Gwinganna Retreat & Spa

I booked for the optimal wellness 5 day program. Firstly let me say that when I was there about 50% of the guests were repeat visitors, so clearly it works for some people. The good Lovely setting, amazing valley views Some very experienced and knowledgeable presenters Lovely pools, good gym, nice dining room outlook Assigning seats for meals, and rotating these daily, allowing for socialisation with a larger number of guests and avoiding the where do I sit dilemma. The not so good The approach was incredibly authoritarian, which is not an effective way of supporting any change. The "rules" apparently also change depending on when you attend. Accommodation I booked middle range accommodation in one of the grove buildings, which with the special 20% off was around $4300. The room was spacious and had a bath and big day bed on the verandah, which was lovely. However it was part of a cabin/building on stilts, so that you could feel and loudly hear any of the guests moving in their rooms. Earplugs were not terribly helpful, as the whole room shook when they walked. Signature tea was provided and when I asked if I could have a different one (as I don't drink lavender) I was told that was the only tea provided in the rooms. Food Was extremely disappointing, often not nutritionally balanced, with very small servings of vegetables. Everyone at the retreat mentioned the food used to be better. Activities/Talks I found the retreat seriously lacking in activity offerings- Very simplistic Qigong at sunrise, followed by the choice of hard or easy walk or one other activity, breakfast then a choice between a yin (easy) or yan (activity) and that was it for the day, as afternoons were for spa treatments or resting. Daily talk was also very basic, if you are at all aware of wellness there is nothing to gain from attending (eg cafeine affects your sleep). There were also quite a few incidents that made it obvious staff were not aware of how to provide an inclusive and safe space. To me it felt like the retreat had no real direction and very superficial knowledge of wellness, as if it had recently opened and was finding its feet. Definitely not what I would expect from something running some 20+ years. If you are just starting on your wellness journey and need strict direction then maybe you'll get something out of it, but otherwise there are much better wellness retreat offers out there.