4pm SEP 3rd - 10 am SEP 9th 2026
6 nights / 5 full days
Location: Casa Almeda & Casa La Daina, Romanyà de la Selva, Catalonia, Spain
A retreat for general arts practitioners
If you have a creative project you long to spend time with — a creative work, an artistic practice, a professional inquiry, or a reflective project — this retreat offers you time, space, and focus in a beautiful setting.
This is not a teaching-led course and there is no fixed programme of instruction. Instead, the retreat is designed to support deep individual work, alongside the companionship of others who are also there to create, think, and develop their own projects.
Casa Almeda and Casa La Daina are spacious, light-filled retreat houses with gardens and a pool, set on the edge of the medieval hamlet of Romanyà de la Selva, high in the cork oak forests of La Selva. The house looks out towards the Pyrenees and is a short drive from the Mediterranean coast and the rugged landscapes of the Costa Brava.
Eight participants are invited to settle into a rhythm of focused work, rest, walking, and informal conversation, allowing ideas to deepen and projects to move forward without pressure.
Each day there will also be optional guided walks in the magical La Selva forest and along the stunning Costa Brava coastline.
Each lunch and dinner will be served around the giant table, with food freshly prepared by our superb Cordon Bleu, Michelin star restaurant trained chef, Lucy Doherty. Breakfast is also prepared by Lucy and is left in the fridges overnight for retreatants to start each day at their own leisure.
Who this retreat is for
This retreat is open to artists and creative practitioners from any discipline, including (but not limited to):
Visual artists/ photographers
Writers/ poets
Composers/ musicians
Dancers/ choreographers
Designers
Theatre practitioners
New Media practitioners
Anyone engaged in a serious personal or professional project
Collaborators
No particular level of experience is required, we enjoy having award-winning creatives alongside hobbyists and students at the dinner table. What matters is a desire for focused time and a willingness to work independently in a shared, mutually-encouraging environment.
As well as a sleeping area, each private room has a work-table area for creative activities. Unfortunately we cannot facilitate wet-media artists. However very soon we hope to be able to facilitate painters and sculptors when we add a sink to several of the private rooms.
Retreat structure
Before the retreat
A short Zoom conversation with Rory Pierce to answer your practical questions, and help you clarify your intentions for the week.
Arrival day
Arrival at Casa La Daina from 4pm. Settle in, freshen up, explore
Introductions, welcome drinks and canapés at 7pm
Delicious 3-course dinner in the large dining room at 8pm
Five full retreat days
Self-serve breakfast each morning
Independent work
Optional group walk
Nutritious lunch buffet
Afternoons free for work, rest, map-guided walking, sea-swimming or pool-swimming.
Evening meals together at the house, with one optional dinner out on the coast.
There is no obligation to attend any activity. You are encouraged to shape each day according to your own energy, focus, and needs.
Departure day
Breakfast and relaxed departure by 10am
Guided nature walks
During the five full days of the retreat, optional guided nature walks will be offered by Rory Pierce in the surrounding forests of La Selva and along the dramatic coastline of the Costa Brava.
These 2hr - 3hr daily walks are intended to be gentle, creatively inspiring and restorative rather than strenuous. Moving through cork oak woodland, ancient paths, and coastal trails, participants will be introduced to the history, nature and ecology of the region — the deep forest, Mediterranean flora and fauna, dolmens, menhirs, and stone circles.
The walks are intended to be social, contemplative and inspirational, and many participants find that time in the landscape helps unlock new perspectives and feeds new ideas into their work.
The coastal walks involve optional sea swims at beaches such as Playa Castell and Playa Sant Pol
There are also maps for self-guided walks available should you require solo quiet time to focus on your creative projects.
The setting. Two conjoined properties, Casa Almeda and Casa La Daina
Together these adjoining properties offer:
Comfortable private and shared bedrooms
Dedicated work-desks/ tables in each bedroom
Multiple quiet communal workspaces
Gardens, terraces, and shaded outdoor areas for working
A swimming pool with sun loungers
Reading nooks and common rooms
Wi-Fi throughout the properties
The old medieval hamlet of Romanyà de la Selva is small and peaceful, with no shops or cafés. This simplicity allows participants to fully disconnect from daily demands and focus on their work.
