Singer Charlotte Church has sold 10 million records globally / photo: Rekha Garton
Welsh singer Charlotte Church has spent most of her 38 years in the media spotlight. She rose to stardom as a classical singer with an angelic voice at just 12 years old and by the mid-noughties had established herself in pop music, selling 10 million records globally.
With all the fame came some well-earned highs, having amassed a reported £25 million (US$33.1 million, €29.6 million) fortune aged just 17, but also the lows of being a victim of the UK tabloid phone hacking scandal and a very public divorce. These days, she lives a life away from the limelight, focusing on her family and embracing wellness.
Last year, she opened The Dreaming, a seven-guestroom retreat at Rhydoldog House – the former home of the late Laura Ashley surrounded by waterfalls, forest, rocks and caves in Powys, Wales. Its rich array of activities includes mindful nature connection sessions, mythical storytelling, foraging and sound healing – tapping into Church’s particular expertise.
In an innovative move, she offers a ‘pay what you can’ space on every retreat, a topic we’ve explored previously in Spa Business (see www.spabusiness.com/pwyc).
Next May, The Dreaming will welcome experts from Ananda In The Himalayas for a special healing programme. In 2025, Church also plans to tackle an eclectic range of topics and issues with its new Kindred retreats. They’ll cover everything from the Welsh language and grief to supporting the gay community and Muslim women.
She shares her story and vision with Spa Business.
How did the partnership with Ananda come about? I met Mahesh [Natarjan, COO] at the Synergy retreat expo in Mexico and we really hit it off. He came to a sound meditation I held and having been in the industry a lot longer than me, he had all the juicy details about what it takes to run a world-class retreat centre.
Why is it a good fit for you? The Dreaming has a lot to learn from Ananda and its deep spiritual work through the ancient practices of ayurveda, meditation and yoga and we’re excited to welcome its experts. Yet, at the same time, we have similarities in terms of our authenticity, integrity and our intention of holding people very tenderly.
Our collaborative retreat is called Dreams of Ananda and is set to run in May 2025. Prices for this personalised experience include all meals and accommodation and start at £2,160 (US$2,863, €2,560).
How will you personally be involved? We’ve co-created this with Ananda and its practitioners. I’ll specifically bring my experience in artistic expression as a vocalist and singer to the table. Deeper sessions will use sound and voice to explore and heal the self. Many thoughts and feelings are hidden in our subconscious and I feel that sound and singing are some of the most direct ways to get to those places. We’ll also be looking at how to free up the expression of the voice, how to be playful and gain a bit of confidence.
This is based on my Song of the Soul retreat I developed for The Dreaming. I’ve delivered four so far and they’ve been absolutely stupendous. Participants have had transformative, meaningful experiences that will stay with them for the rest of their lives and I’m personally very proud of this.
How would you describe The Dreaming’s philosophy? Our three main pillars are nature connection, sound therapies and ceremony. But our approach is ever-evolving.
How has your own journey in life influenced the concept? It’s difficult to pinpoint. I’ve experienced so much joy and have been privileged to travel the world through my work. But I’ve also had some very tricky times. This has led to a deep love of humanity, so really, The Dreaming is about my want and desire to ease the suffering that I see.
I’m a strong believer in cultivating awe and wonder in our lives and one of the best ways this can happen is through ceremony – witnessing how spectacular human beings are when being incredibly tender towards each other.
Where did you get your inspiration from? From a few different sources. I was exploring different healing modalities in my own life and have had a real fascination with spiritual practices from a young age.
The land itself massively inspired me. When I first went to see the house, it was a total wreck, but the land spoke to me on a deep level. I’ve been obsessed with Adrienne Maree Brown’s concept of emergent strategy ever since, of understanding the land and what it’s asking to be.
At the same time, I was doing a course on Aboriginal tribes and how myths and stories of the land have been passed down in song form. I found that mind-bogglingly amazing and everything just all came together.
Who are your guests? Since opening, we’ve had such a cross-section of people. Quite a lot of guests have never been on a retreat which takes such a deep dive into wellness and that’s always an absolute treat. But many have been travelling on this path for a long time.
For me, it’s important to hold a space for as many different types of people in society as we possibly can and accessibility is a big part of what we do.
What’s your ‘wellbeing for all’ approach? Our retreats start at an affordable £540 (US$714, €641) and we operate a sliding scale pricing policy on our rooms. We’re also bringing in payment plan structures for more expensive specialist retreats so guests can spread the cost.
