Host a Gathering
Relax, Reset & Rejuvenate Lakeside in Luxury
Casa Paloma Retreats
We’ve been hosting workshops at Casa Paloma for over twenty years— writing workshops, yoga retreats, a breath work retreat, an exploration of Mayan culture and history, family reunions, girlfriend weeks, and post-wedding celebrations.
Over the two decades since we first began developing the property, we’ve not only built a gorgeous compound, but also—most important—we’ve assembled a terrific team of local workers to care for our guests.
Highlights of Hosting with Us…
Effortless Planning
Never been to Lake Atitlán? No worries because the journey is a breeze thanks to our Retreats Coordinator team. Think of them as your personal crew for the whole experience.
Your Retreats Coordinator handles everything: getting you and your group to the lake (with an optional stopover in the gorgeous town of Antigua, because why not?), plus working with our chef to nail your menus.
Once you're at the lake, our groundskeepers are on-site every day, stoking fires in the temescal, launching kayaks, hauling luggage, and just generally making sure everyone's happy and taken care of.
And your rooms? Spotless, obviously, but also stocked with fresh flowers from the property on every bedside table and, if you want to go all out, custom robes for the whole group.
Delicious Meals
Let's talk food, because Rosa Maribel Navichoc is kind of a big deal. She and her team (Gaby and Alex) prepare three full meals a day using fresh, locally-grown produce and herbs, all vegetarian at the base price, all beautiful, all delicious. And that's just the start. There's also mid-morning fruit, sunset snacks, coffee, tea, and Rosa's signature fresh fruit drinks flowing throughout the day. Fruit and appetizer platters? Just kind of always around. Basically, no one is going hungry.
Rosa is a pro at accommodating gluten-free diets and food allergies, and if your group wants fish, chicken, or meat, that's available for an additional cost. All shopping and cleanup is handled — you literally don't have to think about it.
Oh, and on departure morning? She sends you off with tamales for the road. It's as good as it sounds.
Unless you've requested a dry retreat, your group will be greeted right off the boat with a margarita or two — which, honestly, is the perfect welcome. For guests who'd like to keep the drinks going beyond the first and last night, Rosa is happy to run a cash bar and keep a tab.
Tours & Extra Activities
We can arrange tours and side trips to local markets, as well as hikes, massage, or customize your retreat with visits to a Mayan medicine woman, a coffee finca, or even a ride in the back of a pickup truck along one of the most beautiful roads you’ve ever traveled. Learn more about our extra activities & tours available here.
“It has been an absolute delight to host a retreat at Casa Paloma. This property is immaculate, from the beauty of the land to every detail created, all infused with so much love. Having the luxury to dive straight into the lake, practice yoga on the deck, enjoy a temazcal, or take a short stroll or boat ride to town is incredible.
I have experienced deep time of restoration and rejuvenation while being here, as have those that attended the retreat. We are excited to be returning for another retreat soon and many of our guests are hoping to join us as they loved the experience so much.”
— Andrea Askowitz, Retreat Leader
Lake Atitlán Experiences
While San Marcos offers a variety of local tours and adventures, we’ve selected two of our favorites to include in your retreat hosting package.
Sunrise hike on Rostro Maya
(formerly known as Indian Nose)
Our guide, Luis, will pick your group up at 4 am for the ride to the trailhead and make sure everyone reaches the top of Rostro Maya by 6 am to see the sun come up over all five volcanoes surrounding the lake.
Sometimes you’ll see smoke and flame coming from the active volcano, Fuego. Your group will be back at Casa Paloma in time for breakfast. Rosa will make it a particularly hearty one.
A visit to the artisan workshops of San Juan la Laguna
The town of San Juan la Laguna, a short boat ride across the lake from San Marcos, is famous as a center for craftspeople of all kinds.
After a short private boat ride across the lake we’ll bring you to a local market, a stop at some galleries selling the work of local artists, and then on to a women’s weaving collective for a demonstration of natural dyes and weaving (and a chance to purchase the work of women at the collective).
Then on to a chocolate workshop, an apiary of “Mayan bees” and a street famous for its murals and colorful display of suspended hats and umbrellas.
Add-on: Massage with Carmen
For over ten years, our guests have been telling us that the massage offered by our resident massage therapist, Carmen, is the best they’ve ever experienced. Carmen offers a wide range of massage options—shiatzu, deep tissue, more.
Depending on the weather, she can set her massage table up on a private dock, with curtains, right by the water. You’ll have the option of an hour-long or ninety- minute massage. Many of our guests love Carmen’s massage so much they ask her to come back for a second one. Our retreat coordinator, Manu, will book all massages for you and your participants as an add-on to make your retreat extra relaxing and restorative.
At Casa Paloma, we’ve hosted a wide variety of travelers: yoga retreats, writers’ retreats, a gathering of teenagers come to do community service and explore Mayan culture, family reunions, girlfriend gatherings, a post-wedding celebration, and more.
Our retreat manager works with our experienced staff will be happy to help you create a unique gathering tailored to your own particular needs as well as your dreams.
We can’t wait to introduce you to Lake Atitlan and to the people who have made Casa Paloma such a magical place. There may be no better way to tell you how our guests feel about their time with us than this: so many of them come back to visit again. And again.
Nori Faer, San Diego, California
“I find myself dreaming of Casa Paloma and the peaceful state of mind I experienced while there.
There were many best moments but I have to say that my morning swims were restorative in ways no therapist can replicate.”
Cynthia Knapp, New York City
“I set off to an unknown country and culture with people I’ve never met traveling by air, van, boat and tuk tuk to Lake Atitlán. I was looking for an adventure when I signed up for this retreat but what I found was so much more - a life changing and life enhancing experience not to mention extraordinary new friends.
It was boots on the ground immersion into the Mayan culture, history, food and character all while surrounded by magical Casa Paloma. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”
Barbara Balaban,Venice, California
“My time at Casa Paloma keeps giving in so many ways. It touched my heart, my thoughts and my dreams.”
Hear from Past Retreat Participants…
Contact us to learn more about hosting with us and booking your dates with us!
Interested to learn more about accommodations?
We like to think that one of the things that sets Casa Paloma aside from your typical hotel or retreat center is the way we’ve chosen to fill every room and casita with examples of the extraordinary rich craftsmanship of local artisans. For more than twenty years, owner Joyce Maynard has been collecting art, textiles, ceramics, wood carvings and art work from all over Guatemala.
Every room on the property is filled with treasures she’s assembled. From the plates you’ll dine on to the stone carvings set into the walls to the antique wooden church rescued from a remote village and the hand-carved owls tucked into hidden corners, Casa Paloma showcases the rich heritage of ancient Mayan crafts, and creating new forms.