A restored castle in New Zealand/Aotearoa’s Central Otago pairs ballroom yoga and breathwork with a MasterChef winner’s cooking.
Some trips call for an adventurous, jam-packed itinerary. At this stage of the year, however, our burnt-out brains are craving the kind of trip where every little detail is taken care of. And if this stay just so happened to be taking place in a real-life castle, that definitely wouldn’t hurt.
At Earnscleugh Castle in Central Otago/Ōtākou, not only do you get to feel like a bona fide royal thanks to the luxurious ballroom and a library straight from a bibliophile’s innermost fantasy, you also get to experience something many only get to see on TV.
If you’ve ever watched Grand Designs and wanted to check into the finished project, here’s your chance. Featured in the season 10 opener of Grand Designs New Zealand, the heritage property underwent a four-year restoration by owners Ryan Sanders and Marco Creemers.
Now, the castle has entered another chapter as the setting for Sanctum 7, an adults-only wellness retreat with seven days devoted to slowing down. There’s also the option to book the entire castle for your own gathering.
A grand setting for switching off
The castle and surrounding acreage make a spectacular setting for a wellness retreat. (Credit: Earnscleugh Castle)
An hour’s drive from Queenstown/Tāhuna, Earnscleugh Castle dates back to 1920 and holds Category 1 heritage status. As wellness retreats go, there aren’t many better settings than this one.
Guests can start the day with yoga in the ballroom and break up the day by exploring the castle and its surroundings. With around 12 hectares of gardens, there’s room to wander.
The retreat accommodates a small group across nine rooms in the castle and neighbouring Coach House. With the estate reserved for retreat guests, this experience feels far more personal than a standard resort.
A week shaped around rest
Sanders developed Sanctum 7 after experiencing burnout himself. His response was to create the kind of retreat he wished he’d found: the kind that gives you a hand switching gears into rest mode.
There’s a team of 12 specialists, with expertise spanning food, movement, sleep and the natural world. The emphasis is on introducing practices guests can explore during the week and hopefully take home to implement into their daily lives.
Partake in the wellness itinerary, or spend an afternoon in the library with your nose in a book. (Credit: Earnscleugh Castle)
The thoughtfully curated programme brings together daily yoga, breathwork, guided walks and workshops, alongside three lymphatic drainage massages and a naturopathy consultation.
There’s a Finnish sauna and ice bath, plus a saltwater pool and spa. Crucially, participation is fully optional. If your idea of a restorative afternoon involves taking a book outside and enjoying the fresh country air, there’s room for that, too.
A MasterChef winner takes care of dinner
For travellers who worry that a wellness retreat means leaving their appetite at home, Aaron Brunet’s involvement should be a relief.
The MasterChef New Zealand winner prepares every breakfast, lunch and dinner, with a three-course meal each evening. Guests gather around an oak table crafted in 1900 in the castle’s Grand Dining Room.
Guests will enjoy a plant-based menu, with fish available on request. The retreat describes its food as largely free from gluten, dairy and refined sugar, while making clear that fasting and calorie restriction aren’t part of the programme.
There’s also a cooking workshop with Brunet, giving guests something more useful to bring back to the kitchen than a kitschy oven mitt.
Weekly travel news, experiences insider tips, offers, and more.
Any Grand Designs fans will appreciate the effort that's gone into the decor. (Credit: Earnscleugh Castle)
How to book your own castle escape
Sanctum 7 includes six nights’ accommodation, all meals, scheduled wellness experiences and return Queenstown Airport transfers.
Upcoming retreats begin on 29 November 2026, 17 January 2027 and 7 February 2027, with monthly departures planned. Advertised low-season rates start at approximately $6850 per person.
From 1 November 2026, the castle will also be available for exclusive group bookings outside retreat weeks, with a minimum three-night stay. Private-chef dining and tailored itineraries can be arranged for celebrations, family gatherings and work retreats.
For anyone who has watched Grand Designs and immediately imagined moving in, this might be the next best thing.
Want to see more stories from International Traveller in your Google search results?
Tick the box next to "International Traveller". That's it.
Jessica O’Donnell is Evergreen Editor at International Traveller. After nearly seven years in London, she returned to her hometown of Sydney with a love of exploring new places and a travel wish list that keeps growing. Previously Ecommerce Editor at Women’s Health UK, she’s also written for The Telegraph, The Times, Runner’s World and Cosmopolitan in the UK, as well as ELLE and Harper’s BAZAAR Australia. At International Traveller, she helps readers plan memorable overseas adventures, from city breaks to far-flung escapes. As someone who squeezes every last drop out of her annual leave allocation, she takes holidays extremely seriously. When she’s not writing or editing, you’ll find her on a girls’ weekend away, sipping an ice-cold dirty martini or with her nose in a book. Or if she's really lucky, all three at once.
Wellbeing means different things to different travellers. Here’s how to pick a hotel that gets it right for you.
The best wellness holidays aren’t necessarily spent wrapped in a spa robe. Sometimes they’re found around a dinner table in Cambodia, on a hiking trail in New Zealand or after finally beating jet lag on the other side of the world. The hotel you choose is what makes them happen.
