It’s true, my dream of opening a retreat has been long since held. In one guise or another I’ve hankered after creating a space for people to come, spend quality time and leave feeling rejuvenated.

Many a notebook has been started with ideas for what the place might look like, what kind of services it might provide, how it might make visitors feel when they leave…any excuse for new stationery!

Well finally, after some solid brainstorming and research I have started the business plan.

OK, so what I mean by “started the business plan” is I’ve moved out of the notebooks (don’t worry they won’t be gone forever) to the post-it-note and mind map stage (still requiring new stationery, of course).

As you will see from the images, this kick-start has only been made possible by poker night! Alright, perhaps you can’t “see” this so to explain I took the opportunity to escape boys’ poker night to put myself up in the nearest luxury hotel, enjoy the spa facilities and get inspired.

So, it’s thanks to a 24hr retreat at the London Syon Park Hotel, Phoenix Retreat is a step closer to taking flight.