Hotel Bellevue, a Lošinj Hotels & Villa property in Croatia, has launched four-day, hands-on Aromatherapy Workshop Retreats.
A professional guide takes guests on a journey exploring the local pine forests of Čikat Bay to identify and pick a selection of organic herbs, learning about their aromas and natural healing properties.
Upon return to the gardens of the Bellevue Spa Clinic, participants will learn how to prepare the ingredients and extract the oils using a bespoke essential oil distilling process to create face creams, body peeling scrubs, facial masks and lip care products they can take home.
Discovering the therapeutic properties of the essential oils, guests receive a detoxifying massage and aromatherapy face treatment using the homemade creams and aromatic oil blends.
The retreat culminates with a cooking class using Mediterranean ingredients seasoned by the island’s herbs and olive oil; an outdoor yoga class; and a visit to Lošinj’s Garden of Fine Scents, a nursery of the island’s medicinal herbs.
Known for its unique Mediterranean microclimate and abundance of nature, the island of Lošinj is home to more than 1,200 herb species (939 of which are indigenous) and 230 plant species noted for their medicinal benefits. During a major afforestation program in 1886, Croatian professor and botanist Ambroz Haračić planted more than 80,000 Aleppo pines and 500 Avenue trees; 300,000 seedlings were planted every year following.
