Sunday, February 9, 2014

The Golden Door, Hunter Valley, Australia

January 2014


For my mothers birthday this year I took her for the long weekend to The Golden Door Health Retreat - Elysia in the Hunter Valley.

Locating a dry retreat in one of Australia's top wine regions is a bit strange, but it was a stunning spot for it.


As soon as you enter the Golden Door you relax, it might be the sound of the running water, it might be the crisp white tiles.


Stay

Mum and I stayed in a two bedroom villa, overlooking the Hunter Valley. The biggest surprise was that it had a full kitchen (oven and microwave!) and both rooms had a full bath.






Eat
This was my biggest concern, the food. Would I enjoy it, would there be enough of it (I thought about packing contraband i.e. anything food related but decided that would defeat the point, but I needn't have worried. The food was fresh, it was flavoursome and it was just enough to make you feel full but not overloaded.


Breakfast dishes...
Omelettes

Rice porridge with orange and coconut

Yogurt with fruit and muesli
Lunch dishes....

Turkey salad

Fish curry

Dinner dishes....

Vegetable soup with...

Thai fish cakes

Barramundi with...

Coconut ice cream..yes ice cream!


Hungry yet?

Do
You can do as much or as little as you want here. There are plenty of new things to try and if you don't like it don't do it again. We tried:

  • Tai Chi at 6:30 am on Meditation hill
  • Deep water running at 7 am before breakfast in the indoor pool
  • 10K hike, which had a spectacular view
  • Indoor cycle (aka spin)
  • Pilates
  • Yoga
  • Stretch
  • Some downtime in the lounge area

 So would I recommend a stay at the Golden Door. Absolutely. We had three days and for me that was a good length of time (most stay between 5 - 7 days, some over 2 weeks!). But watch for specials.



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