Skyterra Wellness Retreat

Skyterra is really a very special place and not very well known. I was lucky to learn about Skyterra while attending a wellness conference in Palm Beach a few months ago, and decided as a wellness specialist it was important for me to see and experience it firsthand. Having been to several wellness resorts over the past few years I feel like Skyterra is not your cookie cutter experience. The number of guests is small and plan to keep it that way. You feel like you are getting a more personalized experience and form a very tight bond with the other guests. I believe the max number of guests is 20 and we must have had about 15 over the week I was there. While I was personally there to learn, I also had my own personal goals set. I wanted to work on stress management and expand my horizons on different types of fitness. Right now I am a member of Burn Boot Camp in Estero and do interval weight training and HIT cardio training 6 times a week. I thought it would be fun to try some yoga and meditation. I think it is always fun to try new things when traveling. Isn’t that what it’s all about? I also tried stand up paddle boarding for the first time and I have always wanted to do that. We took a little beginners course on their lake on property and then a couple days later they took us out to Lake Toxaway. I am not a runner by any stretch but I wanted to see if I could do a 5K with all the NC hills. That was a great way to end my week by doing a 5k with the group. It was a challenge but I finished in 31 minutes which placed me 30of 96 which I was extremely proud of! The trainers came and pushed us along, we didn’t leave anyone behind. After the race we all went to the Apple Festival in Hendersonville.

The food at Skyterra was fantastic and they educated us on what we were eating, how to make it at home, and why it was good for us. We focused on clean eating three balanced meals a day and there was nuts and fruit available between if needed. They also did some great lectures on health and wellness. Some of the ones I loved were on insulin sensitivity, gut health, and sleep. I think they do a great job at laying the groundwork for a healthy lifestyle that you take home with you. I noticed there while the average stay was 1-2 weeks, there were a several guests there for more extended stays of 1-2 months. I could only imagine the impact this would have on one’s mental spiritual and physical health it would have. Guests had all kinds of reasons for coming to Skyterra including stress, weight loss, illness, grief, just to name a few. I love how we ate all our meals at one table and got to know one another. By the end of the week I felt like we were longtime friends. 

Accommodations were very nice and there was the option to share a home with 3-4 women or the cottages which were geared towards those who wanted their own privacy or couples traveling together. The homes were rustic luxury and had very nice furnishings and a full kitchen (which we didn’t need). We each had our own separate bedroom with a keypad lock. We were given one golf cart per house to share. I found myself doing a lot of walking in between classes and with all the hills it was a nice way to keep moving all day.

The fitness classes were fantastic and built for all levels. They would modify for someone brand new to fitness or those who are already very athletic and needed a challenge. I loved the trainers and thought they were very knowledgeable and personable.  Considering the group is small you really get to know the staff well over the course of the week. I will end with spa! There are two therapists and both very intuitive and spiritual. I felt like a lot of the guests would book a treatment and just tell them to do what they think we needed. I went in for a deep tissue but came out having had done cupping massage and some other technique to stretch out the muscles. She told me she highly recommended I add a Thai Massage before I left which I never would have thought to do on my own. Overall I would highly recommend Skyterra to my clients and would be happy to go into further detail in a consultation.