"I Was a Wellness World Sceptic": Marnie Rays in Condé Nast Traveller
Every now and then someone writes about your retreat and captures it better than you ever could yourself. For us, that was Billie Bhatia's piece in Condé Nast Traveller: "I was a wellness world sceptic – until this European retreat changed my mind".
Billie is a fashion editor, a brilliant writer, and a friend. She was also, in her own words, one of the first people to tell us Marnie Rays wasn't for her. When we launched our first surf and wellness retreat in Aljezur, Portugal, she congratulated us — and then politely ducked out.
"I rarely saw my plus-size body reflected in yoga and hiking, let alone surfing... I never considered a retreat encompassing these things would be a place for me."
She came anyway. Five days at Ocean Farm — surfing, clifftop hikes, yoga, sea swims, and long lunches from guest chef Nina Parker.
What changed her mind
It wasn't the villa, or the swimming lake, or even the food (though none of those hurt). It was the thing we care about most: nobody at a Marnie Rays retreat is ever pushed into anything.
"The beauty of Marnie Rays meant that I could decide what I felt comfortable doing... There was no pressure to be anywhere or do anything I didn't want to do during my entire stay."
Some days that meant carrying a surfboard into the Atlantic. Some days it meant swimming in the lake and going back for seconds at lunch. Both count. That's the whole point.
Her closing line has become something of a north star for us:
"Wellness is nothing more than feeling good about all the things you allow yourself to be part of."
Why we're sharing it
If you've ever looked at a surf or wellness retreat and thought "that's not for people like me" — Billie thought exactly the same. Her piece says everything we try to say about who our retreats are for, but from the perspective of someone who had to be convinced.
You can read the full article on Condé Nast Traveller.
And if any of it resonates: come as you are, do as much or as little as you like. That's how we've run every retreat since.