This page contains information to help you with planning your health retreat at Fresh Start. We’ll discuss what to wear and pack, recreational trips before and after the retreat, digital and fragrance policies, when you quit, drug and alcohol policies and more. If you still have questions after reading this, feel free to contact us.
Also, consider that there are quite a few rainy days on the Island, so do not forget waterproof shoes and a raincoat, no matter what season you come.
As a guideline, here are average outdoor temperatures in the area:
These are other items that you may wish to bring to ensure a comfortable stay:
Please do NOT wear any fragrances such as perfume, cologne, after-shave, essential oils, and aromatherapy. We want to be sensitive to all our guests and team members who have allergies to fragrances.
To assure maximum benefits from the healing experience, we aim to create a relaxing and peaceful environment. With that purpose in mind, we request you to have cell phones off most of the time and not to bring laptops with you unless you absolutely have to.
We understand that you may once in a while want to talk with your family over the phone. We highly suggest leaving the cell in your room and check messages and calls once or twice a day, rather than having it on you all the time. This will give you a chance to experience a cell phone detox, which most of our guests enjoy so much. Without constant ringing around you, you and your group will rest so much better and will feel at least, for once, free of the constant demands of having to be available to the surrounding world at any given moment.
If you still need your digital devices in the healing space
If you absolutely need to have your cell phone with you in the Health Centre, you are welcome to, provided you do your best to minimize distractions for other guests. We request that you 100% turn off your phone for classes and treatments. When you are in the dining room, which is a common group hang-out area, please set your ringer on the vibe, and in case you need to give a call to step out on the balcony or into the hallway. While we do not want to impose any additional limitations, we ask you to use your common sense and abstain from constant texting or business calls in the healing space, as it may prevent other people from relaxing. If you have to do some business while with us, your room is an excellent space for this. When you are with others, we encourage you to be present and give them your undivided attention.
You might be wondering why we suggest abstaining from computer work or frequent calls during the retreat? For your mind to focus on healing, it has to have the least possible amount of distractions to allow your eyes and brain to rest. If you have to continue doing your business while on a health program, think twice about whether you are actually getting the return on the investment in terms of your health.
Let your mind, eyes and body rest from the computer. Give yourself a break. You deserve it.
Disclaimer: If you have concerns with other guests using their devices, please feel free to respectfully talk to them directly. We do not interfere with group dynamics and cannot strictly control digital device use, while we count on everyone’s mutual respect and thoughtfulness.
If you are visiting or sightseeing on the island, plan those activities after, rather than before or during, the program.
There is no one rule for all. Many people quit smoking right on the day of their departure to the retreat and ensure that they do not have any cigarettes with them or left at home. Some gradually wean themselves within a few days prior to or upon arrival.
If you decide to quit while at the retreat, you’ll need to decide on a specific date and commit to yourself and your quit smoking coach, with whom you’ll meet on the next day upon arrival. Also, we highly recommend that if you have any remaining cigarettes with you, you pass them to your coach. That way you won’t have guilt that you threw them away or the temptation to take them out of the garbage bin.
Unless you have extreme levels of depression, we do not recommend you delay your quit date past 3 days upon your arrival. You will be doing a lot of work on your liver and lung health, and stopping the intake of toxins will help you to benefit from it in the most productive and asymptomatic way. Plus we use healing foods, removal of stimulants such as alcohol and coffee, as well as intensive cleansing protocols, to help you minimize your cravings. Because of that many people say that they either do not have cravings or have less than expected.
With all of that said, you are the one in charge of your quit date. If you are in a very “raw” state and need some time to stabilize your emotions prior to quitting, you will have the extra space and time you need.
Ocean Resort, where we run the programs, is a completely non-smoking Resort. It is not permitted to smoke in the room, on a balcony, in the proximity of other guests’ rooms or public spaces. A Designated Smoking Area is provided outside and away from the buildings. Please be aware that the Resort will charge a cleaning fee, will request the guest to leave the premises and will put on a black list anyone who breaks the rules.
Please keep in mind that the Resort has zero-tolerance for hard drug use on the property and alcohol use in public areas.
While Fresh Start does not control alcohol use in rooms or outside of the Resort, we expect guests to abstain from it for the duration of the program. If a person is suspected of hard drug use or non-controlled alcohol addiction, he/she may be referred to rehab and requested to leave with the remainder of the program credit to be used within 2 yrs by anyone he/she sends at a later time instead of him/herself, provided the person meets our admission requirements.
Due to the group dynamics, it is expected that all guests are respectful and able to behave adequately in the group environment. Lashing out at others, foul language and other similar disruptive behaviour may lead to the Program Director or other staff asking the person to leave, with the remainder of credit to be used within 2 yrs. by another person, provided he/she meets our admission requirements.
Some guests may be smoking while you are at the retreat. Various people may quit at different points of the program. And most importantly, keep in mind that not everyone on your program will be on the quit smoking journey. While we specialize in quitting smoking, the program is not single-focused on smoking cessation. So please be prepared that participants in your group will be working on a variety of health goals. A huge benefit for you is that you’ll be able to improve some aspects of your physical and emotional wellbeing, too, in addition to quitting.
Fresh Start is not a rehab. We will not be confiscating your cigarettes (or cigarettes of others) forcefully, and we won’t be able to prevent you from jumping into a cab to get some. While we provide as much support as possible with cravings and emotional work, you need to be determined to quit and to take full responsibility for the process and outcome. In other words, we cannot quit for you without you. And we cannot guarantee that you personally will 100% have no cravings, as it is different for different people.
Fresh Start is not responsible for any lost airplane tickets or other expenses related to early departures, such as lost room nights at the Ocean Resort or other hotels and others, regardless of the reason for the early departure.