch 165 Thompsons Road, Pokolbin NSW, (02) 4058 2737, goldendoor.com.au
Price A three-night Motivate for Change program includes accommodation, all meals, group fitness, daily seminars and relaxation classes. From $1825 per person, twin share. Check online for seasonal discounts.