It’s often the people who have the least money who are the most deprived, which is why we offer a pay-what-you-can (PWYC) place on every retreat. It’s wonderful we can do this, as money shouldn’t get in the way of people experiencing something that can have such a profound impact.
How well has the pay-what-you-can concept been received? We’re so very proud of this scheme and it’s completely oversubscribed. We use a fair system where people are picked via a random number generator so we don’t go through and judge people on how traumatic their lives have been.
We have an average of two to three PWYC guests per retreat and hope to launch a pay-it-forward scheme soon so even more places can be subsidised.
What future target markets have you identified? We always seem to have an honorary man on each retreat, so we’re looking to curate more events specifically for them and their needs.
Belonging, our family retreat, is planned for 2025. It’s for carers, grandparents, aunties and uncles, as well as parents who attend with their kids (aged seven to 16). Many families are feeling estranged, mostly because of the tech dependency of young ones and the intensity and pressures they face in modern society. We have some incredible facilitators who help them explore their feelings and bring everyone together to have a whopping great time, especially having loads of fun outdoors.
This family retreat will enable us to include young people next year and we’ll also introduce mother-and-daughter and father-and-son packages.
I’m personally also deeply influenced by a lot of First Nations wisdom and would love to welcome more indigenous voices to The Dreaming – to create a space for other cultures and ceremony rituals around the world.
What new retreats are you launching? We’re just in the process of launching our Kindred series focused on specific groups of people. This includes a Welsh language retreat that’s coming up, a retreat for the gay community and another for Muslim women. Next year, we’re hoping to have a grief retreat, as well as a global majority one.
This series draws on liberation psychology and the idea that healing has to be done in a community and from an understanding of one’s broader culture.
What are your long-term goals for The Dreaming? I have hopes of developing deeper practices based on eco-psychology – of holding vision quests in the land and potentially pilgrimages, as there used to be a Cistercian monastery here.
But I can’t be too dominant. This isn’t just my baby. A whole host of lovely humans, practitioners and guests have helped co-create it and have beautiful ideas about what the world needs as well.
Has it met your expectations so far? It’s surpassed them a millionfold! A lot of what we do is very gentle compared to the hardcore, fast-fix solutions currently out there. I envisioned a place of rest and solitude and play, joy and wonder and offering that alone often helps people transform their outlook before going even deeper. Seeing how people react is absolutely glorious.
The Dreaming is like a flower that’s just starting to blossom. We’ve been in start-up mode, which is pretty intensive. But we’re now really starting to understand who we are and what we can offer to the world.
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2024 issue 3
Editor's letter: At a crossroads
As the UK prepares to host this year's Global Wellness Summit, fresh research shows its wellness industry must address a number of issues if it's to maintain levels of unprecedented growth
Spa People: Charlotte Church
The Welsh singer talks about how growing up in the media spotlight has influenced The Dreaming, her healing retreat business
Spa People: Julia Bradbury
Leading a series of Walk Yourself Happy retreats based on her best-selling book and years of TV presenting
Spa People: Samantha Dunn
Shaking up the industry with her new, affordable DIY consultancy programme for entrepreneurs
News report: Big spenders
Finn Partners’ latest research shows how China’s high-net-worth women are redefining luxury travel
News report: Step back in time
Two new GWI reports analyse the growth of the global spa and hot springs markets over the past 10 to 15 years
Interview: Dillip Rajakarier
Following a 450 per cent increase in core revenues, Minor Hotels is planning 200 more properties. Megan Whitby sits down with its CEO
New opening: Kintsugi Space
Patrizia Bortolin talks to Lisa Starr about creating a transformative women-only sanctuary in Abu Dhabi
Research: To inform and inspire
The UK Spa Association has conducted its first survey of spa businesses in the country for 18 years. GM Bobby Griffiths unveils the numbers
Research: From wellness to wellbeing
A new study uncovers four wellness consumer market segments ripe for innovation. WELLSurvey co-author Kevin Kelly reveals the findings in a Spa Business exclusive
First person: To the source
Jane Kitchen takes to the sulphurous waters of Terme di Saturnia in Italy and shares details about its exciting upcoming sister site in Milan
