Need to know
Rooms
11, including eco lodges and cottages.
Check–Out
2.30pm on the Sunday, but flexible, subject to availability. Earliest check-in, noon on the Wednesday.
More details
Rates include all meals, return train-station transfers, all activities, three massages, snacks, juices, smoothies, and a laundry service. All retreats last for five days.
Also
Unfortunately Yeotown’s rural setting and active nature make it unsuitable for guests with mobility issues.
At the hotel
Orchards and gardens (including one filled with medicinal herbs), hot tub, treatment rooms, sauna, outdoor gym, courtyard, lounges with selections of books, yoga room, gift shop, and free WiFi. In rooms: tea-making kit (plus fresh lemon, ginger slices and chicory), umbrella, torch, blanket, the White Company bathrobes, heating, and free bottled water.
Our favourite rooms
Owners Simon and Mercedes have put a lot of love and attention into their 17th-century farmhouse – so much so it’s starred in several decor-magazine photo-spreads – which was their weekend home before they realised that others might benefit from its Edenic setting too. Simon was an art and antiques dealer and interior designer, so has the eye for interesting pieces – say, the hanging meditation ‘nest’ made from volcanic ash and hemp, or centuries-old Indonesian Buddha statue in the Love and Be Loved lodge, which we do adore for its added peace and privacy, all the better for playing through the guided meditations and inspirational talks loaded into your sound-system. Otherwise, you can choose from a sustainably built lodge in the grounds (with Kentucky-oak wall panels insulated with hay), dressed in rustic style, or a more classic Brit-countryside room (Patience has its own ensuite and a balcony); each is named after a tenet of ‘positive-psychology coaching’ (Wisdom, Kindness, Curiosity…), so perhaps choose according to what you’re hoping to achieve.
Spa
The more decadent side of wellness happens at the end of each full day, when you’ll head to the treatment rooms in the former stables (with original doors) for varying styles of hour-long massage. There’s a hot tub in the grounds to wallow in too and a sauna. Additional treatments can be booked on request (these usually take place on the Thursday). These might include lymphatic drainage, various styles of massage, cupping, facials, reiki, one-on-one yoga or tai chi sessions, kinesiology, acupuncture, meditation, hypnotherapy or tests for your gut health and more.
Packing tips
Yeotown Devon will kickstart the healthier new you before you’ve even arrived, sending you a list of things to start cutting out of your diet in preparation. And, try not to feel too intimidated by the hardy gear they ask you to arrive with (waterproof trousers, camel-paks, hiking boots).. Although you can bring your phone, you’re asked to leave them for hikes and to try to use them as little as possible, so maybe – gasp – leave it behind to avoid temptation.
Also
Rather sweetly, you’ll find a personalised inspirational message on your bathroom mirror on arrival.
Children
This is all about self care, so let someone else worry about the little ones for five days.
Sustainability efforts
Set on a farm estate, Yeotown uses the land where possible, with fruit orchards and a medicinal-herb garden. There are electric charging points for cars, the eco lodges have been sustainably built and insulated with hay and straw, and recycling and limited plastic usage are observed.
