Most retreat planning goes wrong in the same place: the venue gets chosen last. Then the schedule has to fit around someone else's spa hours, someone else's dining room, someone else's guests. Start with the place and the rest gets easier.
Retreats are having a moment. The Global Wellness Institute reports that wellness tourism grew 13.8 percent from 2023 to 2024. And it is not just yoga teachers planning them anymore. Run clubs, founders' circles, book clubs and families are booking their own. (More on that shift.)
Here is how we would plan one near Palm Springs.
1. Start with why
Before dates or headcount, decide what the week is for. Rest? Training? Strategy? Celebration? A retreat that tries to be all four usually ends up being none of them. One clear purpose makes every other decision easier.
2. Count beds, not just people
Casa Tierra sleeps up to 18 across seven bedrooms and a sleeping loft. Casa Mallorca sleeps up to 24 across ten en-suite bedrooms. Book both, a mile apart with a golf cart between, and you have room for up to 42.
Decide early who shares and who doesn't. At Casa Mallorca every bedroom has its own bath. At Casa Tierra, the rooms are spread across three homes, which gives people more privacy and a little more walking.
3. Match the estate to the work
Casa Mallorca is the larger, more social estate. It has a dedicated spa building with massage rooms, a salon and a hydrotherapy tub, and an indoor movement studio whose glass garage doors open onto the great lawn. Indoor dining seats 30 and the courtyard table seats 60. It is the natural choice for programs built around movement, bodywork or a big shared table.
Casa Tierra is more intimate: a Spanish hacienda across three homes on a hillside, with an 1,800 square foot event deck over the canyon for morning practice and sunset dinners. It suits groups that want to spread out and come back together. It has a lot of stairs, so keep mobility in mind.
4. Decide how much you want us to do
- Venue Only. The estate is yours and you run everything.
- Venue + Culinary. We add a private chef, and the meals are handled.
- Fully Programmed. We build the week with you, from practice to the table.
Any stay can also add à la carte wellness, booked session by session: breathwork, sound, movement, massage. See how booking works.
5. Build the day, then leave room
A good retreat day has a shape. Something in the morning, a long lunch, an open afternoon, a shared dinner. That is often enough.
The most common mistake is filling every hour. Leave afternoons open. People will find the pool, the courts, a hammock, a book. That unstructured time is usually what they remember.
6. Think about the table
Food sets the mood of a retreat more than almost anything else. A private chef can cook around dietary needs, the schedule and the kind of week you want. More on culinary.
7. Plan the edges
Arrival is after 3 PM and departure by 11 AM, so the first and last days are short. Use the first evening for a welcome dinner and the last morning for something slow.
Some of the best local experiences, like a private sound bath at the Integratron, book out months ahead, so tell us early if you want them in the week. Beyond the Estates has our full list.
Ready to start? Read more about retreats, or send us your dates and group size.