Promotion: L'OCCITANE en Provence – the art of recovery
With an approach to wellbeing that’s both holistic and grounded in science, the latest massage from L’OCCITANE en Provence promises to have a powerfully-beneficial effect on customers, both in the spa and at home
New opening: Surrenne at The Emory
The £15k memberships at this wellness club in London sold out in just weeks. Creator Inge Theron tells us why
First person: Playful wellness
A Stella McCartney facial and Tracy Anderson studio are just two USPs Megan Whitby finds at Surrenne
Promotion: TechnoAlpin – naturally cool design
TechnoAlpin’s snow technology is not only an effective way to introduce gentle cold therapy into the spa environment, it’s also a powerful biophilic design element that can bring the wonder of nature indoors
Promotion: Biologique Recherche – potent partnership
A new anti-senescence serum from Biologique Recherche offers transformative results and raises the bar in anti-ageing skincare when combined with its iconic collagen formula
Promotion: Comfort Zone – A longer life for skin
Created to combat the visible signs of ageing, Comfort Zone’s latest range revamp is based on the company’s pioneering research into cutaneous cellular longevity
Promotion: G.M. COLLIN – Clinical excellence in skincare
With laboratories based in Montreal, G.M. Collin’s highly researched derma-corrective treatments have been helping skincare professionals deliver exceptional and exclusive results worldwide for many decades. We talk to VP Myriam Sayer
Singer Charlotte Church has sold 10 million records globally / photo: Rekha Garton
Welsh singer Charlotte Church has spent most of her 38 years in the media spotlight. She rose to stardom as a classical singer with an angelic voice at just 12 years old and by the mid-noughties had established herself in pop music, selling 10 million records globally.
With all the fame came some well-earned highs, having amassed a reported £25 million (US$33.1 million, €29.6 million) fortune aged just 17, but also the lows of being a victim of the UK tabloid phone hacking scandal and a very public divorce. These days, she lives a life away from the limelight, focusing on her family and embracing wellness.
Last year, she opened The Dreaming, a seven-guestroom retreat at Rhydoldog House – the former home of the late Laura Ashley surrounded by waterfalls, forest, rocks and caves in Powys, Wales. Its rich array of activities includes mindful nature connection sessions, mythical storytelling, foraging and sound healing – tapping into Church’s particular expertise.
In an innovative move, she offers a ‘pay what you can’ space on every retreat, a topic we’ve explored previously in Spa Business (see www.spabusiness.com/pwyc).
Next May, The Dreaming will welcome experts from Ananda In The Himalayas for a special healing programme. In 2025, Church also plans to tackle an eclectic range of topics and issues with its new Kindred retreats. They’ll cover everything from the Welsh language and grief to supporting the gay community and Muslim women.
She shares her story and vision with Spa Business.
How did the partnership with Ananda come about? I met Mahesh [Natarjan, COO] at the Synergy retreat expo in Mexico and we really hit it off. He came to a sound meditation I held and having been in the industry a lot longer than me, he had all the juicy details about what it takes to run a world-class retreat centre.
Why is it a good fit for you? The Dreaming has a lot to learn from Ananda and its deep spiritual work through the ancient practices of ayurveda, meditation and yoga and we’re excited to welcome its experts. Yet, at the same time, we have similarities in terms of our authenticity, integrity and our intention of holding people very tenderly.
Our collaborative retreat is called Dreams of Ananda and is set to run in May 2025. Prices for this personalised experience include all meals and accommodation and start at £2,160 (US$2,863, €2,560).
How will you personally be involved? We’ve co-created this with Ananda and its practitioners. I’ll specifically bring my experience in artistic expression as a vocalist and singer to the table. Deeper sessions will use sound and voice to explore and heal the self. Many thoughts and feelings are hidden in our subconscious and I feel that sound and singing are some of the most direct ways to get to those places. We’ll also be looking at how to free up the expression of the voice, how to be playful and gain a bit of confidence.
This is based on my Song of the Soul retreat I developed for The Dreaming. I’ve delivered four so far and they’ve been absolutely stupendous. Participants have had transformative, meaningful experiences that will stay with them for the rest of their lives and I’m personally very proud of this.
How would you describe The Dreaming’s philosophy? Our three main pillars are nature connection, sound therapies and ceremony. But our approach is ever-evolving.
