A group week
in a hamlet of your own.
Yoga under the pergola at dawn, a day in Orvieto, the afternoon by the pool, the sauna in the evening. Seven days with the hamlet closed to the world, and a programme built around your group.
Borgo Santa Maria hosts week-long yoga, meditation and wellness retreats on total exclusive use: 10 stone houses, up to 47 overnight guests, with an ideal retreat size of 15-30 participants. Practice takes place under a 100 m² covered pergola in the park (25-30 mats) and, in bad weather, in Sala Cappuccina. The Locanda delle Rose has a fitted kitchen for the group's vegetarian or vegan meals. Finnish sauna and wood-fired jacuzzi on request. We are in Monteleone d'Orvieto, Umbria, on the Tuscan border, 25 minutes from Orvieto. Exclusive use from €2,300 per night; a week in low season costs €10,500 for 7 nights.
Ten ways
to use a week.
Yoga retreats
Two sessions a day under the covered pergola in the park: terracotta under the mats, the shade of walnut and oak trees, open countryside all around. If it rains or the wind picks up you move into Sala Cappuccina without missing a practice.
Meditation and silent retreats
The hamlet is isolated and traffic-free: the silence does not have to be manufactured, it is already here. Secluded corners in the park for individual practice, woodland paths for walking meditation, and the option of holding the whole hamlet in silence, because there are no other guests.
Wellness weeks
A Finnish sauna and a wood-fired jacuzzi bookable for the group, a panoramic pool, and massages with local practitioners on request. Food to match: vegetarian or vegan cooking in the Locanda delle Rose, with vegetables picked from the garden that same morning.
Creative and writing retreats
Writers, painters and photographers get the combination that is hard to find elsewhere: a room of one's own in an independent house, shaded tables to work at, and a shared table in the evening to show what came out of the day.
Trainings and teacher trainings
Two halls that combine into 110 m², a Smart TV for presentations, Wi-Fi across the hamlet. Theory sessions indoors, practice outdoors, and participants sleeping a hundred metres from the room.
Walking and hiking weeks
The hamlet as base camp: woodland paths starting at the door, Monte Cetona, the badlands around Civita, the shores of Lake Trasimeno. Walk in the morning and come back for lunch, or take the whole day and return to the pool. E-bikes and mountain bikes for anyone who prefers two wheels.
Cultural groups and art cities
We sit right in the middle: Orvieto 25 minutes away, Città della Pieve 25, Perugia and Assisi an hour, the Val d'Orcia an hour, Civita di Bagnoregio fifty minutes, Rome an hour by train from Orvieto. A different art city every day, sleeping in the same bed every night.
Food and wine weeks
Wineries of Orvieto Classico DOC and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, olive mills in autumn, the pecorino of Pienza, truffles in winter. Back at the hamlet: cooking classes in the Locanda delle Rose, oil and wine tastings, picking in the garden and long dinners under the pergola.
Sports groups and cycling
White gravel roads and Umbrian-Tuscan climbs for cyclists; football pitch, volleyball, bocce, ping pong and a calisthenics area for anyone training. A pond for sport fishing. After the ride: pool, sauna and a long table — the best recovery there is.
Intergenerational retreats and families
Groups that travel with children: while the adults practise, the little ones have the pool, the football pitch, the garden and a playground in a place where no cars circulate. It is why many teachers choose this over a closed retreat centre.
Where you practise,
and where you eat.
Morning practice lives outdoors under the pergola; theory sessions and rainy days move inside. The two halls are always offered as a single package.
| Space | m² | Capacity | How it is used |
|---|---|---|---|
| Covered park pergola | 100 | 25-30 mats | Outdoors but sheltered, terracotta floor, Wi-Fi. The main space for morning practice |
| Sala Cappuccina | 60 | 15-20 mats | Exposed beams, fireplace, Smart TV. The rain plan and the room for theory sessions |
| Locanda delle Rose | 50 | up to 30 seated | Fitted kitchen attached: where the group's meals are cooked and eaten |
| Both halls together | 110 | 40-45 people | Always offered as a single package: plenary in one, workshops in the other |
| The park | — | groups up to 50 | Lawn, olive trees, the big walnut, secluded corners for individual practice |
Seven days,
as a sketch.
