Yoga and Nature Retreat in Transylvania with Daily Sauna and Jacuzzi

The retreat is run by founders Irina and Daniela out of Akasha Retreat in Pestera, a village of a few hundred people at the foot of the Piatra Craiului mountains. The house itself is the base for everything: 11 bedrooms of different sizes, a yoga studio, a lounge, a garden, and the spa area with a traditional sauna, an infrared sauna, and an outdoor jacuzzi fed by spring water. There is no TV in any room. Instead there's a library of 300-plus books, which tells you what kind of stay this is.

A typical day starts before breakfast with a 90-minute yoga class. Classes are taught in English by guest teachers and are pitched at beginners and intermediate students — you don't need an established practice to join. In summer the classes move outdoors. Evenings are a second class, slower and restorative, meant to send you to bed rather than work you out. Mats and equipment are provided.

The food is a big part of why people come back. Meals are buffet-style and communal, cooked from seasonal produce sourced in the area, and the kitchen avoids processed food — closest comparison is a paleo way of eating. Vegan, vegetarian and meat options are all catered for if you tell them in advance. Breakfast includes a slow-pressed juice; coffee, tea and filtered spring water from their own well are available all day in the lounge and in the rooms. They don't sell bottled water and don't allow outside food or drink on the premises. The wine list is Romanian small producers and biodynamic bottles, with zero-alcohol options too.

Your booking includes one hour of private spa access per room per day — the sauna with the mountain view and the outdoor jacuzzi. Massages with the resident therapists are bookable, and on the all-inclusive package one massage session (worth about €55) is included per room for stays of two nights or more.

What separates this from a generic yoga week is the location and the pace. You are inside a national park, 7km from Bran Castle, with bears, mountain goats and forest valleys on the doorstep. The programme is yoga, food and rest, and there is enough structure to feel like a retreat but not so much that you can't spend an afternoon doing nothing. Rooms range from a standard ground-floor room that's accessible and pet-friendly up to the Queen Room with bay windows looking onto Pestera village and the Piatra Craiului ridge.

What's included

- Accommodation in your chosen room type (11 bedrooms, various sizes) - Choice of meal plan: breakfast only, half board, or all inclusive - Daily 90-minute yoga classes, morning and evening, with mats and equipment - 1 hour private spa access per room per day: traditional sauna, infrared sauna with mountain view, outdoor spring-water jacuzzi - Unlimited organic coffee, espresso, cappuccino with dairy or dairy-free milk - Unlimited tea infusions and Akasha blends, fresh ginger, honey and lemon - Unlimited filtered spring water from their own well - Slow-pressed juice with breakfast - 1 massage therapy session (worth about €55) per room per stay on all-inclusive packages of 2+ nights - Cooking demonstrations and nutrition presentations - Access to the library of 300+ books - Flexible rescheduling if your plans change

What's not included

- Flights - Travel insurance - Transfer from Bucharest airport to Brasov - Massages beyond the one included in the all-inclusive package - Drinks from the lounge menu: Romanian wines, cocktails, unpasteurised beers, zero-alcohol drinks - Personal expenses