Wrapped in Wellness: Inside the Spa Retreat that’s changing the Self-Care game.

By Katie Emberley

As we continue to go through rapid change in the World and experience ongoing destabilisation, our need for connection doesn’t waiver. It doesn’t suddenly dissolve as more of us work from home, as more of us socialise less, as more of us report chronic loneliness.

It is a challenge to come back to ourselves, to find our centre and to connect with others. This is what makes life rich. The deep conversations, the appreciation of others, the ability and safety of relaxing into who we truly are. This is true well-being, the real meaning of self-care.

There is a place where this is happening for people. Not in an evangelical or forceful way, just a place that boasts the perfect concoction of welcome, ease, inclusion, care and warmth.

Nestled in the green rolling fields of Ongar in Essex is the Angel Wellness Retreat. Home to more than a spa, more than a salon and certainly more than a retreat. There is magic here, it feels special and is amassing a loyal following of celebrities, luxury seekers and those hungry for the cutting edge in vitality. So, what is it all about? what is happening here that means Essex is electric with the buzz of The Angel Wellness Retreat?  

The Captain of this ship is Victoria Wilson an entrepreneur who more than deserves the title of ‘Disruptive Early Adopter’. A larger-than-life personality, well known and loved, Victoria has a sixth sense for business but more importantly people. Victoria’s parents were both highly skilled and practical people who imparted a raw and grass roots business acumen in her that has served her career beautifully. Kicking off as a 10-year-old selling belts and accessories to her school friends from her parents’ car boot saw the entrepreneur spark firmly light up. Victoria’s career has been a continuous recreation of that first strategy, just on a larger and more impactful scale. How do you give people what they want and need even if sometimes they don’t know what that it is themselves?  This is the magic that many entrepreneurs strive for. The sweet spot, the element that can mean the difference between good and great. Many hungry for success are desperate for it, knowing this is the key that unlocks real achievements. Victoria just has it within her, it is who she is, her 6^th sense and it is the foundation of The Angel Wellness Retreat.

‘The Piggeries’ in Greensted Ongar is the site of Victoria’s Husband’s family home. A sprawling estate that has seen Colin and Barbara Batt love and care for the land in a way that would secure a fruitful future for their son Paul. Colin sadly passed some years ago now but asked Paul to make something special of the property. Make something special he most certainly has. A wonderful partnership in love and business, Victoria had big dreams to create a destination retreat on the land and Paul set about making it happen.

A 7.5 thousand foot two storey retreat boasting treatment rooms, group space, medical suites and outdoor facilities welcomes hundreds of clients a month seeking beautification, vitality, respite and health optimisation. Outdoor facilities are starting to take shape now including a state-of-the-art roofed padel court and fire and Ice experiences. A corporate style conference room and overnight cabins are next in the plans to welcome corporate away days and overnight spa guests.

Walking into the retreat you are immediately aware of the atmosphere, it feels warm and familiar somehow. It inspires you to take a deep breath and just feel the moment, something that so few of us get the opportunity to do. The air is sprinkled with lots of giggles and chat and is void of the usual stuffiness you might expect from a World Class facility. The reasons for visiting are varied. For some it is the usual massage, facial injections and body wraps. For others it is the more unique options like the Colonic Hydrotherapy Angel of Water system, the lymphatic drainage massage or the signature Japanese head spa treatment.

The Angel Wellness Retreat offers more than 15-day packages that attract even the toughest to impress. Internal anti-ageing medicine, sound bath facials and Chinese 5 element body treatments sit amongst an extensive menu of treatments and classes. It is common for a client to visit to receive a combination of having their lips injected for fullness, a colonic hydrotherapy session and then joining an immersive guided breathwork class (immersive meaning participants wear headphones to block out the outside world and just hear the soothing voice of the teacher and calming tunes). It isn’t just the treatments that were curated but the staff too. An inhouse team of medical, therapeutic and wellness experts and an external consultant team who run the workshop and experience days .‘In setting out to curate the treatments for the retreat I really thought about the kind of place I would want to go. I am a person that wants it all. I want to look my best, I want to feel as youthful as I can and I am seeking the ultimate in well-being and self-care so that was my baseline’. Victoria Wilson

It feels like The Angel Wellness Retreat has emerged at just at the right time. A time where self-care is getting more air space and more of us understand the importance of well-being. It makes perfect sense that the retreat has become the go to destination for those seeking the ultimate in nourishing body and soul.

Just last month Victoria offered to host an exclusive day for Tamzin Outhwaite’s ‘We Free Women’ charity. The retreat welcomed eight women who have overcome adversity for a tailor-made programme curated by Victoria’s team. Workshops, treatments and classes populated 10.5 hours of experiences for these deserving ladies as they had exclusive use of the retreat and facilities. It clearly adds to the atmosphere, the generous nature of giving back and caring for others can be felt by all who attend as success can and should be shared, a value that Victoria lives by.   

When entrepreneurial success is found bringing so much joy to others it really reaches a whole other level and creates a lifeforce of its own.

How will this life-force evolve? Where will Victoria steer the ship next?

‘There is something beautiful about us sharing the land with others and it was my late Father in law’s wish, so I hope to host a Wellness Festival next year. People love our immersive guided meditation and sound bath experiences, and we would be delighted to open the retreat up to a larger group of people to experience them. What brings me so much joy is we are improving the quality of life for people; it is what drives us here. So, we want to do more of it’ Victoria Wilson   

Victoria and Paul ran with the challenge set out by Paul’s dad Colin and really made something special. What a legacy.

Katie Emberley is a Writer, Speaker and Business Consultant in both the Corporate and Aesthetics sectors.

For Event Enquiries and bookings www.theangelwellnessretreat.co.uk

For more information and collaboration opportunities www.wefreewomen.org