Carmel Retreats opened its doors in 2020, after owner, Barry Shimo Farb navigated his own journey with cancer and realized how deeply restorative it was to spend time on this property. Guests told him, “I didn’t know how exhausted I was until I exhaled here,” and he felt that during his own recovery. He wanted to create a place designed around that moment — where the surroundings are healing.

Carmel-by-the-Sea is one of those rare places where nature and creativity comes together. This village sits beneath a veil of Monterey pines and ocean fog, and there’s a calm that you feel within minutes of arriving. The air smells of sea salt, woodsmoke, and blooming jasmine. Artists, writers, and wanderers have come there for a century to find clarity and inspiration - and that spirit is still alive.

Many people are living at a pace that our bodies are not designed to sustain. Recharging is not just an indulgence, but it’s maintenance. Barry believes that when we step out of our loops and into a quieter environment, our minds reorganize, our creativity resurfaces, and our emotional bandwidth expands. He believes that rested people make better decisions, show up more fully for the people they love, and feel more at home in their own lives.

There are 2 historic cottages: Cuddle Doon and Wee Hoos are private sanctuaries. They’re filled with soft natural textures, warm lighting, and handcrafted details that encourage you to slow down. You’ll find a fireplace, spa-inspired bathrooms, deep reading chairs, and quiet corners for journaling, meditation, or simply listening to the ocean in the distance.

Guests receive a curated wellness welcome basket, a personalized retreat guide, locally roasted coffee, organic teas, aromatherapy blends, yoga mats, and a weekly ritual schedule designed to help guests unwind the minute they arrive.

Retreats can be tailored to your own rhythms. Guests can enjoy guided meditation, breathwork, yin yoga, forest bathing walks through the pines, sound healing, journaling prompts, cold-plunge moments at the beach, and evening reflection rituals by the fireplace.

For couples or small groups, they also offer intention-setting ceremonies, relationship-centered practices, and creative expression sessions like photography walks or intuitive sketching. Everything is designed to meet you exactly where you are.

We like an initiative that they have known as Postcards for Healing. Anyone can nominate someone in their life who is coming through illness, grief, or major life transition to receive a free 2–3 night stay at Carmel Retreats. They use the “trapped dates” between bookings — nights that would otherwise sit empty — and turn them into an offering of rest, dignity, and care. It’s a way of letting the property give back to people who need a soft place to land.