Host.
The perfect place to breathe life into your work
Are you searching for the perfect place to host your next event or retreat?
As a facilitator, you know that the "container" is just as important as the content. El Refugio is a masterfully converted barn sanctuary designed specifically to hold the depth, intimacy, and transformation of your next retreat or workshop.
Tucked into the heart of the Okanagan landscape, El Refugio offers the rare balance of secluded stillness and effortless accessibility. It is a place where your guests can truly drop in—moving away from the noise of the world and into the restorative frequency of nature.
Your Vision is Closer Than You Think
We built El Refugio with you in mind. Not the retreat centres that cost more than your participants can afford. Not the hotel conference rooms that strip all the magic out of the work. A space that is beautiful, flexible, and priced to make your offering accessible… to you and to the people you serve.
We know that many of the most gifted healers, teachers, and facilitators in this country have been waiting for exactly this kind of space. Something real. Something affordable. Something that doesn't require your participants to spend their entire retreat budget on accommodation before the first session begins. Something that also allows YOU to get paid.
El Refugio exists because we believe that transformational experiences should not be reserved for people with five-star budgets.
For Canadians who want something extraordinary without leaving the country.
The Okanagan valley is one of the most quietly magnificent landscapes in North America — and most Canadians have never spent a night in it.
This place is pure magic and we can’t wait for you to feel it.
Explore The Space
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![A bedroom with two single beds with black metal frames, matching pillows, and gray bedding. Between the beds is a wooden nightstand with a white lamp, books, and a vintage phone. A framed picture hangs above. A small window with blinds is on the wall.]()
Sleep
In the Barn:
Cedar: 2 twin beds
Willow: 2 Twin Beds
Pondorosa: 1 King or 3 Twin Beds
Bunkroom: 2 Bunkbeds (4 Twins)
The Nest (Teachers/Facilitators): 1 Queen + 1 King Bed
Add-On’s:
Bloom Tent: 4 Twin Beds
Poppy Tent: 4 Twin Beds
Rosebud Tent: 2 Twin Beds
Garden Bunkhouse: 2 Twin Beds + 1 Queen Bed
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![A dining area with a long wooden table surrounded by black chairs, a beige armchair, and a chandelier hanging from a white ceiling. There are shelves, a staircase, and other furnishings in the background.]()
Nourish
We have a full service kitchen which includes:
2 Fridges
1 Electric Stove/ Oven
1 Microwave
1 Airfryer
2 Blenders
Coffee + Tea Station
Dining Options:
Indoor Table 1: Seats 10
Indoor Table 2: Seats 6
Outdoor Table 1: Seats 6
Outdoor Table 2: Seats 6
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![Living room with black walls, white ceiling, and brick floor. Features a wooden bookshelf, two armchairs, a wicker chair, a wooden table, and a floor lamp.]()
Gather
Lounge:
Living Room 1- comfortably seats 12
Library/ Reading nook: seats 4
Outdoor patio- comfortably seats 15-20
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![A group of people practicing yoga or meditation inside a well-lit room with large windows, indoor plants, and decorative items on shelves, with some individuals lying down on mats and a woman sitting cross-legged at the front.]()
Practice
Yoga + Meditation Spaces
The Nest- Barn Loft : This space can comfortably accommodate 20.
Props available include:
Yoga Mats
Sheepskins
Backjacks
Meditation Cushions
Blankets
Eye Masks
Bluetooth Speaker
Electronic Candles
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![Nighttime scene with a woman inside a wooden barrel-shaped sauna, outdoor hot tub, string lights, chairs, and a firepit, dark sky with clouds in the background.]()
Wellness
Cleanse, Heal, and Invigorate with our full-service outdoor Nordic-style FarmSpa
8 person cedar-barrel, wood-fired sauna
8 person cedar, electric hot tub
2 person galvanized steel, cold plunge
Hot-on-demand, outdoor shower
Fire-pit (wood + propane), for post-circuit integration
A personal note…
In 2020, we bought a barn.
It wasn't exactly the plan. But when the pandemic forced me to close the doors of my meditation centre (a space I had poured years of love, teaching, and community into), we needed somewhere for all of it to go. The classes, the gatherings, the people who had built their lives around having a place to come back to.
I won't pretend it wasn't heartbreaking. It was. For me and for the community that had called that space home.
But what the pandemic showed us, in the most visceral, undeniable way, was that what people were grieving wasn't just a room. It was the experience of unplugging from the noise of the world long enough to remember the things that actually mattered. Connection. Stillness. The particular kind of clarity that only arrives when you stop moving long enough to let it catch up with you.
That's what we wanted to rebuild. Not just a space, but a refuge. Hence the name.
And then there was the other thing I couldn't stop thinking about.
In 25 years of working in the wellness space, I have watched some of the most gifted teachers and healers I know struggle to find venues for their retreats that didn't cost more than their participants could afford, or more than they could make back. I have seen leaders working themselves to the bone, sometimes ending up out of pocket, because the spaces worthy of the work they're doing have become increasingly out of reach.
That felt wrong to me. It still does.
El Refugio is our answer to both of those things. A beautiful, nature-immersed space in the heart of the Okanagan, and priced to make the work possible, not impossible. Because the world needs more healing, not less. And the people doing that healing deserve a space that supports them without breaking them.
I began hosting my own retreats here and the transformations have been undeniable. The healing, the breakthroughs, and the forged friendships have brought me to my knees in gratitude more times than I can count. And it’s because of that, we’ve now opened the barn to other hosts- because this land was always meant to hold more than just us, our work and our dreams.
We look forward to welcoming you and seeing where this great journey will lead.
With love,
Mandy Trapp 🌿
Owner of The Red Barn at El Refugio/ Founder + Lead Educator at The Practice by Mandy Trapp™ learn more at: www.mandytrapp.com
