The tranquil surrounds made for prime relaxation conditions
I went to a health retreat for the first time a few weeks ago and I have to admit I’ve always been a bit scared at the prospect of doing so. I’ve often associated health retreats with strict detox diets, waking up at the crack of dawn to exercise and being removed from modern conveniences so for someone who loves coffee, wine, good food, her iPhone and Wi-Fi I wasn’t sure it would be a good fit.
I had heard so much about Gaia Retreat & Spa in Byron Bay that Luke and I decided to head up there for a weekend away together to celebrate his birthday.
Inside a villa at Gaia
All my fears were set aside as soon as we arrived. The suite was lovely and had Wi-Fi, a TV and a library of movies we could watch so we weren’t completely removed from technology. Plus the retreat is quite relaxed so you could choose your activities (no exercising early in the morning unless you wanted to) and enjoy coffee in the morning and a glass of wine in the evening.
There was yoga available in the morning and activities throughout the day, but Luke and I were on a mission to chill out and relax so we booked some spa treatments and decided to make it quite a leisurely weekend. The spa is definitely world class and all the products used are organic so I took some home to try it out.
One of the amazing dishes I had at Gaia
All the meals we had were Instagram-worthy
One of my great pleasures in life is going out to dinner and eating good food so before we arrived I thought ‘Oh god am I going to be eating salad for the next three days?’ The food however, was incredible. I actually took home a cookbook that’s how good the food was.
While there’s no menu and everyone has the same meals, Gaia do tailor the food to suit your requirements. As I’m pregnant I didn’t have the raw food but everyone else had it. Breakfast, lunch and dinner was a feast. It also enabled me to try dishes that I might not otherwise have ordered if I were to see it on a menu. I had a dish with noodles, pumpkin and tofu (pictured above) that was particularly delicious. I have a huge sweet tooth so I was pleasantly surprised to discover that we also got dessert.
Luke and I only managed to get away for a weekend however it was such a relaxing experience that we would definitely consider going back and staying a bit longer next time.
Have you ever been to a health retreat? How did you find the experience?