Shanti-Som Weight Loss & Wellness Retreat

A typical day starts with movement before breakfast — Pilates, a circuit-training session or power yoga, depending on the schedule. The intensity is real but adjusted per person, and with a maximum of twelve guests the instructor can actually watch what you're doing. Breakfast is chef-prepared and calorie-controlled: think eggs, whole grains, fruit, not a sad plate of lettuce. Mid-morning usually brings a workshop or a nutritional consultation, then lunch.

Afternoons are gentler. Guided hikes through the surrounding hills, swimming, or a stretching session, followed by spa treatments — deep tissue massage, body wraps, hydrotherapy — which are built into the programme rather than sold as extras. Evenings are quiet: dinner, and often a mindfulness or cooking-demonstration session. Body composition analysis is done at the start and end of your stay, so you track muscle mass, body fat percentage and hydration, not just the number on the scale.

The programme is genuinely all-inclusive. Accommodation, three nutritionist-designed meals plus healthy snacks daily, small-group fitness sessions, spa treatments, nutritional workshops, cooking demonstrations and the take-home plan are all part of what you pay for. There are no hidden supplements to buy and no extreme restrictions.

What separates this from other weight-loss retreats is the refusal to use shame as a motivator. There's no drill-sergeant routine, no starvation menu. The whole thing is built on the premise that habits stick when they're enjoyable — so the exercise is varied enough to find something you like, and the food is designed to be eaten again at home. Your wellness consultation on arrival sets personal goals, and regular check-ins through the week mean the programme adapts to how you're actually progressing.

Duration matters. Five nights gives a solid kickstart — most guests lose 2–3 kg and break their usual eating patterns. Seven to ten nights allows deeper metabolic adaptation, with 3–5 kg of healthy loss and reported improvements in energy and sleep. Fourteen nights or longer is where habits really embed, and the team stays available for follow-up consultations after you leave. Many guests come back for annual maintenance stays.

Both locations offer the same expert-led programme in different surroundings. Marbella sits in the Sierra de las Nieves foothills with a Mediterranean climate year-round; the Algarve location offers the same structure on the Portuguese coast. Both are opening February 2027 and taking bookings now.

What's included

- Accommodation in the boutique property - Three nutritionist-designed meals daily plus healthy snacks - Personalised fitness sessions in small groups (maximum twelve guests) - Daily activities: hiking, Pilates, swimming, yoga, circuit training, stretching - Spa treatments: deep tissue massage, body wraps, hydrotherapy - Nutritional consultation and body composition analysis (start and end of stay) - Healthy cooking workshop and demonstrations - Personalised take-home meal plan and exercise guide - Follow-up consultation option

What's not included

- Flights and travel to the retreat location - Airport transfers (unless arranged separately) - Travel insurance - Personal expenses and extras - Optional personal training sessions - Additional spa treatments outside the programme