Retreats in Southern Spain with Jane Bryan
Casa Torreta Blanca, Partaloa, Almeria
Jane Bryan runs Jane Bryan Beauty Training, a multi award-winning training academy with her husband Pat. She also runs the ThrivingBusinessClub.com for therapists and focuses on creating mindsets for success.
Life’s too short to wait for retirement to start living your dream life. Pat and his wife Jane Bryan took action and moved to Spain in 2020 – no regrets, no looking back. How did they do it?
Through focusing on what they wanted to achieve in life and then creating the reality from their dream. Here’s Jane’s story:
Our first viewing trip was late September 2019 where we saw some possibilities, but no heart stoppers. We returned in November and the last house we saw took our breath away – everything we wanted and way, way more. The only downside was, it did look like a Blackpool guesthouse inside.
We put the offer down on my husband’s 60th birthday (November 10th), it was accepted after a bit of haggling. We flew back to sign the papers and got the keys on 2nd January 2020. Yes, it really was that quick!
Originally we were looking for a property that would allow us to extend our nationwide UK beauty, holistic & aesthetic training business in Spain, but the property was ideal for a retreat and that is when Casa Torreta Blanca was born.
We were fully booked in 2020, gearing up with much excitement for our first retreat – and then Spain shut down due to Covid – and remained closed for a long time, much longer than the situation in the UK.
We spent lockdown having lots of work done – probably more than was necessary really. We gutted the kitchen and the bathrooms and built more bedrooms amongst much else.
We are nestled in an idyllic landscape, in what is now an inviting retreat centre that once was a traditional Spanish cortijo (farmhouse). Coming here on retreat, you immerse yourself in the breath-taking scenery of the Almerian hills and escaping to the tranquil beauty of southern Spain.
The charming, white-washed village of Partaloa is a stone’s throw away from the retreat and full of the region’s rustic charm.
The real magic happens when you step through the doors of Casa Torreta Blanca, however. The stunning space has been transformed into a sanctuary of rejuvenation, perfect for retreat leaders looking to create unforgettable experiences for their guests.
Our retreat leaders are creating meaningful, brilliant holidays in a wide variety of areas: writing, yoga, fitness, menopause, walking, art and more.
In addition, we run our own retreats and the scheduled ones for 2023 include (all prices based on full board)
- Immersive yoga retreat: 23rd-29th June @ £1,250
- MindBlock Buster retreat: 3rd-8th July @ £1,250
- Total Relaxation retreat: 12th-16th July @ £675
- Relaxing yoga retreat: 6th-12th October @ £1,050
We offer a “Create your own Retreat”
- Step 1: Pick your team
- Step 2: Pick your dates
- Step 3: Choose your activities, excursions, treatments & workshops
We offer activities such as:
- Candlelit meditation
- Yoga nidra
- Pranayama
- Guided walks along our local rambla
- Local market visit
- Outdoor cinema night with popcorn & ice cream
- On site Sound Bath
- On site Qi Gong
- Exciting excursions
- Wide range of activities
- Wide range of workshops
- Treatments
Local Fiestas and Ferias
We’re very keen to share the many local celebrations with our guests and will always keep retreat leaders informed of what’s going on during their stay with us and can arrange visits. BUT be warned; most of the action takes place between midnight & 5am!
The Spanish love to celebrate. Throughout the year, there’s hardly a weekend that goes by when there isn’t a celebration. Big nationwide ones, like pre-Lent carnivals or the marvellous Easter processions, or smaller local ones. Every city, town, down to the tiniest villages celebrate their local saint’s day and then there are the fiestas and ferias (fairgrounds) as well. It’s never ending and one of the reasons we moved here.
These celebrations always centre around eating, drinking, dancing and laughing with the whole family involved.
Almeria Province was ruled by the Moors for more than 800 years and this has left a legacy in both the local architecture and cuisine. There are several local Moors and Christian processions and events that offer a spectacular, but probably heavily edited, take on the handover between the two rulers.
We work tirelessly with retreat leaders to ensure their experience is nothing short of perfection. Your retreat and your guests are our top priorities, and we promise to create an atmosphere that’s both warm and welcoming, providing the perfect environment to unwind and recharge.
Prices for retreat leaders:
Our accommodation
Total occupancy is 20, with 9 bedrooms and 8 bathrooms.
In terms of amenities, we offer
- Lounge with TV & board gamesWIFI
- Library/quiet seating area
- Large kitchen
- 10-seater indoor dining room
- Large spa/treatment room
- Pool (10×4 metres)
- Hot tub
- Pool bar/outside kitchen with 6-seater dining area
- Huge roof terrace (more than 300 m2) with shady morning yoga area, sun loungers, seating areas & 10-seater dining area
- Covered terrace area, lounge area, wood fired stove, covered yoga area (50 sm2) and 12-seater dining area
- Huge, enclosed courtyard, alternative yoga area, sun loungers, seating areas and our Moroccan corner
- Dotted around the land are seated areas for quiet reflection or some alone time
All set in two acres of grounds which we’re slowly bringing back into cultivation.
Travel to Casa Torreta Blanca
We’re served by three airports:
- Almeria is the closest (around 65 minutes). It’s a small regional airport with year-round links to Madrid for international flights and summertime links throughout Europe & UK
- Murcia (90 minutes) is a larger regional airport with fairly good summertime links throughout Europe & UK
- Alicante (under 2 hours) is the largest airport with good year-round links to Europe and the UK
We do offer airport transfers.
We’re easy to get to if you’re driving down or hiring a car being just a 5-minute drive from the national motorway grid.
While Almeria as a whole is poorly served by trains, work has now started to connect us to the European wide high speed rail network
See for yourself – video tours and website links below:
Click here for a video Casa Torreta Blanca
Click here for video of outside