Designing Your Best Life ~
Tools for Transition Toward a Balanced, Fulfilling Life
Anderson Valley, California Wine Country ~ 4 Nights, Dates TBD. Join the waitlist!
If you’re a vibrant, successful woman who is craving a change or looking for balance and new direction, join us among the towering redwood groves and sprawling vineyards of Anderson Valley, California, for this transformative getaway that will help you rediscover your interests, align with your natural balance and direction, and leave you brimming with excitement over the new possibilities for your life!
Join Us
Are You:
Ready to channel all of the skills, wisdom and experiences you have accumulated toward a new direction and with renewed purpose?
Innately curious or craving something different?
Looking for support from like-minded women with a rich variety of backgrounds?
Proud of what you have accomplished and ready to shake things up a bit?
Primed to find new and fulfilling ways to be relevant, impactful, and satisfied in the next phase of your life?
You are not alone!
We invite you to join our intimate group of authentic, motivated and multi-generational women as we guide you toward your exciting future.
Under the canopy of the majestic redwoods, you unwind as you breathe in the earthy scents of your surroundings.
The busyness of home drops away and the wind rustling through the trees sounds like they are welcoming you with a whisper.
Entering the woody cove, you wake up your body with gentle stretches and movement that will set the stage for open-mindedness, honesty and trust with those around you.
A rush of anticipation washes over you about the days ahead filled with personal stories from the locals, culinary, winery and cannabis experiments, and personal insights about what you have, what you want and what you need.
With full force and intention, you are here.
Welcome to Encore Retreats. Let us tell you more...
What People Are Saying
“I walked away from the retreat with a different perspective on a weight that I had been carrying for a few years. I now have a renewed sense of energy to take on an exciting challenge…a purposeful adventure.”
— Susan
“The retreat would be perfect for someone who is feeling a little pull inside about where they are now vs. where they would like to be. The variety of experiences provided the environment and the tools to start the process towards personal alignment.”
— Joey
“I really enjoyed the integration of mental, spiritual, and physical activities. Everything we did was experiential.”
— Deb
“The overall experience was indulgent. Not only did we gain some new tools for self-discovery, we shared great food and wine, laughed a lot and created authentic friendships.”
— Lynn
The Venue
The Cuisine
Prepare for indulgent yet healthy treats every day! The cuisine of this area is noted for being seasonally inspired. Enjoy food prepared by a local chef who focuses on using only hyper-local products: pastured meats, wild caught seafood and lots of plants. The meals are hearty and abundant but instead of feeling heavy and tired after eating, you will feel vibrant and energized!
Meals will be served at the resort as well as at nearby restaurants and wineries. The food in this region is exceptional with origins from local dairies and farms.
All dietary restrictions will be happily accommodated.
Gather among the rolling vineyards and redwood forests of Anderson Valley, in Mendocino County, California, 110 miles northwest of San Francisco. Groovier than Napa and Sonoma, and less crowded, this area is considered by many as the most desired wine region in the New World. It is also a curiously diverse community of artists, rebels, sustainable farmers, wineries, metropolitan expats, and people dedicated to “green” living.
Spend four nights at The Madrones and The Brambles, an award-winning luxurious Mediterranean sanctuary influenced by Italian agriturismo, all in the tiny town of Philo in the heart of Anderson Valley. The Madrones has unique and well appointed guest rooms, the exceptionally curated Sun & Cricket shop, tasting rooms and The Bohemian Chemist offering sun-grown herbal cannabis, skincare and wellness medicine..
The Journey
Design Thinking uses curiosity and creativity to help us uncover, reframe, test out and apply techniques to address issues in a creative, innovative and action-oriented way. This method was initially meant to solve problems in design and engineering, but it has been extremely effective in fixing the challenges in our lives.
We use the Stanford Life Design program as our main structure and use strategies around transition and life balance to help you create a life that makes sense in terms of who you are and what you believe. We weave these ideas into every single experience during our time together.
By the end of this retreat, after some deep, delightful introspection and simple mindset adjustments with like-minded women, you’ll have the tools you need to find your balance, discover your hidden direction, leave old barriers behind, and rekindle the energy you need to design the next exciting chapter of your most fulfilling life.
From the minute you arrive on Wednesday evening until you leave Sunday early afternoon, you will go on an adventure to help you define and take control of your future.
Immerse yourself in an incredible natural environment through morning movement and wine country hikes, free your mind, spark creativity, and allow yourself to go to new places.
Listen to the personal stories of the innkeepers, chef, sommeliers and apothecary who have moved away from a conventional life to one with a deeper connection to the earth and self.
Embrace regional culture through the local food, wine and cannabis agricultural movements.
Practice radical collaboration with a group of like-minded, multi-generational, dynamic women.
Nourish your body with carefully curated hyper-local cuisine.
With your mind and body prepared, dig deep into your own personal path using innovative approaches such as Stanford Life Design program and William Bridges' transitions work.
On this retreat, you will enjoy:
Collaboration
Four incredible days together in a quietly inspiring environment that’s sure to nurture your mind, body and soul
Workshops and group exercises to identify where you are now, where you want to go next and set intentional steps forward
Small Group Setting
This intimate retreat is limited in size in order to foster trust, connections and meaningful conversations
Post-trip community support through our private Facebook page
Movement and Wellness
Morning movement options and local hikes among the majestic redwoods
Exclusive wellness workshop at The Bohemian Chemist, an herbal apothecary featuring locally sourced and sun grown cannabis
Gourmet meals and tastings
Four in-room breakfasts, to enjoy at your leisure
Four hyper-local, chef-curated lunches
Four beautiful dinners at unique locations throughout charming Anderson Valley
Private vineyard visits and tastings with local vintners
Relaxation
Spacious single occupancy accommodations at The Madrones and The Brambles for four nights
Downtime each day to nap, journal and let the ah-ha's sink in
The retreat does not include:
Roundtrip airfare. We recommend flying into San Francisco (135 miles), Oakland (135 miles) or Sacramento (165 miles)
Ground transportation to and from The Madrones in Philo. We can connect participants who want to arrange carpools, upon request
Relaxing in-room massage available for an additional $150 per treatment
Personal, medical or trip cancellation insurance
Additional food, alcohol or cannabis products
What you will take home:
Actionable steps toward your next chapter
Connections and an ongoing community of like-minded women
A physical rest and mental reset
Resources to support you on your new path
A tribe of new friends, connections and collaborators connected through our private Facebook group
Your Hosts & Facilitators
Jennifer Sullivan and Lisa Waltuch are looking forward to being your hosts.
Lisa and Jen have both undergone several personal and professional transformations which have informed their current work.
Jen’s first professional life was in the hospitality industry. She specialized in luxury travel, having worked for The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company for 20 years. Jen thrives on creating memorable experiences for her friends and family. She is passionate about travel and considers it a true honor to serve others.
In 2017, as her family prepared to move to Costa Rica, Jen was diagnosed with cancer. She used her time in Costa Rica to heal and to envision a new entrepreneurial life. During this time, she met and befriended Lisa and today, she is a proud cancer survivor, the owner of a boutique travel consultancy and co-founder of Encore Retreats.
Lisa’s professional career started as a creative director in New York City and the San Francisco Bay Area, creating digital resources for organizations such as The Discovery Channel, The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Walmart.