THE DETAILS & FAQs

What’s Included :

  • 5 (five) nights, 6 (six) days of eco-luxury at Imiloa Institute

  • Roundtrip Private Charter Flights SJO- Dominical, CR

  • Imiloa SUV transport locally to shops, beaches nearby

  • Curated brain-healthy, vegan, plant-based, alcohol-free meals: Arrival day dinner, 3 (three) meals each day (5 days), departure day breakfast

  • 2X (twice) daily classes: Yoga, NeuroFitness, MELT Method & Meditation in beautiful treetop outdoor covered space (yoga mats/props & MELT equipment provided)

  • Brain Health Kitchen Cooking Workshops and Talks

  • 2 Group Experiences

  • 1 MELT Method Travel Roller

  • 1 Wellness Bar Pass (1 free daily smoothie, specialty coffee, etc)

  • Local coffee, tea, & filtered water, fruit

  • Access to a private waterfall, miles of nature paths, incredible flora and fauna, and an ocean view infinity pool

  • WiFi

  • Online Access to our Brain Health Community with resources to continue brain healthy practices at home

What’s NOT Included :

  • Airfare to/from Costa Rica

  • Accommodations & meals in San Jose, Costa Rica

  • Transport to/from airport to San Jose hotel, SJO charter airport

  • Private Brain Health Consults, Private Wellness / Movement Coaching

  • Additional excursions, surf lessons and/or rentals

  • Spa and Wellness services

  • Additional snacks, smoothies

  • Travel insurance (strongly recommended)

  • Please note this is a ALCOHOL FREE Retreat Center.

  • Gratuities

Imiloa Institute is a home and an experience where human beings are invited to awaken their consciousness in the secondary jungle of the Savegre Mountains.

From San Jose, you’ll be brought to a private aircraft just for you and retreat participants to be flown 15 minutes to Imiloa. At the Quepos landing strip, friendly Imiloa team will pick you up in LUX SUVs. The next time you’ll see your baggage will be in your accommodation. Enjoy the 25 minute drive to Imiloa and up the hill to the top.

Annie and Stacy will be eagerly waiting for you! Cold towels, drinks and snacks are usually served, with an opening from Team Imiloa and a beautiful journey to your rooms.

At Imiloa, we are a proudly conscious comfort food campus. That means we serve healthy, locally-sourced, gourmet vegan meals that are as artistically plated, scientifically nourishing and delightfully crafted for all of our retreat guests. Please note that while we are an alcohol-free retreat center, we have created a beautiful spirit-free drink menu for you to enjoy during your stay.

In between movement and meditation classes in our Jungle Treehouse Shala with your Stacy, and education and cooking classes with Annie, enjoy our infinity plunge pool with beautiful ocean views, reconnect with nature by discovering our private waterfall, mountain meets the ocean jungle hikes, spa services that will cause you to go deeply inward.

The retreat is just the beginning. Imiloa is just the catalyst to begin your lifelong brain health journey.

What Will Each Day Look Like? If you are trying to visualize a typical day at The Brain Health Retreat at Imiloa, we hope this sample schedule paints a beautiful vision (subject to change):

Arrival Day:

11:00 am: Arrival at Imiloa Institute- welcome mocktail and snacks.
11:30 am: Welcome to Imiloa Institute- share the retreat schedule and intention, meet your fellow retreaters.
12:30 pm- Enjoy a nourishing lunch
1:30 pm- Allow one of Imiloa’s team members to show you to your room. Explore the grounds and settle in.
5:00 pm – MELT Method Class to shake off the travel and restore the body.
5:30 pm-Sunset Mocktails by the pool
6:30 pm – Arrival Dinner: During the retreat, you will enjoy exotic brain healthy gourmet dinners made with love by our own Imiloa Retreat Chef co-curated with Dr. Annie Fenn of Brain Health Kitchen.

Meal Times:

8:30 am  Breakfast
12:30 pm Lunch
6:30 pm Dinner

Sample Daily Schedule (subject to change- each day will differ!):

7:30-8:30 am          Guided Yoga, Fitness, Neurofitness, and/or MELT Method
8:30-9:30 am          Breakfast
10:00-11:00 am      Brain Health Talk
12:30-1:30 pm          Lunch
3:00-4:00 pm Cooking Class
5:00-6:00 pm         Sunset Restorative Yoga and/or MELT Method
5:30 pm Preguntame (Q & A with Annie) Sunset Happy Hour
6:30 pm                   Gourmet Brain-Healthy Dinner

 FAQs

 
  • The Imiloa Institute is located in the jungle, with its design having minimal impact to its environment. Therefore, a basic level of fitness, mobility and balance is required to navigate between the dining room, movement shala, and your accommodation. This may include rock paths, or walking trails through the jungle. Imiloa provides headlamps for evening travel and a staff member is always available to assist you! We love that Imiloa has ‘incidental exercise’ built into its design; in that we achieve well over our 10,000 steps per day simply by moving around the grounds. We recognize this may not suit everybody, so be sure to check with your physician prior to reserving your space.

  • The Brain Health Retreat does not provide travel insurance. We recommend you have sufficient insurance to cover such things as personal accident, medical treatment, repatriation, cancellation charges, theft and property loss.