Food and drink
The food each day is nourishing and generous.
Breakfast: self-serve, including cereals, yoghurt, fruit, homemade breads, jams, eggs, and ham
Lunch: a substantial buffet with soups, salads, quiches, tortillas, cheeses, and seasonal dishes
Dinner: relaxed, varied and substantial three-course evening meals, with one optional meal out at a harbour-side restaurant on the Costa Brava (not included in the retreat fee)
Coffee, tea, biscuits and maybe the occasional cake will be available during the day.
Wine and other drinks are not included in the retreat fee. You’ll be able to purchase excellent wine from us at cost value (€8-€15) or you’re welcome to bring your own. Tap water is fine to drink, though we will provide bottled water too.
Vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, gluten-free and lactose-free diets will be catered for, if we are informed of your food requirements in good time. Please inform us when you book. Unfortunately, those with nut and other severe allergies cannot be catered for.
Accommodation and fees
Accommodation is offered in a range of rooms throughout the adjacent properties, with shared or private bathrooms. Fees vary by room size and bathroom arrangement. Click to view the room list and the room prices
The retreat fee includes:
6 nights’ accommodation at the adjoining properties of Casa Almeda/ Casa La Daina
All breakfasts, lunches, and all evening meals (except one optional evening meal out)
Welcome drinks
Access to all retreat spaces and facilities
Optional guided nature walks
Local transport for group activities (such as sea-swimming or travel to a restaurant) where required
The retreat fees vary depending on which room you’d like. Click to view the room list and the room prices
There are extra non-private writing spaces throughout the villa and farmhouse.
If you’re interested in sharing Mercè or Libertad, consider inviting another creative friend so you’re sharing with someone you know. Alternatively, we’ll aim to pair you with someone suitable. Contact us to find out more.
There is also the option to bring a ‘non-participating partner’ for any of the double rooms. Your partner will probably not use the work-area in your room, however they may wish to work in a communal area, or in the garden, or read by the pool etc. They will be included in all the mealtimes and can come on all the optional acivities such as walks. The cost for a ‘non-participating partner’ is €950.
The retreat fee does not include:
Flights, trains or other means of transport to and from Spain. Please arrange these yourself and let us know.
Transport to and from the reatreat property (unless you travel to/from Santa Cristina D’Aro for a free pick up/ drop off)
Wine and other drinks at dinner. (We will sell good Spanish wine at cost price, approx. 8-15 euros a bottle.)
One dinner at a lovely harbour-side restaurant in Sant Feliu de Guixols. The excellent three-course set menu is about 30 euros (not including drinks) or you can order à la carte, if you wish.
Getting there:
Romanyà de la Selva is 35 minutes from Girona and 90 minutes from Barcelona.
Girona Airport is our closest airport, followed by Barcelona Airport. The high-speed TGV and AVE trains from France stops in both Girona and Barcelona.
From Barcelona airport and Barcelona centre, you can take a coach which will drop you off at Santa Cristina d'Aro and we are happy to pick you up from there. A one-way coach ticket from Barcelona Airport is about €19. Download the Omio app for coach times and to book.
Alternatively, we can arrange taxis from Barcelona Airport or city centre (about €180 per taxi) or Girona Airport or city centre (€50-€65 per taxi) straight to Romanya De La Selva. We'd be happy to organise taxi shares wherever possible. This would be the fastest, most comfortable option.
Consider spending some time in Girona, the Costa Brava or Barcelona before or after the retreat and making a holiday out of it!
Bookings and cancellations:
Payment schedule as follows.
€300 deposit at the time of booking
The balance to be paid 2 months before retreat start-date
Making the Payment
Please pay by bank transfer. Contact us for payment instructions when you’re ready to book.
Cancellations
Please note your deposit is non-refundable.
However, if you need to cancel but can find someone to take your place, we will refund you the balance of the retreat immediately.
If we find someone to take your place, then we will need to sell out the retreat before refunding the balance of payment.
Places are limited to 8-12 participants so book early to secure a place and the room you want.
We’d love to see you in Romanyà de la Selva, and are excited to share this magical part of the world with you!