Are Celestial Retreats the Next Big Travel Trend?

“Even more traditional resorts such as One&Only Mandarina have special experiences you can book such as an astrologer who comes to your suite, with a bottle of wine nonetheless, to read your chart and share insights into your astrological profile,” says Henley Vazquez, CEO and co-founder of travel agency Fora. “A recent couple who did this described it as better than therapy.”

At Reschio, astrology even influences agriculture. Embracing the century-old practice of biodynamic farming—a method of using constellations and the moon phases to determine when to plant, cultivate, and harvest crops—the property produces its own organic olive oil, natural wine, honey, and skincare products made with botanicals. “The biodynamic calendar is very important to us, and we use it daily,” says Donna Nencia Bolza, who created the celestial retreat as a way to help travelers reconnect to nature, the night sky, and seasonal rhythms. “For example, we would not collect St. John’s Wort flowers to make Iperico oil on any other day, apart from a flower day.”

My first morning, a root day, begins with a grounding yoga class in the estate’s church, where we flow by candlelight to choral music. “Living here, you develop a deep connection to the night sky,” says yoga instructor, Laura Holon, as we reflect on Umbria’s untouched countryside. “With so many 180- and 360-degree viewpoints, you quickly learn the constellations.” For guests, Reschio’s app, Almanacco, makes stargazing even more accessible, sharing daily updates on the cosmic calendar and lunar phases, in addition to a schedule of daily “household habits” like embroidery and Umbrian pottery workshops that help connect guests to ancestral practices.