This is the shape that works best, drawn from what the groups who come back actually do. It is a sketch: timings, practices and content are set by whoever leads the retreat, and we fit around them.
- Sunday Arrival and opening Afternoon check-in, houses assigned, welcome dinner with local produce. The opening circle happens under the pergola on the first evening, as the light drops.
- Monday The rhythm settles Practice at dawn under the pergola, a slow breakfast, then a free morning or a theory session in Sala Cappuccina. Afternoon by the pool or in the park, evening practice, vegetarian dinner.
- Tuesday Body and place Morning practice, then a walking meditation along the woodland paths around the hamlet. Workshop or free time in the afternoon; in the evening the sauna, booked for the group in shifts.
- Wednesday The day out Orvieto 25 minutes away, or Bagno Vignoni and its thermal waters an hour away: one single outing in the whole week, so the rhythm holds. Back in time for evening practice.
- Thursday The day of silence Many groups keep one full day in silence. Here that is genuinely possible, because there are no other guests: silent breakfast, long practice, wordless meals, the wood-fired jacuzzi in the evening.
- Friday Cooking and sharing Picking in the garden in the morning and a cooking class in the Locanda delle Rose: lunch is what you prepared together. Free afternoon, practice at sunset.
- Saturday Closing Final practice, closing circle, a long lunch under the pergola. Anyone who wants to can stay on into the evening: the hamlet is yours until check-out the next day.
If instead you came
to see Umbria.
Not every group comes here to practise. Many want the art cities, the wineries and the hill towns, coming back to the same place each evening instead of changing hotel every night. This is the week we build for them — and the two formats mix as much as you like.
- Sunday Arrival Afternoon check-in, a shop together and a welcome dinner at the hamlet. You look at the map and decide who goes where over the days ahead.
- Monday Orvieto Twenty-five minutes: the Duomo, the underground city carved into the tufa, St Patrick's Well. Lunch in the centre, and an Orvieto Classico DOC winery in the afternoon.
- Tuesday A day at the hamlet Nobody drives anywhere: pool, garden, a workshop or a cooking class in the Locanda delle Rose. This is the day that holds the week together.
- Wednesday Val d'Orcia Pienza and its DOP pecorino, Montepulciano and the Vino Nobile cellars, Bagno Vignoni at sunset. The longest day, and the most photographed.
- Thursday Civita and Bolsena The bridge to the dying town in the morning, a swim in the volcanic lake in the afternoon. Back in time for an aperitivo in the courtyard.
- Friday Assisi or Perugia The Basilica of St Francis and Giotto's frescoes, or Perugia with the National Gallery of Umbria. An hour on the road, a full day out.
- Saturday The last day here A free morning, a long lunch under the pergola with everything you bought along the way, unhurried goodbyes.
What there is to do,
in seven days.
The full list, sorted by how far you have to go. A group staying a week usually picks six or seven of these in total: the rest of the time is what makes a holiday a holiday.
At the hamlet
- ▸Panoramic pool (mid-May to the end of September)
- ▸100 m² covered pergola for practice, meetings and workshops
- ▸Football pitch, volleyball, bocce, ping pong, calisthenics area
- ▸Pond for sport fishing
- ▸Woodland paths starting at the hamlet
- ▸Organic garden with free picking
- ▸Barbecue and fireplaces, firewood provided
- ▸Finnish sauna and wood-fired jacuzzi (on request)
Within an hour
- ▸Orvieto — Duomo, Underground, St Patrick's Well · 25 min
- ▸Città della Pieve — Perugino and Italy's narrowest alley · 25 min
- ▸Lake Trasimeno and its islands · 45 min
- ▸Civita di Bagnoregio and Lake Bolsena · 50 min
- ▸Montepulciano, Pienza and the Val d'Orcia · 1 h
- ▸Bagno Vignoni and its free thermal springs · 1 h 10
- ▸Perugia and Assisi · 1 h / 1 h 15
- ▸Rome — 1 h 45 by car, 1 h by train from Orvieto
We arrange it
- +Cooking classes in the Locanda delle Rose
- +Tastings of regional wines, oils and produce
- +Winery and olive-mill visits
- +A private cook, vegetarian or vegan if you prefer
- +E-bike and mountain-bike rental
- +Guided walks and tours with local guides
- +Massages and treatments with local practitioners
- +Transfers from Rome Fiumicino, Perugia and Florence
What you
find here.
