A day trip from Phoenix that does not require a hike
Solstave is a women's day retreat in Mesa, Arizona, about thirty minutes from central Phoenix. No flight, no hotel, no packing. You leave in the morning and you come home changed.
Most day trips are another thing to organize
Sedona is two hours each way. The drive is beautiful and the day is gone. A hike means a trailhead, water, timing the heat. Brunch in Old Town means finding parking.
None of that is bad. But if you are tired in the way that sleep does not fix, another itinerary is not what you need. You need somewhere you are not responsible for anything.
That is what this is.
What is a day retreat?
A day retreat is a single day set aside for rest and reconnection, with no overnight stay. At Solstave, a full day retreat is six hours on a private property, and the schedule is deliberately loose.
You arrive. You are handed a cup of tea. You walk the gardens without anybody talking at you. You sit down with the owner and are asked how your heart is feeling today, which is a harder question than it sounds and a better one than how are you doing.
Then, depending on what surfaced, you move into body care, rest, movement, time under the trees, or silence. Licensed practitioners handle the body-care work.
There is no group to keep pace with. There is no next activity waiting.
How far is it from Phoenix?
Solstave is in Mesa, in the East Valley, roughly thirty minutes from central Phoenix depending on traffic. It is closer still from Gilbert, Chandler, Tempe, and Scottsdale.
The exact address is shared when your visit is confirmed, since the property is also a private home. There is off-street parking.
What you will actually find here
An acre and a quarter of lawn and mature trees, which in the middle of the Sonoran desert is its own kind of surprise. A citrus grove. A treehouse. Twenty-nine handmade garden planters. A fountain named for someone's grandmother. Four ash trees planted for four children. A memory garden under a mesquite.
Women who stayed here when it was a rental said the same thing repeatedly. They felt calm the moment they came through the gate, before anyone spoke to them.
Who takes a day like this?
- A woman who has not had a day to herself in a very long time and is not sure she is allowed one
- A woman moving through a transition, a hard season, or a birthday that landed harder than expected
- Two friends who want to do something together that is not a meal or a shopping trip
- A local who has done the hikes and the resorts and wants something quieter
- A visitor to the Valley who would rather rest than sightsee
If six hours is too much to start with
Start with Remember, which is two hours. It has the same shape, a listening conversation followed by body care, in a form that fits inside an afternoon.
Return is three hours and sits in between. Most women begin with Remember and work up to a full day once they discover they can.
Planning your day
- Wear something comfortable you can walk and sit in. Everything else is provided.
- Arizona shade is real shade. Most of the property is under a canopy, so this works in more months than you would expect.
- Leave the afternoon open afterward if you can. Driving straight into errands undoes some of it.
- Pricing depends on which experience and which services. Call or send a note and we will walk you through it.
Give yourself the whole day
