Youarrive
The first evening
Your room is ready. Jo shows you to it and around the château and the rest of the evening is yours to settle in. Nobody asks you to introduce yourself in a circle.
Women only · Gascony, south west France
Seven days.Fifteen women.Nothing to organise.
The château
Fifteen women. That is the whole guest list.
Not a hotel with a yoga mat in the corner. One château, one group and the run of it for seven nights. Once the fifteen places are taken, that retreat is closed.
The pool
Not a fitness retreat. Not a bootcamp.
There is walking if you want it and water if you would rather not. No classes, no weigh in, nobody keeping score. Not a place where you have to become a better version of yourself.
The grounds
You will not have to arrange a single thing.
Lindsay, our private chef on site, cooks every meal. The market trip, the wine tasting, the Armagnac tasting and the walk on the Camino are all handled. Forty hectares to wander and nothing you have to be on time for.
Three things worth knowing. Tap a marker.
The retreat
Arrive tired.Leave lighter.
You are not booking a schedule. You are booking a week in a château in the Gascony countryside where somebody else does the thinking. Fresh, seasonal food is cooked for you on site. Fifteen women arrive on the same day, most of them knowing nobody. By Wednesday that stops being a thing anyone mentions.
There is a spa with a hammam, an infrared sauna, a traditional stone sauna, a jacuzzi and an indoor heated pool. Outside there is a natural plant filtered pool and forty hectares of grounds to walk in. You can use all of it. You can also sit down for seven days and use none of it. Both are fine.
Your week
Seven nights.No timetable.
This is the rhythm, not a programme. Nothing on this list is compulsory and nothing costs extra unless it says so.
Thegrounds
Doing nothing
Forty hectares. Walk as far as you want, or find a chair by the natural pool and stay in it until lunch.
The villagemarket
The market morning
We go to the market at Lectoure together. See how the French do their shopping, wander the village and see what is in season. The market trip is weather dependent.
Thetable
Every day
Fresh, seasonal food from the private chef on site. Breakfast and lunch are laid out as a buffet, dinner is three courses in the evening and there is always a fruit bowl. If there is something you cannot eat, tell Jo before you come and it is handled.
Thespa
Under the stone
A hammam, an infrared sauna, a traditional stone sauna, a jacuzzi and an indoor heated pool, all under the stone. Most people plan an hour and lose the afternoon.
Wine andArmagnac
Two afternoons out
Gascony makes very good wine and is quiet about it. We go and taste it properly one afternoon. On another afternoon we taste Armagnac where it is made.
Thewalk
Only if you want to
A guided stretch of the Camino de Santiago passes close to us. It is optional. So is everything else.
The lastday
Going home
The pool, the spa and a dress-up farewell dinner: lipstick on, wear whatever you like, a lovely way to close the week. Then you go home, with a group chat that carries on without you asking it to.
- 01
You arrive
Your room is ready. Jo shows you to it and around the château and the rest of the evening is yours to settle in. Nobody asks you to introduce yourself in a circle.
- 02
The grounds
Forty hectares. Walk as far as you want, or find a chair by the natural pool and stay in it until lunch.
- 03
The village market
We go to the market at Lectoure together. See how the French do their shopping, wander the village and see what is in season. The market trip is weather dependent.
- 04
The table
Fresh, seasonal food from the private chef on site. Breakfast and lunch are laid out as a buffet, dinner is three courses in the evening and there is always a fruit bowl. If there is something you cannot eat, tell Jo before you come and it is handled.
- 05
The spa
A hammam, an infrared sauna, a traditional stone sauna, a jacuzzi and an indoor heated pool, all under the stone. Most people plan an hour and lose the afternoon.
- 06
Wine and Armagnac
Gascony makes very good wine and is quiet about it. We go and taste it properly one afternoon. On another afternoon we taste Armagnac where it is made.
- 07
The walk
A guided stretch of the Camino de Santiago passes close to us. It is optional. So is everything else.
- 08
The last day
The pool, the spa and a dress-up farewell dinner: lipstick on, wear whatever you like, a lovely way to close the week. Then you go home, with a group chat that carries on without you asking it to.
The rooms
Where youactually sleep.
Every room is in the château itself, from €2,250 per person when you share a twin room with a friend. Scroll through them, then see the full picture with prices and dates. Two of the fourteen Mademoiselle rooms are adapted for restricted mobility, with ramps and a lift into the château.
Mademoiselle 14 rooms
Most of the rooms in the château are Mademoiselle rooms. Take it as a twin with someone you bring, or keep it to yourself. Jo does not pair strangers, so if you are coming alone the room is yours alone.
Madame Suite 2 suites
Larger, with room to spread out and sit down away from everyone. An upgrade added on top of your room price rather than instead of it.
What the upgrade includes
Queen Suite 1 suite
Very large. There is only one of it, so it goes to whoever asks first. An upgrade added on top of your room price.
