Cream of the Crop, Cloona Health Retreat
Re-energise, re-vive, re-TREAT
When Dhara Kelly’s mother opened Cloona Health Retreat her plan was to offer busy people a place to detox, unwind and re-energise. 44 years later, guests hail from afar to experience the magic of this rural healthy idyll. Cloona nestles below Croagh Patrick and is adjacent to Clew Bay.
The ‘Cloona program’ is structured and holistic, offering a wide variety of exercises and treatments. Yoga, walking and juice fasting are important parts of daily activities, as are beach walking and sessions in the sauna. Those in search of cutting-edge treatments are never disappointed as Cloona regularly updates its program. This year has seen the introduction of Tibetan Singing Bowls, Shiatsu & Life and Wellness Coaching.
Cloona has quietly amassed a long list of return guests including renowned fashion writer Deirdre McQuillan who leaves “every time full of good intentions and with a looser waistband”.
Food too is central to Cloona’s program. “Guests tell me that our salads are the best they have ever tasted. We only use organic, biodynamic ingredients in our kitchen and we do our best to source produce locally where possible. We recently introduced the organic seed derived Udo’s Oil as an ingredient and it gives the salads a new dimension entirely. I have become ‘a faithful fan’, taking it on and off over the years. I always feel the difference afterwards, particularly in my skin which becomes silk-like after a number of weeks”.