The Eremito Experience: Sustainable Wellness Retreat

A sacred haven nestled amongst Umbria’s rolling hills, Eremito is the holy grail of hospitality and reawakening

Eremito is a sustainable wellness retreat in Italy, and most sacred place I have ever experienced in my travels. It is a boutique hotel in the sense that there are 24 rooms; of culinary excellence in the enjoyment of your food; luxurious in the incredible quality of your stay. But Eremito is an enigmatic destination one can only understand upon visiting. When you stay at Eremito, you feel God. 

Nestled in a valley at the top of Umbria’s rolling terrain, Eremito humbly waits for you. Ideal for the solo traveler, you can connect with yourself and tuck away from the noise of the world here. Upon arrival, you enter the dimly lit, long hallway of this former hermitage. There is chamber music piping through the stone walls, and you realize that this is like no other place you have ever experienced. 

A retreat that is purely sustainable 

Eremito is built in nature, and nature builds Eremito. Petite blue swallow birds sing and fly across the valley from early morning into the evening. Their faint sounds echo in your ear throughout the day, gently waking you up and lulling you into the night. Eremito is also an old hermitage from the fourteenth century, and it has preserved this gorgeous yet simple aesthetic.

The rooms, or “celluzze”, are the cells used by the hermits in years past. The spaces were made for simple living, meditation and prayer. Resting in the celluzze made me reflect on how much stuff we have that we really don’t at all need. Everything felt so utterly superfluous, and silly, to think how caught up with getting material things, when one only needs so few things in life to live and be content. Eremito is one of the most purely sustainable retreats that generates a sense of wellbeing almost immediately.

Wellness, meditation, and yoga

It’s impossible to come here and not sink into peace. The location is special, with a positive energy that makes you feel connected to the earth and nature. The morning begins with prayer at 7:30am for those interested, which is a really lovely tradition to be a part of. I had the great pleasure to have taught my first yoga class at Eremito as well, with such gorgeous souls (aka other guests) in the most heavenly studio I’ve ever seen. The sun’s early glow softens the landscape and you just be, enjoying the moment. I wish I could start every morning this way!

Vegetarian, zero waste, and mindful on-site dining 

The food at Eremito is vegetarian and simple, but I ate the best potatoes of my life here. Eremito’s signature dinner program is a meal eaten in silence; to practice gratitude and to enjoy the moment. It was one of the most special meals I’ve ever had in my travels, in a room adorned with candlelight.I couldn’t help to think of how lucky I was, what did I do to even get here, and how this must be the only place in the world that could move me in this beautiful way. It’s very unlikely for a dinner in Italy to follow this practice, but this four-course experience was very calming, mindful, and rewarding.

The house also makes their own finnochietto, a digestive liquor made from fennel herbs, which is absolutely divine to sip after your dinner.  I was also delighted to see that the kitchen made use of leftover items, such as our fruit salad from breakfast, which they turned into a nice sorbet to complement our lunch as a dolce that same day. A truly sustainable and zero waste mentality to fuel wellness of mind and body. 

A retreat to ignite the soul, ideal for the solo traveler 

There were the most lovely other guests at Eremito. My stay felt as though I was part of a community of peaceful people as opposed to feeling alone. For this reason, Eremito is ideal for a solo traveler. The guests and I talked about our cultural differences, our languages, and the problems our societies face. This was one of the nicest and most awake groups of other travelers I have ever had the chance to mingle with and get to know, you don’t come to Eremito if you are not open or desiring to be alive, and embrace the beauty of life.

This was one of the most fulfilling sustainable wellness retreats and destinations I feel blessed to have encountered and felt an immediate connection to. It is not for any traveler; it calls a certain type of person there for a reason. After only two nights here, this experience helped balance me, igniting a calming sense of gratitude and love. There very few places that have ever moved me so much on a vacation; Eremito is definitely one of them. 

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