    You can find many affordable plans through Squaremouth and Global Rescue

    Please choose the plan you are most comfortable with. The most expensive plans are “Cancel For Any Reason” coverage. This insures coverage for any reason you may have to cancel your trip. Most CFAR (Cancel for any Reason) Insurance policies need to be purchased within 14-21 days (depending on the policy) of the original deposit date. If you are considering purchasing CFAR for the entire trip, you must do so immediately upon payment of the first deposit.

    We strongly encourage you to purchase refundable flights or choose a policy which includes flight refunds.

  • No need to be intimidated. Everyone has to start somewhere and we provide a comfortable, supportive environment where you can feel safe trying out all or some of the offerings. In addition to Annie’s talks and cooking classes, there are many other activities at the resort and in the area that will make your trip unforgettable.

    Please consult your physician prior to arriving to ensure you are cleared to partake in all physical activities.

  • Yes, please check all travel requirements HERE.

  • Located 800 feet (240m) above sea level, Imiloa is a bit cooler than the beach, as well as less bugs. The average temperature is 85°F (27-33°C) during the day and 65-75°F (17-24°C) at night.

    • Yoga-pants and shorts, tanks and shirts. We will move together in a breezy, outdoor space covered from the sun.

    • Swimsuits and Coverups

    • Sunscreen and Bug-repellent *natural is best to protect your skin and the ocean Click Here for options.

    • Sandals, Tennis Shoes, Waterfall Shoes (teva sandals, or crocs work great! Otherwise, bring a pair of old tennis shoes)

    • Casual comfortable clothing for meals and trips beyond campus

    • Insulated Water Bottle

    • Journal/ Pen

    • Any travel goodies, prescriptions or specific requirements you may need

    • Rain jacket - most likely will not rain in January, but always possible

    • Cool, breezy, casual clothing. A light sweater and pants for evenings.

    Forgot something at home? Not to worry, we have shops nearby.

  • Please book your international flight to San Jose International Airport (Airport code; SJO).

    All retreat participants and hosts need to be at SJO domestic terminal at 8:45AM on January 9. The charter flight will depart at 9:15AM. Arrival to Imiloa is approx. at 11:30am. If you arrive to San Jose airport the same day as your retreat begins please arrive by 7:00AM or earlier.

    About the Charter Arrival Flight

    We privately charter flights from SJO to our landing strip near Imiloa to cut the travel time from 4 hours in the car, to 20 minutes by plane. It’s a wonderful way to arrive.

    Please note:

    If you cannot arrive at the international terminal by the suggested times above, please book your travel to arrive in the day(s) BEFORE the start of the retreat.

    If you arrive to the domestic terminal at SJO after the suggested times, you will not arrive in time to travel on the charter flight. We can still assist with your transport, but you will be responsible for your own transportation to Imiloa as well as any cost incurred.

    If you choose not to utilize the method of transportation provided for your retreat to/from Imiloa you are responsible for the cost of alternate/ground transportation.

    Departing Imiloa:

    You will depart Imiloa at 9AM, and arrive at the landing strip at 9:45AM, with an estimated arrival to SJO airport at 10:30AM.

    The domestic terminal is a 5-10 minute walk to the international terminal at SJO.

    Typically, it is suggested to be at the international terminal 2.5 hours prior to your international departure. Please book your departing international flight accordingly, knowing that you will be at the airport at 10:30AM on departure day.

    If you book your flight earlier than this, you will be responsible for your own transportation to SJO airport (airport taxis are $285 one way, and taxis from Imiloa to Quepos landing strip are $115 one way).

  • We have a beautiful shared plunge pool, closest to Bali Suites. Some suites have private pools. In addition, a private waterfall and swimming hole are located on site easily accessible with a 10-15 minute walk.

  • With the mountain location and open air design, all lodging options are comfortable.Some have A/C while others have Fan ventilation to serve both preferences. Imiloa has a unique offering of options. lease visit the Accommodations page to choose your preferred site.

  • We believe in the importance of disconnecting to reconnect. However, we do understand the need to keep in touch with those at home. We have fiber optic WIFI throughout the resort available for all guests.

  • No, you will not need an adapter if you are traveling from North America, as electrical outlets are North American.

  • Yes, please let us know your restrictions to communicate to the Imiloa Kitchen staff.

  • Imiloa is an alcohol free property. We have a beautifully curated spirit free drink menu to enjoy.

  • Imiloa Institute is located in the Savegre mountains, a 20 minute drive from the small surf town Dominical and 30km from Quepos (medical facilities, airport, great dining if you’re coming before or after the event).

  • The currency in Costa Rica is the Colon, which you can withdraw from an ATM at SJO or exchange at your departure airport. You would only need this cash for excursions outside the resort or to tip employees (optional) should you choose to leave them. There is also an option to tip via Paypal directly to Imiloa Institute.

    Imiloa is a credit/debit card ONLY campus. We are 100% cashless except for optional tips.

  • if you are interested in signing up for a spa treatment, please do so here: Massage Request Form

  • If you are a paid participant of an event and need support, please email: welcomehome@imiloainstitute.com

    Please include the “Name of Event” in your Subject Line for immediate response

  • Absolutely! Imiloa has an extensive list of excursions to fully enjoy the jungle. We will schedule daily free time around our classes for you to explore the surroundings or perhaps lounge by the pool. or in a hammock. We support you in whatever creates the best retreat for you!