1. Easy access to good food
Taste delicious meals at Novotel Bangkok Sukhumvit 20.
One of the quickest ways to derail healthy habits on holiday is to spend half of it working out where to eat instead of digging into the culture around you. Thankfully, Novotel has done much of the hard work already, with chefs building menus that lean into the flavours, ingredients and traditions of each destination.
In Sihanoukville, Cambodia, Korkor soup – often dubbed ‘Cambodian ratatouille’ – sits alongside raw blue crab dressed with lime and chilli, best enjoyed with views across the Gulf of Thailand.
In the lovingly chaotic city of Bangkok, the presence of food cranks up the sociability. At Novotel Bangkok Sukhumvit 20, you can settle in with mango sticky rice and stranger-turned-friends beside the pool at Sky on 20 rooftop bar, or bring them along to tackle river prawns and stir-fried crab with holy basil at the buzzing Crab Paradise Dinner Buffet.
Then Novotel Dubai Al Barsha welcomes you with a laidback twist on the level of indulgence the Middle Eastern city is best known for up on Deck Se7en. Looking towards Burj Al Arab, the rooftop lounge has everything from Mediterranean-style dishes like seabass ceviche to Italian prosecco sundowners.
At the other end of the scale, in the hills that surround the Novotel Bali Ubud Resort, calm comes from nature. At Siralada restaurant, Balinese traditions shape the menu while thunder rumbles over the surrounding jungle – proving the setting is as nourishing as the food itself.
While at Novotel Nha Trang, chef Kieu Thi My Hanh and her team showcase Vietnam’s knack for balancing freshness, texture and fragrant herbs. Pho remains a favourite, while seafood salad with pomelo and mango brings those flavours together in one bright dish.
It’s all an approach backed by partnerships with expert food creators such as Alfie Steiner, whose plant-forward recipes prove healthy food should never taste plain.
2. Better sleep options
Sleep deeply with Novotel.
There are few travel experiences more disappointing than arriving in a new country, determined to seize the day, only to fall asleep fully clothed by 3pm.
For Australian travellers, jet lag is often an unavoidable part of the journey. That’s one reason Novotel runs sleep-focused initiatives that help guests adjust quickly without compromising on health. We’re talking partnerships with Sydney-based sleep specialist Olivia Arezzolo, known for her advice on everything from better sleep habits to beating jet lag, alongside features like pillow menus, in-room yoga content and tailored sleep guidance.
The sooner you’re operating on local time, the sooner you can get back to more pressing matters – like deciding which spa treatment to book.
3. More ways to move
Stay at Novotel Queenstown Lakeside and explore local hiking trails. (Credit: GettyI mages/ naruedom)
Every place in the world has its own way of getting you moving: whether that’s hiking up ice-bitten mountains before a sauna or gentle stretching by the pool before a facial. From fitness centres to spas, Novotel recognises that wellbeing rarely looks the same.
At Novotel Queenstown Lakeside, activity is inescapable. Here, hiking trails, ski fields, bungee jumps, and white-water rafting have made the region famous. The hotel’s location on the shores of Lake Wakatipu means less time spent organising yourself and more time out there experiencing them. To top it all off, you can book a private hot tub for the evening before heading back into the wilderness tomorrow.
Bali, of course, takes a softer approach. At Novotel Bali Ubud Resort or Novotel Bali Nusa Dua, movement is less about conquering a mountain and more about a dance class between the tropical gardens and lagoon pools. Afterwards, the spa takes over, with traditional treatments like a Lulur body scrub: a combination of rice, turmeric, sandalwood, ginger and jasmine that’ll soothe muscles already relaxed by the Balinese heat.
4. Better connections
Kids will love a stay at Novotel Sharm El Sheikh.
One of the best things about travel is that it gives your family stories you’ll be telling for years. Novotel helps create them with activities that bring everyone together, whether that’s trying something new, learning a local skill, or simply spending more time together.
Go for a distinctly Thai twist at Novotel Phuket Vintage Park, where many of the family activities draw on local culture. Kids can try everything from beginner Thai boxing and language lessons to umbrella painting and – a pastime beloved by children the world over – pool foam parties. Everyone is welcome to join in, whether that’s getting splashed, covered in paint, or simply watching their children discover a new side of Thailand during the dedicated Family & Kids Day.
A different adventure awaits at Novotel Sharm El Sheikh. Kids could be perfectly content with discos, drawing classes and new holiday friends, but the Red Sea has other ideas. Sitting on the edge of Naama Bay, days here might involve snorkelling colourful reefs, taking a boat trip to Ras Mohammed National Park or heading into the desert by quad bike or camel for a Bedouin-style dinner beneath the stars.
Everyone’s idea of wellness looks a little different. With more than 600 hotels across 65 countries, Novotel gives guests the freedom to choose the destination that suits them best. Whether that’s a beachside escape in Phuket, an alpine expedition in Queenstown or a city break in Bangkok, there’s a good chance a Novotel isn’t far away.
All that’s left? Choosing your version of wellbeing.
