Haramara Retreat: why you should book a wellness break on Mexico's Pacific Coast

Annie Ross experiences a luxury yoga retreat in a coastal jungle 
1/7
Annie Ross9 June 2017

“How on earth did you find this place?” fellow guests, regulars at Haramara Retreat kept asking us. While they couldn't quite believe that a couple of Brits had stumbled upon this secluded Mexican hideaway, we couldn't quite believe our luck that we had. Named Best Yoga Escape by Yoga Journal in March 2017, its quality is unquestionable.

Where is it?

Haramara Retreat, as all the best retreats do, feels like a world away from the stresses and strains of everyday life. Located near Sayulita on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, it's an hour’s drive from the nearest airport of Puerto Vallarta, a search for ‘nearby yoga’ in Google maps led us up the hill and into this tropical paradise.

Style:

The earthy architecture
Haramara Retreat

Since its opening in 2004, the hotel has been chosen by yogis from all over the world, hosting retreats at Haramara year after year. You can choose to participate in one of the structured retreats, or visit for the time you want and build your own itinerary. Both have their advantages.

It's down-to-earth in both architecture and service. There is a natural tranquillity transmitted by both the staff and the scenery.

The hotel lies in a bowl shaped valley that falls away to the sea. The different features are connected by network of dirt paths cut through the steep coastal jungle. The melodic cacophony of birds, insects and waves is all that you will hear during your stay here. Unless you are treated to an evening with a mariachi band that is.

Facilities:

The infinity pool with a view
Haramara Retreat

Luxury thatched-roof open-sided cabins made of adobe and wood, decorated with Mexican-crafted furniture and white linen make for an unforgettable stay. Great care was taken in the positioning of the seventeen cabañas, each with an ocean view and the privacy to have an open air shower. Rooms are lit by glass kerosene lamps and candles and, tucked into bed surrounded by muslin mosquito nets, with nothing but the waves to listen to, you have the perfect recipe for a great night’s sleep.

With a bar, restaurant, infinite pool, spa treatments, beach, yoga and the brightly coloured seaside town of Sayulita a ten-minute golf cart ride away, you can relax in whatever way works for you.

While the majority of cabins are double or twin rooms, several sleep three people and two are dormitories – one sleeping four people, the other eight.

Food & Drink:

Dining room and reception area
Haramara Retreat

A well-presented, healthy and tasty vegetarian set menu is offered at the onsite restaurant. Breakfast is a buffet of tropical fruit, a particularly great granola, yoghurt, and eggs ‘al gusto,’ a detoxifying yogi tea and coffee.

A wide window is left for lunch and dinner, both of which are three-course affairs, meaning you can work it around your schedule of yoga, treatments and relaxing. The bar snacks make for a lighter meal and include treats such as guacamole, crudités and a shrimp, avocado and chilli combination. Craft beer, wine and cocktails, kombucha and coconut water straight from the coconut are on offer.

Extra-curricular:

A yoga session in one of the two huts
Haramara Retreat

Yoga is held in two shalas - Sanskrit for ‘place of yoga'. Private yoga lessons can be organised if you choose to go separately from a retreat.

The spa offers a selection of treatments, with profiles of each therapist allowing you to choose the speciality to suit you. I tried an internal organ chi massage, while the other massage techniques and biomagnetic acupuncture came highly recommended. Water therapy and obsidian hot stone massage are on the spa menu too. Temazcal – the pre-hispanic indigenous curative ceremony is held depending on demand.

If you can bear the thought of leaving the retreat - we couldn’t during our three-night stay there – you can walk to the small seaside village of Sayulita for some artisan shopping and a drink in the plaza, or opt in for one of the day trips to visit and hike to waterfalls, an indigenous community and rock carvings.

Which room?

One of the beautiful cabins
Haramara Retreat

Tiger’s Eye is one of the best rooms, situated towards the top, near the yoga shalas and restaurant.

Best for:

Friends looking to relax, yoga, spend time on the beach and by the pool, in reliably beautiful weather and with consistently excellent service. The retreat seemed to be popular with sisters as well.

Any downsides?

The retreat is set across several levels of a valley, meaning that you are getting some good hill training too. It’s great for toning and nature watching but if you have any health concerns, it's best to ask the retreat ahead of booking.

Details:

Fly from London to Puerto Vallarta via Mexico City. Prices starting from USD 135 per person per night in a double cabin, excluding local tax; HaramaraRetreat.com

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in