Wellness retreats for singles over 50: spa weeks with a host and a small group

If you are in your fifties, travelling on your own and looking for a wellness retreat, the hardest part is usually finding one where you can rest properly and still have people to talk to over dinner. Spice Escapes runs small hosted group holidays built around spas, sea air, slow mornings and good food, with a host who travels with the group and a room of your own, so you get the calm of a retreat without spending the week in silence.

Most retreats are set up for one of two people: the couple who want a quiet spa break together, or the serious devotee who wants a timetable from dawn yoga to lights out. Going alone, you end up either at a table for one among pairs, or on a programme with no room for a lie-in. Our holidays sit between the two. There is a group of around fifteen people, and some reach twenty, most of them booked on their own too. There is a host who knows everyone's name by the first evening. And there is no obligation to join anything, which is the part people tell us they value most.

What a wellness break with a group feels like

The pattern on these weeks is simple. Mornings are yours: a swim, a sauna, a book on the terrace or a walk before breakfast. Evenings are when the group comes together, and that is where the friendships start. You come home rested, and you also come home with people to message.

If this is your first holiday on your own, our page for first-time solo travellers walks through how the first day works, from the airport to the welcome drink. For the wider picture of how we look after people in this stage of life, see our over 50s solo holidays.

Croatia: a week at a health and fitness hotel on Lošinj

Of everything we run, Croatian Chillout is the closest to a true wellness retreat. The group stays at Vitality Hotel Punta, beside the town of Veli Lošinj, a hotel built around health and fitness. It has a Vitality Center and Spa, an infinity seawater pool, and a fitness centre for pilates, antigravity yoga and group exercise classes.

Lošinj itself has a long tradition of health and spa tourism. It is known as the Island of Vitality, for its pine forests, clean sea and mild climate. Half board means breakfast and dinner are taken care of, so there is no nightly decision about where to eat or who with. There is a boat day round the archipelago with a chance of dolphins, a hike through the pines to Saint Ivan Hill. It runs for 7 nights, departing 1 May 2027 – 8 May 2027, from £869, hosted by Jackie Whyte. Places: 13 places left. More on the country at our Croatia holidays.

Northern Spain: a retreat in a house, with your own room

Read, Relax and Restore: A Week in Spain's Green North is a retreat in the old sense: a week at Agara, a large renovated house in Cantabria, where the stated priority is to give you space and time to relax and restore. Every room is sole occupancy, so nobody is asked to share a bedroom with a stranger. Breakfast, a light lunch and dinner are provided each day, with wine and beer you help yourself to.

Days are loose by design. You can read alone in the garden, borrow one of the house bikes, follow a self-guided walking route or join a guided walk if enough people want one. Evenings are home-cooked, family-style meals around one table, likely with a murder mystery and a literary quiz. There is also a very friendly resident dog. It runs for 7 nights from 6 Jun 2027 – 13 Jun 2027, from £969, with Jackie Whyte as host. Places: 13 places left. Our article on green Spain and Cantabria describes the region.

Fuerteventura: an adults-only spa hotel in the winter sun

For warmth when Britain is grey, All Inclusive Fuerteventura Winter Sun and Fun takes the group to the Occidental Jandía Royal Level, a four-star adults-only hotel above Jandía Beach. Its Sanagua Spa has a sauna, steam room, jacuzzi, wellness programmes and massage treatments, and there are two outdoor pools, one of them heated.

All meals and drinks are included, which matters on your own: no bill to split. Rooms look out to sea, over a very long beach. It is 7 nights from 30 Jan 2027 – 6 Feb 2027, from £1,199, hosted by Steve Dell. Places: 3 places left.

Malta: a rooftop pool, a day of nothing, and the spa next door

Maltese Chillout suits someone who wants rest with a little discovery mixed in. The group stays at Number 11 in St Julian's, an adults-only hotel with a rooftop pool terrace and access to a nearby wellness spa. One day is set aside to do nothing at all, and four evening meals are included, so most nights are already arranged. On the other days there is Valletta, the hilltop quiet of Mdina, and a ferry day over to Gozo. It runs for several nights from dates to be confirmed, from price on request, with one of our hosts. Places: ask us.

A creative retreat: painting in Cantabria

For some people, wellness means a pencil and a sketch pad rather than a treatment room. The Spanish Drawing and Painting Break with Tuition uses the same house at Agara, with tuition from Dale Scott for all levels, sketch pads and a canvas provided, and days painting on the coast, in villages and on a mountain pass. It runs for 7 nights from 25 Apr 2027 – 2 May 2027, from £929. Places: 9 places left.

You can browse every slower-paced week under chillout and relaxation holidays.

Your own room, and what it costs

Rest is hard when you are sharing a room with someone you met at the airport, so we do not ask you to. Every holiday carries a single supplement or a room-to-yourself cost, and we show it plainly rather than hiding it. Our single supplement page explains how it works and how it compares.

Questions people ask

Will I be the only one there on my own?

Very unlikely. Most people on a Spice Escapes holiday book on their own, and the host makes a point of introducing everyone on the first evening. The group is around fifteen people, and some reach twenty.

Do I have to join every activity?

No. The days are flexible and plenty of people spend a morning in the spa or with a book while others head out. The group tends to come together in the evenings, and that is the part most people enjoy.

Is this a strict retreat with a timetable?

These are relaxed holidays with wellness at the centre, not a residential programme with set sessions. Hotels like Vitality Hotel Punta run classes you can drop into, and the rest of the time is yours.

What does the host actually do?

The host travels with the group, helps everyone settle in and suggests plans for each day. They are the person to go to if anything goes wrong, and they make sure nobody ends up eating alone unless they want to.

Can I book if I have never travelled alone before?

Yes, and many people do. A hosted group is one of the gentlest ways to start, because the arrangements are made and there are people to talk to from the first day.

Talk to us before you decide

If one of these weeks appeals, the best next step is a conversation. Ask for Rob Thompson, who owns Spice Escapes, or anyone on the team, and they will tell you honestly what the group is usually like on the holiday you are looking at, which room options are left and whether it suits the kind of rest you are after. You can reach us through our contact page, and for more on why travelling with a group suits this stage of life, read five reasons social travel suits the over 50s.