Blissful
Barbados.
Seven mornings at La Maison Michelle. Eight guests. One mixed-pace cohort. The closing scene of an eight-month wellness year — and the only retreat we run.
La Maison
Michelle.
A six-suite cliffside villa above the bay in St James Parish, on the calm western side of Barbados. Eight guests sleeping six suites means most have a room to themselves; couples share. Pool deck wraps the west elevation — the entire ocean view, every sunset.
The kitchen runs by a private chef the week we're there. Breakfast appears around 7:30. Lunch is fresh, light, served around the pool. Dinner is the main event of every day — long table, eight guests, no phones, courses paced for actual conversation.
One day,
two paces.
The Active and Elders tracks share the villa, the meals, the evenings. Mornings split. Active goes for vinyasa and open-water swims. Elders does yin yoga and beach walks. By lunchtime everyone is back together, and the rest of the day folds into one cohort again.
Coffee on the cliff
The Active morning
The Elders morning
The long breakfast
The open afternoon
The sunset ritual
The long dinner
What the villa
actually feels like.
Six photos to give you the texture. Real photography from the 2025 retreat is being licensed for the public site.
The retreat is
the close of a year.
This is the only retreat we run. There's no shorter version, no spring break package, no weekend escape. The retreat closes a full year of fitness, wellness and community programming. That's the whole point.
Two rates, one
retreat.
Year members book first and pay the member rate. Walk-ins fill any remaining seats. Everything below is for both rates — what differs is the price and the priority booking window.
The Year-member
rate.
- Seven nights at La Maison Michelle
- Private suite (couples share)
- All meals & non-alcoholic drinks by the chef
- Morning programming for your track
- One optional cultural day · Bridgetown
- Airport transfers · arrival and departure
- Welcome amenity from FitnessBeach
The walk-in
rate.
- Seven nights at La Maison Michelle
- Same accommodation, meals, transfers
- Same programming access
- Cultural day option
- No prior cohort participation required
- Friends-of-cohort welcome & encouraged
The texture of the week.
Things to ask
before you book.
If your question isn't here, write to Sheila directly. She's run every retreat we've done since 2023 and knows the villa better than the owners do.
I'm not on the Active or Elders track. Can I still come?
Yes — through the Year-only pathway. The retreat is open to any Year-only member who's done the September check-in and at least two events. The walk-in rate is also open to anyone, no prior programming required.
How are rooms allocated?
Six suites for eight guests means most people get a room. Couples share. If you're solo and want a guaranteed private room, tell us early and we'll prioritise (no surcharge — first-deposit wins).
What about flights?
Flights are not included — you book your own to BGI. We coordinate group transfers from the airport to the villa on Saturday April 17, and back on Saturday April 24. If you arrive a day early, we point you toward an affiliated hotel; we don't manage it.
Can I bring a partner who isn't on the Year?
Yes — as a walk-in. Year-member rate is for cohort members; partners who haven't done the Year join at the walk-in rate. Most cohort couples find this fine since the year-rate covers one of them.
What if I get cold feet?
Honest answer: the $750 deposit is fully refundable until 30 days out (mid-March). Final payment is non-refundable from sixty days out, matching the villa's terms. You can also transfer your seat to a friend at any point — we'll just need to know.
Is there internet at the villa?
Yes, but the cohort norm is that phones leave the dinner table. We don't enforce a "digital detox" — work happens — but the long meals and the deck are a screen-light zone by mutual habit.
How active is the Active track exactly?
An hour of vinyasa, an open-water swim (~600m to 1.5km depending on day), a hike on the cultural day if you want it. Active in the FitnessBeach sense — challenging but adjustable, never punishing. Donovan reads the room.
Mobility & accessibility?
The villa has stairs to the pool deck and to two suites. Two suites are ground-floor. If you have mobility needs, write to Sheila — we can usually accommodate, but the cliffside terrain makes us honest about what won't work.
Find your beach.
April 2027.
Year-cohort booking opens 1 August 2026. Walk-in waitlist opens 1 February 2027. Reach out anytime in between — Sheila answers every question that comes in, usually within a day.