Wooden terrace above a wide river at sunset

Whole house · One group · No timetable

Retreat Houses on the Quiet Bends of the River

Nine houses standing alone on wide, slow river bends, each let to a single group at a time. Every one has a room large enough for a circle of twenty, a long table, a kitchen built for cooking together, bedrooms arranged so that nobody shares unless they choose to, and a garden that runs down to the water. There is no through traffic, no neighbouring property in sight and no reception desk. Bring your own teacher, cook or facilitator, or ask us to arrange them.

The Houses Enquire

Riverside deck at dawn with coloured clouds above the water

About us

Houses Chosen for What Happens Inside Them

We started by renting our own farmhouse to a yoga teacher who could not find anywhere suitable, and spent the following two years listening to what facilitators actually needed. It turned out to be a short and unglamorous list: a large room without pillars, warm underfoot, with daylight from two sides; bedrooms that do not force strangers to share; a kitchen where twenty meals can be produced without chaos; hot water that does not run out; and complete freedom from other guests. Every house in the collection meets that list before anything else is considered.

The locations are the second half of the equation. Each property stands alone on a slow, wide bend where the water moves quietly and the bank is stable enough to swim from. There is no through road past any of them, the nearest village is between two and six kilometres away, and the night sky is genuinely dark. Groups that arrive intending to work all day usually end up in the water by the second afternoon, which is generally the point.

We are deliberately not a retreat company. We do not sell programmes, employ teachers or attach our name to anybody's course. We look after the buildings, the gardens, the heating, the linen, the practical arrangements and, if asked, the food. Whoever is running the retreat runs it exactly as they wish, and their guests deal with them rather than with us — which is the arrangement every experienced facilitator asks for.

Advantages

What Facilitators Ask For

Six specific things, learned from people who run retreats for a living.

Traditional timber house with wide balconies in a mountain village

A Room That Actually Works

Every house has a practice room of at least seventy square metres with no pillars, a level floor that is warm underfoot, daylight from two directions, blackout blinds for screen work and a sound system that can be ignored or used. Mats, bolsters, blankets, chairs, a flip chart and a projector are stored in a cupboard in the same room. Doors open onto a terrace so a session can move outside in twenty seconds, and the room is far enough from the bedrooms that an early group does not wake a late sleeper.

Bedrooms Without Forced Sharing

Retreat groups are usually a mixture of couples, friends and people who have never met, and asking strangers to share a room causes more cancellations than any other single factor. Our houses have a majority of single and twin rooms with their own or shared-between-two bathrooms, so a facilitator can offer a genuine choice at different prices. Beds are proper mattresses rather than folding frames, rooms have blackout curtains and reading lights, and there is enough storage for a two-week stay.

Kitchens Built for Twenty

Cooking for a group in a domestic kitchen is miserable. Ours have commercial-depth worktops, a six-burner range with two ovens, a large fridge and a separate one for drinks, a dishwasher that cycles in twenty minutes, heavy pans, good knives, and enough crockery for twenty-four without borrowing. A cook can be booked for some or all meals, or a group can cook together — the long table seats everyone at once, which changes the atmosphere of a week far more than the menu does.

Genuine Isolation

No house has a neighbouring property in sight or a road passing it, and each is let to one group at a time with nobody else on the land. That means silence for meditation, freedom to hold a session outdoors at six in the morning, and no need to explain your programme to strangers at breakfast. Housekeeping visits only when asked, deliveries are timed to the group's schedule, and our own staff are contactable without being present.

Water You Can Get Into

On the inside of a slow bend the current is gentle, the bank shelves rather than drops, and the water is clean enough to swim in every day of the summer. Each house has steps, a small pontoon or a shingle beach, plus a canoe or two and a hammock in the shade. Water quality is tested through the season and the results posted in the house. Several facilitators now build a swim into the daily schedule, and nobody has ever complained about it.

Straightforward Commercial Terms

A single price for the whole house for the whole period, published in advance, with heating, linen, cleaning before and after, firewood and equipment included. No per-person supplements, no charge for using the practice room, no commission on what a facilitator charges their own participants and no requirement to buy our catering. Deposits are modest, the balance is due four weeks before arrival, and cancellation terms are the same for everybody and written in plain language.

Country lane curving between bare trees at dusk

Services

What We Provide

Houses, food, transport, equipment and the practical support that keeps a retreat from becoming an administrative task.

Whole-House Rental

Nine houses sleeping between eight and twenty-four, let exclusively from three nights upwards at a single all-inclusive price. Everything is prepared before arrival: heating on, beds made, practice room set up, firewood stacked and a welcome basket in the kitchen. Larger houses have two practice spaces so that a group can split, and three of them have a separate small cottage for the facilitator. Weekly rates apply from four nights, and midweek periods outside summer are substantially cheaper.

Cooks and Catering

Cooks who have worked with retreat groups for years can be booked for all meals or only for dinners, working with menus agreed in advance and every dietary requirement handled properly rather than as an afterthought. Food is bought from farms and markets within the district. Groups who prefer to cook themselves can order a full grocery delivery for arrival day, and we will happily prepare only the first evening's meal so that nobody has to shop after a long journey.

Equipment and Room Setup

Mats, bolsters, blocks, straps, blankets, meditation cushions, chairs, a projector and screen, flip charts, a sound system and outdoor seating are provided in every house and set up to your plan before arrival. Massage tables, a sauna in three houses, a wood-fired hot tub in two, and additional equipment can be hired. If a group needs a specific arrangement — a circle of twenty-two chairs, a shaded outdoor platform, a darkened room — it will be ready when they walk in.

Transport and Arrivals

Transfers from the nearest station or airport for the whole group or for individual participants arriving separately, arranged and paid through a single invoice to the organiser. We supply printed arrival instructions in two languages, meet late arrivals, and can collect anybody who needs to leave early. Parking is available at every house, and bicycles are provided so that participants can reach the village without needing a car during the stay.

Local Activities and Therapists

On request we arrange guided walks, canoe descents, horse riding, a visit to a working farm or a market trip, and we keep a list of massage therapists, bodyworkers and musicians who work regularly with retreat groups here. Everything is optional and booked directly by the organiser at the practitioner's own rate; we take no commission. Several facilitators use the same therapist every year and simply ask us to confirm the dates.

Family and Private Use

Outside the retreat season the same houses are let to families, groups of friends and small celebrations, with the practice room becoming a playroom, a dining hall or a place to put the band. Winter weeks are considerably cheaper, the houses are properly heated, and the rivers are at their most dramatic. Long stays of a month or more are possible in four of the properties for anyone writing, recovering or working remotely with a group.

Contacts

Enquiries and Site Visits

Tell us the dates, the number of participants, how many single rooms you need and what the room has to do. We will say which houses fit, send full plans and photographs of every bedroom, and give you one price with nothing hidden underneath it.

Facilitators are welcome to visit before booking; we will show you the house empty and answer every practical question you have.

OfficeGran Vía 32, 28013 Madrid, Spain

Phone+34 91 531 48 27

Emailbendhouseretreats@outlook.com

Office HoursMonday–Friday 09:00–18:00; houses available all year