- ▸10 stone houses, up to 47 beds, each with its own kitchen and bathroom
- ▸100 m² covered pergola in the park, with Wi-Fi
- ▸Panoramic pool (mid-May to the end of September)
- ▸Park, woodland paths, fishing pond, quiet corners for individual practice
- ▸Organic garden with free picking
- ▸Wi-Fi throughout the hamlet and free parking
- ▸Final cleaning and bed linen
- ▸Total exclusivity: for those days there are no other guests
What you
can add.
- +Event-hall package (Cappuccina + Locanda delle Rose): €350 the first day, €250 from the second
- +Finnish sauna and wood-fired jacuzzi, bookable for the group
- +Vegetarian or vegan cook on site, or a fully self-catered kitchen
- +Cooking classes as a group activity
- +Tastings of regional wines, oils and produce
- +Massages and treatments with local practitioners
- +E-bike rental, guided walks, airport transfers
What retreat leaders
ask us.
Can you host week-long yoga or meditation retreats?
Yes — it is one of the most common reasons the hamlet is booked. You take the entire property on exclusive use — up to 47 overnight guests across 10 independent houses — with the 100 m² covered pergola in the park for practice, Sala Cappuccina as the indoor space and the Locanda delle Rose with its kitchen for the group's meals. The ideal size for a retreat is 15-30 participants.
Where do you practise yoga at Borgo Santa Maria?
The main space is the covered pergola in the park: 100 m² with a terracotta floor, shaded by walnut and oak trees, open at the sides and roofed above, so it works in light rain or strong sun alike. It comfortably takes 25-30 mats. In real bad weather you move into Sala Cappuccina (60 m², exposed beams). For individual meditation there are secluded corners in the park and woodland paths all around.
Is the hamlet genuinely quiet?
Yes, and not as a figure of speech: we are in open countryside at Monteleone d'Orvieto, with no through roads and no street lighting. When the hamlet is booked exclusively there are no other guests, so a group can hold a full day of silence without anyone breaking it. At night you hear crickets and see stars.
How does vegetarian or vegan catering work for a group?
The Locanda delle Rose has a fitted kitchen at the group's disposal: you can self-cater, bring your own cook, or ask us to arrange a vegetarian or vegan cook on site. Picking in the organic garden is free, and we sell the hamlet's own olive oil, wine and preserves. On request we organise tastings and cooking classes as group activities.
How much does a week-long group retreat cost?
In low season (November-March) a 7-night week on exclusive use costs €10,500, against the €16,100 you would get by adding up individual nights at €2,300. In mid season (April-June, September-October) and high season (July-August) no weekly discount applies: the nightly rates stand, €2,500 and €2,700 respectively, for up to 47 overnight guests. Added to that are the two-hall event package (€350 the first day, €250 from the second), the €500 final cleaning and whichever extras you choose. Send us your dates and participant numbers for an exact quote.
When is the best time for a retreat in Umbria?
May, June and September are ideal: you can practise outdoors all day, the pool is open and the countryside is at its best. July and August work by moving sessions to dawn and sunset. From October to March the hamlet becomes a winter refuge with lit fireplaces, the sauna and an even deeper quiet — the right season for writing and meditation retreats.
Tell us
what rhythm you have in mind.
How many participants, which season, how many sessions a day and how you want to handle meals. We reply within 24 hours with availability, the weekly rate and a draft programme.