Whether your goal is to reconnect with your spirituality or escape the stress and routine of normal life, wellness centers provide a comfortable venue to do so.
In the most basic sense, these centers provide guests with a calm place for seclusion away from everything. Beyond that, they also offer classes on meditation, yoga, and breathwork training to enhance the benefits of the retreat.
If you’re planning a retreat for a group of friends, family, clients, or coworkers, these are some of the best retreat centers you can find around the U.S and different parts of the world. They offer a combination of extensive facilities, nature, classes, and plentiful food options.
1. Pali Mountain Retreat
Located between Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear in the middle of the San Bernardino mountains, Pali Retreat offers a relaxing meeting place for school groups, churches, corporations, and non-profit organizations of any size.
Pali Retreat offers tons of free activities like nature walks in their forest areas, board games, movie nights, and outdoor games that are sure to entertain kids at heart.
Organizers can personalize their stay by adding premium activities such as ziplining, paintball, karaoke, yoga, and water sports in their lake. There are all kinds of accommodations you can select from, with villas and cabins as well as plenty of meeting rooms if you’re planning a corporate retreat.
In addition to the numerous things to do, Pali Retreat makes sure to keep guests well-fed with standard buffet meals and add-on options such as picnic lunches, charcuterie trays, and freshly-baked desserts.
This Southern California facility is located close to hiking trails, including Keller Peak and Slide Peak. You can also visit the marvelous city of Los Angeles while in the area. You can comfortably fit as little as 25 people and up to 700 people.
Read our guide on wellness retreats you can attend in California.
2. Esalen Institute
Big Sur’s rugged coastline and breathtaking sea views are the perfect backdrops for Esalen Institute’s 120-acre campus.
As a holistic retreat and education center, Esalen offers guests the opportunity to participate in a number of workshops focused on everything from mindfulness to liminal dreaming. The institute also offers educational programs about organic farming, massages, and more.
In between sessions, guests have the opportunity to take advantage of campus amenities, including natural hot springs, an Art Barn, and a Meditation Hut. Organic food is a huge part of the experience, so visitors can enjoy farm-to-table dining with ingredients coming straight from their backyard.
Esalen offers a variety of accommodation options you can rent for your group retreats. These range from shared sleeping spaces to the South Point House Plus Suite, complete with a kitchenette and a private outdoor tub overlooking the ocean.
Your group can take advantage of the hiking, camping, and beachcombing available at the nearby Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park. Alternatively, you can drive one hour north to check out the charming seaside town of Monterey.
3. Jordan Ranch
Sitting on 88 acres of land in eastern Texas, Jordan Ranch is a retreat center promising relaxation, leadership training, and spiritual rejuvenation for church groups, corporations, and even just for couples looking for a getaway.
Expanding over 34,000 feet of real estate and holding more than 20+ rooms, Jordan Ranch can accommodate up to 73 people. The conference room can seat up to 120 guests.
Free amenities are plentiful and include things like sports fields, sports courts, walking trails, outdoor prayer stations, and a swimming pool.
For an additional fee, Jordan Ranch can arrange horseback riding, ziplining, cooking classes, outdoor movie screenings, and massages, among many other things. It’s easy to customize the experience for your wellness retreat participants.
Guests looking to extend their stay in the area can explore the Alamo or the Riverwalk in San Antonio, enjoy live music and BBQ scene in Austin, or get a dose of big city energy in Houston. These famous Texas cities are only around an hour or hour and a half drive away.
4. Pura Vida Wellness Retreat Center
Pura Vida is a spiritual, health-centered wellness program near the Mexican village of Yelapa. It’s only accessible by boat, making it peaceful and secluded, so it’s the perfect place to recharge and disconnect.
Accommodation options are plentiful, ranging from small huts to casitas (or mini houses). Most rooms provide guests with an unobstructed view of the nearby ocean and jungle.
Amenities include a heated ocean-water pool and hot tub, an outdoor studio for yoga classes, movement and meditation classes, and massages. These offerings are designed to promote spiritual healing and allow guests to explore and learn about themselves. You can also add spa treatments to your retreat.
Nearby, guests can climb a 60-foot waterfall, wander through the quaint village of Yelapa, snorkel the crystal clear waters, and watch traditional Mexican dance performances.
5. Gaia Retreat Center
Located in Ubud, the “spiritual heartland” of Bali, Gaia Retreat Center is nestled amongst rice fields and provides the ideal backdrop for guests seeking peace, clarity, and healing.
Gaia offers two signature wellness programs: the Bali Detox Retreat and the Transcendental Meditation Retreat. There are also a number of interest-based group retreats focused on personal development, prosperity, and spiritual growth.
While the topics vary widely, all are designed to provide guests with the guidance and support needed to transform their lives for the better.
The center has eight bedrooms, a sauna and hot tub, a chlorine-free pool, and an open dining area. Additional services include massages (lymphatic, abdominal, and full body), body scrubs, yoga classes, and reflexology.
For a change of pace, guests can take a short walk to the center of the town. There, they can enjoy outdoor markets, vegan restaurants, and spas.
