IRENA BARTOLEC

"I don’t know where to start. This was an amazing experience. Irena is fantastic in so many ways. Her yoga teaching is phenomenal - adjusting each session to my body and it’s needs. She has a chef come in the morning and another for dinner - both make delicious nutritious meals and will adapt to what you like. All very fresh. The place is clean and open. Right overlooking the ocean. You can walk on the shore and never see anyone. My routine was very rejuvenating. I got up before our first yoga session to sit with the ocean, waves, and birds, maybe read a bit. Irena would come for our morning session which I was amazed by each time. I’ve been doing yoga for years and she taught me such great alignment for MY body. Then delicious breakfast made by Norma ❤️, followed by a few hours to do what I wanted. Usually a walk on the beach and reading with some swims in the pool. And one day a fantastic massage. Before dinner a second session with Irena, stretching my body out in ways I didn’t know could be! Delicious dinner made by Mau 🙏🏻. All followed by great conversation with Irena - asking her about yoga and anything else I felt like. The evenings were beautiful sunsets and relaxing. This is so much more than a yoga retreat with a group of people. It has deepened my practice in so many ways. Thank you Irena!"

"I wanted a wellness retreat to rest my body and mind but worried that a group retreat wouldn't give me the personal time I was looking for. When I came across Irena's individual retreat option I knew it's what I wanted to do. I booked after speaking with her once over the phone. We talked several times via email and text prior to my arrival and from there she created a custom experience for me that I could not have even dreamed up! She is a consummate professional in her teaching of yoga, mindfulness and meditation and properly challenged me each day, while also giving me the option to rest if needed (and helped me identify areas to work on during my home practice). Her local connections for surf lessons, snorkeling, massages (I opted to have a second massage because it was so good), sweat lodge, chefs and house keeping team complete the "dream team". I feel like I made a lifelong connection and refer to her back home as my "yoga mama". Also! The location of this retreat is AMAZING!!! Literally steps from an untouched beach, the sounds of the waves create the exact sound track of our white noise machines and the sunsets are incredible. Clean and calm pool, cozy hammock for napping and amazingly, I didn't have to use my bug repellent one single time! (Not sure if that is seasonal, but still super amazing to be in such a wild place and not get eaten up by bugs!)"

"My girlfriend and I have been looking to do a yoga retreat for quite some time and did extensive research on where to go (we must of looked at over 15+ options all over the world - Bali, Arizona, Mexico…) We stumbled on Irena’s website and the feel was exactly what we were looking for: QUALITY!!!!! Irena’s resume speaks for it self. She is an amazing instructor and helped me so much with my practice (whether you are a beginner or long time practising like me over 15 years, she will elevate and teach you so much!). The setting was intimate, luxurious (the pictures and website still don’t do it justice!), safe, adventurous, rejuvenating, and welcoming. The place was magical - the house has great character, is very spacious and comfortable, while the outside is breathtaking! The salt pool is not overly cold but refreshing and the yoga / meditation area is overlooking the sunset and ocean…. Just pure serenity! I can’t stress enough how taken care of we were from private chefs cooking every meal from fresh local ingredients (we were so giddy every day to see what delicious meal awaits us!!); all with daily fresh fruit, smoothies and coconut water from the back yard tree! to all the transportation and desired activity organization. Apart from waking up to meditation and yoga every morning, we basically did everything Costa Rica had to offer - surfing, ATVing through the forest and hills, horse back riding on the beach, massages, IV therapy, lounging by the pool, to name a few. Irena organized everything for us - and everyone she knows aligns with who she is - welcoming and making sure you are satisfied and happy, so you don’t have to spend the time and energy researching to make sure you will get good service…. It’s pretty much a guarantee. All we had to do was wait for someone to get us and take us yo wherever we needed to be to start our activity. The massages and IV therapy came to our place and we got pampered to the view and sounds of crashing waves and wind blown palm trees! We had high expectations going into this trip as we wanted to be taken care of with every aspect being quality (place, yoga, food, people) and Irena’s place exceeded that! I felt so rejuvenated and re connected / grounded, it truly was a magical experience - do your self a favor and go, treat your self - everyone deserves to experience this magic!"