Retreat

Hilot is the Philippines’ traditional healing massage: warm coconut oil and intuitive pressure that reads the body’s tension and lets it go. We bring skilled local therapists to the villa and set up wherever you feel most at ease. Choose hilot, Swedish, deep tissue, or a couple’s massage side by side.

Where

Your bedroom, the garden, or poolside under the sun deck

Best time

Late afternoon, as the day’s heat softens

To arrange

One day’s notice to book your preferred therapist and time

Turn an ordinary evening into a ritual. The team can prepare a scented soak and a soft aromatherapy setting in your ensuite: local oils of lemongrass, ylang-ylang, and coconut, low light, and a cool calamansi drink within reach. A gentle way to close a full day and ease into sleep.

Where

Your private ensuite bathroom

Best time

After sunset, before rest

To arrange

Mention it to your housekeeper in the afternoon

The 13-metre pool is more than a place to swim. It is a place to float and do nothing at all. Drift beneath the open sky, let the sun deck warm you dry, and let time loosen. Early, before anyone stirs, the water lies glass-still and completely yours.

Where

The private 13 × 5m pool and sun deck

Best time

First light, or the golden hour before dinner

To arrange

Always ready; ask for floats, cold towels, or fresh fruit

The villa’s mini gym suits a soft, restorative practice just as well as a workout: long-held stretches and slow mobility to release the stiffness of long flights and busy seasons. Roll out a mat, move without agenda, and let the body remember ease. A visiting instructor can guide you.

Where

The mini gym, or the shaded garden lawn

Best time

Morning to open the day, or evening to release it

To arrange

Mats and props on hand; request an instructor a day ahead

Nothing on a retreat asks more of you than stillness, and nothing gives back more. Find a quiet corner of the garden or a shaded spot by the pool, settle in, and simply breathe. We can arrange a guided session with a local practitioner, or provide a short recorded practice to follow at your own pace.

Where

The garden, poolside, or your private terrace

Best time

Just after waking, before the world arrives

To arrange

Recorded practices on request; guided sessions a day ahead

Slow, deliberate breathing is the most portable form of rest and a lovely way to bookend the day. A guided session of pranayama, box breathing, or simple extended exhales settles the nervous system and clears the mind in minutes. Practise alone, as a couple, or together on the lawn.

Where

The garden lawn or poolside at dawn

Best time

Sunrise, when the air is coolest and stillest

To arrange

Ask for a guided session or a written sequence to follow

Perhaps the truest luxury here is disconnection. Try a half-day, an evening, or a full day away from screens: meals slow down, conversation deepens, and the garden, pool, and sky fill the space the phone once took. The villa’s privacy makes it effortless; there is nothing here you must be reachable for.

Where

Everywhere, especially the dining sala and garden

Best time

A full day, or from sunset to sunrise

To arrange

Only the decision; ask the team to hold non-urgent matters

A retreat offers the rarest thing: unhurried time to think. Take a journal to a shaded lounger, set down what the year has been, or simply read for hours with nowhere to be. The recreation area and garden hold quiet corners, and the kitchen keeps coffee and cold drinks flowing.

Where

The garden loungers, recreation area, or your terrace

Best time

Late morning, or the slow hours after lunch

To arrange

Ask for a lap desk, extra cushions, or a fresh pot of coffee

There is no finer studio than the open garden at dawn or the poolside at golden hour. Roll out a mat as the light shifts and move through a gentle flow, a grounding way to open the morning or unwind the evening. Qualified local instructors lead private or group sessions, shaped to every level.

Where

The garden lawn or the poolside sun deck

Best time

Sunrise (around 5:30am) or sunset (around 5:30pm)

To arrange

One day’s notice to book your instructor and time

Sound healing asks nothing of you but to lie down and listen. A practitioner works with singing bowls, chimes, and soft percussion; the resonance settles the body into deep rest, and many drift close to sleep. A profound reset after a demanding stretch of life, and a rare experience to share.

Where

The garden at dusk, or the recreation area

Best time

Early evening, as the light fades

To arrange

Two to three days’ notice, as practitioners travel to Panglao

Let the cook prepare a tray of local infusions: lemongrass (tanglad), ginger (salabat), pandan, and calamansi with honey, served in the garden or by the pool. It is a small, grounding ceremony: a deliberate pause built into the day, warm in the hand and calming to the body.

Where

The garden sala or poolside

Best time

Mid-morning, or the hour before bed

To arrange

Ask the cook; most infusions are ready within the hour

Panglao’s skies, far from city glow, are generous with stars. Dim the villa lights, settle onto a lounger or a mat on the lawn, and let the night sky do what it has always done: put things in proportion. A blanket, a warm drink, and a little silence are all it asks.

Where

The garden lawn or poolside, lights low

Best time

After 9pm, on a clear night

To arrange

Ask the team to lower the lighting and lay out loungers