How has your own journey in life influenced the concept? It’s difficult to pinpoint. I’ve experienced so much joy and have been privileged to travel the world through my work. But I’ve also had some very tricky times. This has led to a deep love of humanity, so really, The Dreaming is about my want and desire to ease the suffering that I see.
I’m a strong believer in cultivating awe and wonder in our lives and one of the best ways this can happen is through ceremony – witnessing how spectacular human beings are when being incredibly tender towards each other.
Where did you get your inspiration from? From a few different sources. I was exploring different healing modalities in my own life and have had a real fascination with spiritual practices from a young age.
The land itself massively inspired me. When I first went to see the house, it was a total wreck, but the land spoke to me on a deep level. I’ve been obsessed with Adrienne Maree Brown’s concept of emergent strategy ever since, of understanding the land and what it’s asking to be.
At the same time, I was doing a course on Aboriginal tribes and how myths and stories of the land have been passed down in song form. I found that mind-bogglingly amazing and everything just all came together.
Who are your guests? Since opening, we’ve had such a cross-section of people. Quite a lot of guests have never been on a retreat which takes such a deep dive into wellness and that’s always an absolute treat. But many have been travelling on this path for a long time.
For me, it’s important to hold a space for as many different types of people in society as we possibly can and accessibility is a big part of what we do.
What’s your ‘wellbeing for all’ approach? Our retreats start at an affordable £540 (US$714, €641) and we operate a sliding scale pricing policy on our rooms. We’re also bringing in payment plan structures for more expensive specialist retreats so guests can spread the cost.
It’s often the people who have the least money who are the most deprived, which is why we offer a pay-what-you-can (PWYC) place on every retreat. It’s wonderful we can do this, as money shouldn’t get in the way of people experiencing something that can have such a profound impact.
How well has the pay-what-you-can concept been received? We’re so very proud of this scheme and it’s completely oversubscribed. We use a fair system where people are picked via a random number generator so we don’t go through and judge people on how traumatic their lives have been.
We have an average of two to three PWYC guests per retreat and hope to launch a pay-it-forward scheme soon so even more places can be subsidised.
What future target markets have you identified? We always seem to have an honorary man on each retreat, so we’re looking to curate more events specifically for them and their needs.
Belonging, our family retreat, is planned for 2025. It’s for carers, grandparents, aunties and uncles, as well as parents who attend with their kids (aged seven to 16). Many families are feeling estranged, mostly because of the tech dependency of young ones and the intensity and pressures they face in modern society. We have some incredible facilitators who help them explore their feelings and bring everyone together to have a whopping great time, especially having loads of fun outdoors.
This family retreat will enable us to include young people next year and we’ll also introduce mother-and-daughter and father-and-son packages.
I’m personally also deeply influenced by a lot of First Nations wisdom and would love to welcome more indigenous voices to The Dreaming – to create a space for other cultures and ceremony rituals around the world.
What new retreats are you launching? We’re just in the process of launching our Kindred series focused on specific groups of people. This includes a Welsh language retreat that’s coming up, a retreat for the gay community and another for Muslim women. Next year, we’re hoping to have a grief retreat, as well as a global majority one.
This series draws on liberation psychology and the idea that healing has to be done in a community and from an understanding of one’s broader culture.
What are your long-term goals for The Dreaming? I have hopes of developing deeper practices based on eco-psychology – of holding vision quests in the land and potentially pilgrimages, as there used to be a Cistercian monastery here.
But I can’t be too dominant. This isn’t just my baby. A whole host of lovely humans, practitioners and guests have helped co-create it and have beautiful ideas about what the world needs as well.
Has it met your expectations so far? It’s surpassed them a millionfold! A lot of what we do is very gentle compared to the hardcore, fast-fix solutions currently out there. I envisioned a place of rest and solitude and play, joy and wonder and offering that alone often helps people transform their outlook before going even deeper. Seeing how people react is absolutely glorious.
The Dreaming is like a flower that’s just starting to blossom. We’ve been in start-up mode, which is pretty intensive. But we’re now really starting to understand who we are and what we can offer to the world.
