The story behind our retreat venue; Santuario de Montaña

Hi, I’m Lucy, and I’d love to share the journey of how my dream of creating a wellness sanctuary in Spain became a reality.

Travel and fitness are my two biggest passions, and I’ve been fortunate to weave both into my life for a long time. Since I was a teenager, I’ve had a clear vision of having a business in Spain—a place that has always called me back. I turned my love for fitness into a career ten years ago, and since then, that dream evolved into a plan, and finally, into the reality you see unfolding today.

After years of research and countless hours scrolling through property listings in Southern Spain, I finally made the leap in 2020 and 2021 to visit some potential sites. Yet, I struggled to find the perfect combination of beauty, potential, and location. That’s when I realised I needed a bit of help.

In May 2022, I attended the ‘A Place in The Sun’ property show in London, where I met with industry experts from across Europe. The team from the TV show convinced me to do a test screen. Even though I wasn’t too keen on being on TV, the opportunity to have their expertise guide me through Spain’s property market was one I couldn’t pass up.

To make a long story short, just five days later, they called to say they wanted me on the show! After a whirlwind of phone calls with producers to ensure my dream property actually existed, we were off to Andalucía to start the search—and of course, the filming. I won’t give too much away, but if you’d like to see how it all went down, you can watch the episode on 4OD, which aired on June 14th, 2024, exactly two years after we filmed it.

I fell in love with one of the properties almost instantly and knew it was the one. My offer was accepted right there on the show, with a plan to complete the purchase within two months. I had a vision for transforming it into the perfect retreat and had a 4 month maximum renovation plan (guided by local builders).