Well Travelled | The Regeneration Retreat

Journalist Madeleine Spencer travels to Italy to experience the rejuvenating retreat hosted by Shine Holistic.

Well Located

Perched on the edge of Umbria tipping into Tuscany, the house is part of the ‘Le Coste’ Estate, which is a 1500 acre protected nature and hunting reserve dating back to 1760. It’s since had quite a story to tell: it sustained an American bombing raid during its period as a billet for German soldiers, has been home to farmers and their pigs and horses, and then, in the early 2000s, was bought by the artist Julian Hyzler. Its latest owners host the retreats, where guests come together in the farmhouse to eat, learn, and relax in the sumptuous surrounds of the lush, rolling hills.

Well Fed

The Regeneration Retreat we went on was overseen by nutritionist Michelle McKenzie, and involved a fasting mimicking diet, designed by Dr Valter Longo. Despite there not being a lot of it, the food was colourful, fresh, and utterly delicious, relying primarily on local vegetables, berries, and oil made on the estate.

Well Being

At the core of the routine lies the fast, which means lots of guests need to rest and let their bodies adjust. For this, the perfect accompaniment is the view, and gentle walks around the herb garden or down the paths winding around the estate. When energy picked up, there were morning outings to swim in Lake Trasimeno. During summer months, a pool is open on the estate, too. Throughout the week, massages, osteopathy, and kinesiology sessions take place (all of which are included in the price), and the practitioners remain onsite, so are there to help with any niggles throughout the fast.

Well Sustained

Carla, the retreat’s founder, is keen on ensuring she does everything within her power to make the estate as sustainable as possible, from having her team eat broadly the same meals as those on the retreat to reduce food waste, to making sure any potential waste goes into a Subpod. Equally, there is a clever ‘at home’ feeling to making the best of - towels and sheets aren’t washed daily (unless requested), drinking water is filtered rather than coming out of bottles, and there are showers, not baths, to reduce any water wastage.

Well Priced

Prices for the week long retreat start from £1700 per person, and the next retreats will run from the 4-11th of September.

Well Rated

This is a solid 9/10 - the retreat is very well thought-out and has impressive results, with everyone attending noticing they felt less foggy in the mind, less bloated, and much more chirpy by the end of the week. It’s worth noting that the retreat is a communal atmosphere, so if you’re looking for complete solitude, this won’t be for you (though of course there was ample opportunity to be alone and rest, and many of our fellow guests found the community helpful and the company therapeutic). Equally, if you’re after marble bathrooms and room service, it won’t be your thing - think being on holiday in a big house in Italy with really knowledgeable wellness experts and you get the gist.