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2024 issue 3
Editor's letter: At a crossroads
As the UK prepares to host this year's Global Wellness Summit, fresh research shows its wellness industry must address a number of issues if it's to maintain levels of unprecedented growth
Spa People: Charlotte Church
The Welsh singer talks about how growing up in the media spotlight has influenced The Dreaming, her healing retreat business
Spa People: Julia Bradbury
Leading a series of Walk Yourself Happy retreats based on her best-selling book and years of TV presenting
Spa People: Samantha Dunn
Shaking up the industry with her new, affordable DIY consultancy programme for entrepreneurs
News report: Big spenders
Finn Partners’ latest research shows how China’s high-net-worth women are redefining luxury travel
News report: Step back in time
Two new GWI reports analyse the growth of the global spa and hot springs markets over the past 10 to 15 years
Interview: Dillip Rajakarier
Following a 450 per cent increase in core revenues, Minor Hotels is planning 200 more properties. Megan Whitby sits down with its CEO
New opening: Kintsugi Space
Patrizia Bortolin talks to Lisa Starr about creating a transformative women-only sanctuary in Abu Dhabi
Research: To inform and inspire
The UK Spa Association has conducted its first survey of spa businesses in the country for 18 years. GM Bobby Griffiths unveils the numbers
Research: From wellness to wellbeing
A new study uncovers four wellness consumer market segments ripe for innovation. WELLSurvey co-author Kevin Kelly reveals the findings in a Spa Business exclusive
First person: To the source
Jane Kitchen takes to the sulphurous waters of Terme di Saturnia in Italy and shares details about its exciting upcoming sister site in Milan
Promotion: L'OCCITANE en Provence – the art of recovery
With an approach to wellbeing that’s both holistic and grounded in science, the latest massage from L’OCCITANE en Provence promises to have a powerfully-beneficial effect on customers, both in the spa and at home
New opening: Surrenne at The Emory
The £15k memberships at this wellness club in London sold out in just weeks. Creator Inge Theron tells us why
First person: Playful wellness
A Stella McCartney facial and Tracy Anderson studio are just two USPs Megan Whitby finds at Surrenne
Promotion: TechnoAlpin – naturally cool design
TechnoAlpin’s snow technology is not only an effective way to introduce gentle cold therapy into the spa environment, it’s also a powerful biophilic design element that can bring the wonder of nature indoors
Promotion: Biologique Recherche – potent partnership
A new anti-senescence serum from Biologique Recherche offers transformative results and raises the bar in anti-ageing skincare when combined with its iconic collagen formula
Promotion: Comfort Zone – A longer life for skin
Created to combat the visible signs of ageing, Comfort Zone’s latest range revamp is based on the company’s pioneering research into cutaneous cellular longevity
Promotion: G.M. COLLIN – Clinical excellence in skincare
With laboratories based in Montreal, G.M. Collin’s highly researched derma-corrective treatments have been helping skincare professionals deliver exceptional and exclusive results worldwide for many decades. We talk to VP Myriam Sayer
The Montana Historical Society has officially celebrated the opening of its new Montana
Heritage
Center, a US$107 million (£79 million, €92 million) destination that combines immersive
storytelling with cutting-edge audiovisual technology to bring the sta
San Antonio Zoo has reported a US$283 million economic impact for 2025, following a decade-
long transformation programme that has seen almost US$200 million invested into the Texas
attraction.
Plans for the AU$180 million redevelopment of Reef HQ Aquarium in Townsville, Australia, are
progressing, with the project set to transform the attraction into a global centre for reef
education and conservation.
Abu Dhabi-based investment firm Mubadala Capital has made a binding, fully financed
€1 billion
offer to acquire Pierre and Vacances SA, the European holiday resort operator behind the
continental European Center Parcs business.
Disney has reaffirmed its commitment to investing US$30 billion in its US parks and cruise
business by 2033, using new America250 celebrations to underline the role its attractions play
in supporting jobs, tourism and economic growth.
Expo 2030 Riyadh is being planned as a permanent visitor destination, with organisers
confirming the six-million-square-metre site will become a Global Village after the event closes.
The owner of one of Australia's best-known waterparks has acquired a major competitor,
creating a new attractions business spanning two of the country's largest visitor destinations.
The Toverland theme park in the Netherlands has announced a €98m expansion programme
that will add a resort, new attractions and staff facilities as it pursues plans to become a multi-
day destination.
Hotel de France, located on the British Isle of Jersey, has created a wellness retreat package
that includes a hot yoga session that will take place in Jersey Zoo’s butterfly sanctuary.
A new immersive attraction designed to transport visitors into the final hours of ancient Pompeii
is preparing to open near the world-famous archaeological site in southern Italy.
+ More news
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