What the upgrade includes
The bathrooms In every room
Tiled in local stone, with a walk in shower and room for two to get ready at once. The water is hot. That is the whole review.
Your host
I am Jo.You will see a lot of me.
My greatest joy is watching guests arrive feeling tired and overwhelmed and leave lighter, happier and with friendships that continue long after the retreat has ended.
I am the one who welcomes you when you arrive and sits at dinner with you. I am here every day from breakfast until dinner and I live just round the corner if you need me. There is no team of instructors behind me and there is no programme you have to keep up with.
Let me be plain about what this is not, because the word retreat has been used for some fairly punishing weeks.
It's not a boot camp. I'm not a size 8 woman. I'm fit and healthy. This is me.
If you want to be pushed, there are places for that and I will happily point you at one. If you want a week where you are fed properly, left alone when you want to be and in good company when you do not, come here.
What women ask
The questionsthat come first.
Is this a fitness retreat?
Not a fitness retreat. Not a bootcamp. Not a place where you have to become a better version of yourself.
There is walking if you want it and a pool if you want it. There is no schedule of classes, no weigh in and nobody keeping score.
I am coming on my own. Will that be awkward?
Fifteen women, one château and a host whose actual job that week is making sure nobody is left standing on their own at the edge of a room. Dinner is at one long table. You will not have to work at it.
Most of my ladies travel alone and for many it's their first retreat, so I know how important it is that you feel secure, safe and included.
What is included in the price?
Seven nights in the château, every meal from the private chef on site, from the buffet breakfast to the three course dinner, the spa with its hammam, infrared sauna, traditional stone sauna, jacuzzi and indoor heated pool, the natural plant filtered outdoor pool, the trip to the market at Lectoure (weather dependent), the wine tasting, the Armagnac tasting, the visit to the Abbaye de Flaran, a lunch out (a typical menu du jour) and a dinner out, the optional guided walk on the Camino de Santiago and the run of forty hectares of grounds.
Not included: flights, your travel insurance, spa treatments such as massages and facials, airport transfers (group or private), alcohol (you are welcome to bring or buy your own) and anything you buy outside the retreat programme. Jo runs a group shuttle from Toulouse airport in the afternoon and can arrange a private transfer, both at your own expense. Jo confirms the details and the cost by email.
Do I need to speak French?
No. Everything here runs in English, all week, including the market trip and the tastings.
How fit do I need to be?
Fit enough to walk around a large old château. The Camino walk is the only long one, about three hours, with one slight hill at the start and it is optional. If stairs are a problem, tell us when you book and we will put you somewhere sensible.
In their words
What the womensaid afterwards.
Five star reviews left on Google after the first retreats and what guests said on camera on their last morning in October 2026. Shortened where they ran long, never reworded.
This was my first retreat and oh did I love it. Jo is absolutely amazing, her programme is spot on and she does everything in her power to make sure that you have a fabulous week. The venue is absolutely stunning, my room was amazing... I met some lovely ladies which became good friends by the end of the week. I definitely will come back on one of Jo's other retreat-weeks.
A truly exceptional place and experience. So hard to choose just a few elements to highlight: the pools are both beautiful spaces, as is the inner courtyard. The rooms are spacious, comfortable havens... The place, along with the peace and quiet it offers, is solace in itself... Thank you so much!
Madame Retreats is hosted in a stunning Chateau set in beautiful Gers countryside. Joanne has created a welcoming and peaceful environment to relax and unwind with likeminded women... I had a wonderful experience and can't wait to return...
The perfect location for a retreat and an amazing week carefully (and i stress on care here) planned by Jo to fit your every needs. I absolutely loved my stay and will definitely be back!
Jo's dedication and passion to this retreat is incredible. Their reputation for being genuinely welcoming and community-focused speaks volumes.
I came to Madame Retreats because it is what it said it was... This isn't one where you've got the hiking at seven and then the yoga at eight. This is pleasing yourself.
I came here for myself, to give myself permission to be unproductive for a little while.
Don't worry about travelling on your own. I have not been lonely, but I've also had time just myself, sitting on a veranda, supping a cup of tea, looking at the views.
If you've never been to France, this is a lovely introduction. It's a slow living kind of place.
It was me time and I really needed this.
On camera
Getting here
Closer thanyou think.
- Region
- The Gascony countryside, south west France.
- Nearest town
- Condom, in the Gers, your nearest village.
- Nearest airport
- Toulouse, about one hour and twenty minutes away by road.
- Transfers
- A group shuttle from Toulouse airport in the afternoon, or a private transfer Jo can arrange. Both are at your own expense and Jo confirms the cost by email.
- Language
- English throughout.
The full address goes out with your booking confirmation, not before.
Enquire
Ask for the brochure.No sales call.
Dates, rooms, what a day actually looks like and the full price list. It comes by email from Jo. You can read it and never speak to us again.
The 2027 retreats10–17 April 2027, The Pilates week17–24 April 202715–22 May 20274–11 September 20272–9 October 2027