Retreat by Rosemary
Rest, repair, remember and reset
Join me, Rosemary, on what can only be described as an elevated take on the retreat concept.
​Respite from whatever you are going through on the beautiful island of Jamaica is within your reach. Before booking, we will discuss in detail what you really want for yourself from this retreat and combine your ideas with a few of my own. Your retreat, your way. Seven days, focused on you and your well-being with no other responsibilities.
What will happen
We will pick you up from the airport in Montego Bay and head west in our air-conditioned coach for the 1.5-hour journey to Negril. A deluxe Jamaican-owned and operated private villa awaits you, your home from home, for the next seven days. Your beautifully appointed, spacious, air-conditioned room with a view provides all the home comforts, including your ensuite bathroom. To secure a full sea view, book early.
A few steps from the back terrace is a private pool, one of several spaces where you can rest, morning, noon or night. If walking along the white sandy seven-mile beach is more your thing, it’s on your doorstep to enjoy.
Your days begin with a buffet breakfast served between 8.00 and 10.00 am. I ask that we break our fast together on the first, third and last morning of the retreat. Each day, after breakfast, we will spend an hour contemplating the day’s theme. Dinner will be served early around 5.00 PM, and I look forward to us dining together each evening. Other than that, your precious time is yours.
​
Day three, after breakfast, we set off on a short road trip heading inland. Our destination is the tranquil and soothing Cabarita River in the parish of Westmoreland, where we will spend a blissful afternoon with our lovely hosts Trevor and Monica exploring that day’s retreat theme.
​
On day four, we keep the repair vibe going. For those seeking a little pampering, we bring the spa experience to you. Roll out of bed, break your fast and focus on loving your body. Think massages with sweet-scented nourishing oils for starters. I’ll help you book your treatments in advance, don’t worry. The day's dress code is easy, easy, like Sunday morning. You will have the opportunity to book spa treatments in advance of travelling. The spa comes to you courtesy of local beauty salon owner Marsha and her team.
​​
Each day, authentic, delicious Jamaican cuisine sits effortlessly alongside international fayre for breakfast and dinner, all lovingly prepared by our chef. With an intimate group of just 10 people, you will have beautifully crafted meals specially for you. You will leave this retreat satisfied; trust me, I’m a foodie, and we will cut no corners.
​
In addition to eating what is in season, remember that our food is our medicine and that on this bountiful isle, all year round, you can find bush, after, bush growing everywhere even by the roadside, for every ailment.
​
​There will be samples of menus for you to select from in advance of travelling so that we can shop accordingly.
Benefits of the retreat
What do we do together?
As a group of fellow travellers all on the retreat for different reasons, there will be times that we come together and what better way to do that than to break bread at the start and the end of the day. A special feature of the retreat is the daily themed one-hour group coaching sessions with Rosemary. The themes are taster sessions taken from her Seven Steps, well-being and personal development programme.
The Retreat by Rosemary is a new offering that I have been working towards for some time.
I think you are going to love it. I know that you deserve this investment in self.
​
It has been 10 years since my husband and I left England to live in Jamaica. It had been a dream of mine since my very first visit in the 1980s when, as a young woman, my mother brought me to her homeland to learn about my roots. I was in my early twenties, and Jamaica captured my heart. Over the years, the unromanticised version of Jamaica has in various ways strengthened my heart.
​
One pattern that has remained consistent throughout my life is that I periodically need to retreat into and be with myself. The other constant is that as an adult, my destination has been Jamaica 7 out of 10 times when that retreat has taken me overseas. Truthfully, many times I was running away, but more often than not, I was more running towards myself than away from others. Every single time I retreated, I returned, with more clarity, less fear, more peace and more trust in my instincts. Retreating to Jamaica helped me to remember who I am at my core.
​
The longest period of retreat was in the summer of 1989. I travelled around the island for six weeks by bus and taxi. I stayed at all kinds of places that trip, but the place I loved the most was a house in St. Elizabeth that I had rented from the owner, a lovely older woman whom I met in the gym in Birmingham, England. To cut a very long story short, after a discussion in the sauna, I ‘booked’ the last piece in the jigsaw for my six-week adventure, a week in Myrtle’s home.
​
Myrtle and her hubby’s home was in a tiny little village in the middle of nowhere, the narrow lane leading to the house from the main road took you through cane fields. Some days, I had great adventures like chartering a taxi to travel to historic Maroon Town and stopping to eat lobster on my way back at a restaurant reputed to be the first place on the island to have electricity. Other days, I didn’t speak to a soul, equally lovely. One of my most enjoyable days was one where I got up, washed my hair, and while drying it in the sun and plaiting it on the verandah, I impulsively invited Myrtle’s elderly uncle, who was passing, to join me for dinner that evening. We had rice and corned beef, while I listened to his stories. It was a perfect day.
​
Fast forward to 2025. I continue to provide leadership training, executive coaching, do public speaking and work with a range of global entities on system change, decolonisation and equity. All of the beautiful people I have worked with while thoroughly committed are stretched to breaking point.
There is a constant narrative about understanding the importance of well-being, both mental, physical, and emotional, but not practicing it for themselves. They are not taking time to retreat. They are not centring themselves, prioritising their needs, pouring into themselves, resting, recovering and just being. We are in the perfect place and time to fix that.