6. Imiloa Institute
Imiloa institute sits right where the Costa Rican jungle touches the shores of the Pacific Ocean, and it’s a jungle luxury experience like no other. Its health and harmony-conscious approach can be seen in the conception of everything from its top-notch vegan meals to its ocean-view bungalows.
Amenities include a private waterfall, a curative spa, outdoor pools, and even a sloth sanctuary. Imiloa’s philosophy seeks deeper healing and transformation by activating all of the senses.
Master practitioners lead guests through activities and encounters that promote mindfulness, gratitude, and a deeper love of self. This retreat center can provide high-level collaboration for organizing events, and its House of Masters superstructure is an impactful setting for group teachings.
The Imiloa experience starts with the concierge leading guests to a private aircraft to reach the center, and it ends with individuals returning home revitalized in mind, body, and spirit.
When you host a retreat with Imiloa, you get access to everything, including all their facilities, operations team, and even chefs.
7. Menla
Located in the crisp airs of a glacial valley in the New York Catskill Mountains, Menla is the perfect spot for weeklong restorative retreats. Its facilities blend seamlessly with the beauty of its mountain surroundings, as seen in the elegance of its meditation sanctuary and Tibetan healing spa.
Meals are made with ingredients straight from the organic vegetable garden. The healthy cuisine is prepared by expert chefs that add their own special touch to it. Guests can also enjoy various revitalizing experiences in the sweat lodge, massage center, and yoga studio.
Menla has several conference halls and meeting rooms available, each with its unique character and purpose. Up to 108 guests can enjoy retreats here, and lodging options range from deluxe private accommodations to cabins to campsites.
There are also several popular outdoor activities for guests, such as hiking, antiquing, and visiting the world-famous town of Woodstock. They’re well known for their yoga and meditation retreats, so look at their schedule if you want to attend one.
8. Nama-Stay
Nama-Stay has created its own little sanctuary amongst Utah’s awe-inspiring red rock formations. The region’s brilliant natural beauty is the perfect setting for an unforgettable retreat experience.
Just minutes from Zion National Park, a world-famous canyoneering and climbing site, and with easy access to the healing waters of the Virgin River, Nama-Stay is a wellness destination where guests can connect with nature and themselves.
Accommodations range from luxury cabins to suites to the fully-equipped Nama-Stay House itself, and retreats can be organized for up to 25 people. Nama-Stay hosts a variety of different meditation and yoga sessions, and special ceremonies can be arranged as well.
Zion National Park is the third-most-popular park in the US, and there is no better place from which to explore it than Nama-Stay. If you’re planning a retreat, you can use their expert guides to take your guests rock climbing and canyoneering.
9. Sedona Mago
The very name of Sedona Mago itself draws inspiration from two sources: the vibrant burnt-orange landscape of Sedona, AZ, and the Korean word “mago,” which means the unconditional love and spirit of Mother Earth.
The sprawling 173-acre retreat site sits on sacred desert grounds of Northern Arizona, refreshed by the cool waters of Mago Lake. This holistic retreat experience offers peaceful areas for mindfulness programs, meditations, and reflection on ancient wisdom.
It features casitas for lodging and has different meeting space options, ranging from vast conference halls to intimate padded-floor studios for Qi Gong and Tai Chi. Spiritual retreats are their specialty and can help you along every step of your personal development.
Chefs prepare farm to table vegetarian and pescatarian courses that can be enjoyed in the group space. The Sedona Mago Retreats’ restorative power has been passed down over generations and can be felt in the heart of Arizona’s high desert.
10. The Prama Institute
North Carolina’s rugged Appalachian Mountains are home to the Prama Institute, a holistic wellness retreat center. Guests’ activities are interwoven with the land’s natural gifts and take place in the center’s eco-garden, along its many walking trails, or in the bamboo-floored dome spaces.
Eco-friendly dorms are available for small groups of up to 28, and there are also private rooms for guests. The domes and meeting spaces can be outfitted with any necessary equipment for seminars, yoga sessions, or other events.
Prama is known for its world-class vegetarian cuisine and nutrient-dense juice cleanses, as the center sources most of its food from its gardens and local farms.
Prama is one of the Southeast’s premier retreat centers, and the secluded oasis is just a few minutes away from Asheville. The retreat center rental includes meals, accommodations, and equipment.
11. Seabeck
Overlooking the magnificent Hood Canal in Washington’s Olympic Mountains, the Seabeck Conference Center can serve as the perfect destination for group retreats of up to 250 people.
Spread out over a gorgeous 90+ acres, the retreat center’s grounds include a number of small inns and lodging houses. Each housing option offers its style of cozy and rustic accommodations and bedding.
At Seabeck, days can be spent on the woodland trails or exploring the lagoon, while night-time activities revolve around the firelight circle and family-style dinners.
Meetings and conferences can be held in an assortment of facilities, ranging from modern conference halls to its handcrafted Cathedral in the Woods. Seabeck has been in operation for over 100 years, and its staff has all the experience necessary to help you host a wide range of retreats or other events.