November is men’s month, and with Movember putting men’s health in the spotlight, it’s a good time to admit something most partners already know. Say “wellness retreat” to the average man and he’ll assume it was designed for someone else. The men who stay at Maruia River Retreat are often running flat out at work and at home. Sleep, proper conversation and time outdoors are usually the first things to slip. A weekend away should give those back without asking him to sit cross-legged and think about it. So this month we’re looking at what a couples weekend at Maruia River Retreat feels like from his side of the villa.
Why do so many men think a wellness retreat isn’t for them?
Most men already understand recovery in sport. A hard training block with no rest days leads to injury rather than improvement. Yet the same logic rarely gets applied to a demanding job, a young family or a calendar with no gaps in it. Performing well at work and at play comes down to the same basics: moving your body, eating properly and sleeping enough. Maruia is built around putting those basics back in place. A morning on the forest trails, an afternoon in the sauna and a long dinner sit comfortably side by side, so nobody has to choose between relaxing and doing something.
What does a digital detox feel like when you didn’t plan one?
Getting away from work starts with getting away from the phone. None of our villas has a TV or Wi-Fi, and internet is available only in the Main Lodge. Men who arrive planning to check emails between activities usually find that by the second morning they’ve stopped reaching for their phone altogether. We go into this shift in more detail in our piece on why Maruia is New Zealand’s ultimate digital detox sanctuary.
The biggest payoff tends to be sleep. Healthify recommends adults get at least seven to eight hours a night. It also notes that repaying built-up sleep debt takes at least two nights in a row of good, unrestricted sleep, which is why our stays start at two nights. With no screens in the bedroom, the river outside and nowhere to be in the morning, those nights come easily. Our guide to the magic of better sleep has tips for keeping the habit going once you’re home.
Will he have to do yoga?
No, and that’s usually what wins him over. Our daily yoga classes are complimentary, optional and open to complete beginners. A writer for Luxury Travel Magazine brought along a husband who had long avoided anything wellness-related. He joined his first-ever class at 8am and was surprised by how good it felt. The next morning he skipped the mat for a slow coffee on his own. By the end of the stay he didn’t want to leave.
Both choices are the right one here. The same goes for the Finnish and infrared saunas, the heated magnesium pool and the hot tub beside the river. It’s the unhurried approach we describe in The Relaxed Luxury of Maruia River Retreat.
What is there for him to do on the river and the estate?
For many of the men who stay with us, the river is the highlight of the weekend. Guests often tell us the sound of the water and the cold shock of a dip take them straight back to childhood summers spent by a river with their fathers. No treatment room can quite match that kind of rest.
Brown trout are New Zealand’s most common freshwater sports fish, and the Maruia River is known for big ones. Our guests regularly include a few “slightly obsessed trout hunters”, as Britt Coker described them in A Strategic Retreat. Across the 500-acre estate there’s room for a lot more than fishing. He can hike the native beech forest trails, join a guided nature walk for birdwatching, raft the Maruia River or head out on a day trip to one of the four national parks within reach of the retreat. Whichever he chooses, he’ll come back to the villa with plenty to talk about over dinner.
Why do couples remember the dinners most?
Food matters more this weekend than most men expect. Every stay includes complete, regular meals: a generous breakfast buffet, lunch, and a three-course dinner whose menu changes daily. Our chef and co-owner Lasse Holopainen cooks it all with produce from our kitchen garden and local growers. Servings are generous, there are no reservations to make, and dinner is never rushed. Good food, a view and time to talk properly with your partner is often what couples carry home with them. Our romantic nature spa guide shows how these evenings fit into a longer stay.
How should a weekend at Maruia end?
Under the stars. On a clear night the sky over the estate fills with stars, well away from city lights. Guests can stargaze straight from their villa, or from the pool or hot tub, which resident guests can use around the clock. With just seven private villas across 500 acres, it rarely feels like anyone else is out there. An evening forest walk is another good way to close the day, before an early night that sets him up for the best sleep he’s had in months.
A weekend that gives him proper sleep, generous food, time on the river and real conversation with his partner does more for his performance at work and at play than another week of pushing through. Nothing here is compulsory. He can choose yoga or coffee, the river or the sauna, and still go home rested. Our Lover’s Luxury Getaway is designed for exactly this, or you can choose the stay that suits you both.
Book your November couples weekend with us today.
