SUNSHINE COAST COUPLES RETREAT
Self-Directed Mountain Sanctuary
400+ five-star reviews | 13 years proven results
Only 4 rooms – most dates book 3-4 weeks ahead
WHEN DID WE BECOME HUMAN DOINGS INSTEAD OF HUMAN BEINGS?
The world isn’t designed for human flourishing. It’s designed for productivity, speed, constant doing.
You’re distracted by endless notifications. Strained by obligations that never end. Running faster just to stay in place.
Your relationship? Somewhere between managing logistics and coordinating schedules, you stopped being partners. You became efficient roommates.
But here’s what 13 years and 2,000+ couples have taught us:
When you give two people the space to stop being human doings and return to being human beings—even for 72 hours—transformation isn’t optional. It’s inevitable.
Not through therapy. Not through structured programs. Through systematic restoration conditions that allow your natural capacity for connection to return.
We call this the ME-WE approach.
ME-WE APPROACH
Individual restoration first. Relationship reconnection follows naturally.
This is what you’re investing in: A new feeling. Less strain. More vitality. That glow of connection you remember having.
When you drive up our mountain road Friday evening, you’re beginning an ascent that’s both physical and psychological.
Most couples retreats are built on flat ground. You arrive stressed, work on your relationship, leave marginally better.
We’re different. You ascend 450 meters into tropical mountain rainforest. Into conditions where transformation is organic and effortless.
Base camp to summit. Exhausted to energized. Roommates to partners.
THE ASCENT THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING
When you drive up our mountain road Friday evening, you’re beginning an ascent that’s both physical and psychological.
Most couples retreats are built on flat ground. You arrive stressed, work on your relationship through structured activities, leave marginally better. Same elevation. Same strain level.
We’re different.
You ascend 450 meters into tropical mountain rainforest. Into conditions where transformation doesn’t just happen to you—it happens through you.
Physical ascent. Psychological ascent. The same journey.
Base camp to summit. Strained to restored. Disconnected to deeply connected.
This is the journey 9 out of 10 couples complete in 72 hours when the conditions are right.
WHO COMES TO ALAYA ASCEND
Couples carrying the weight of modern life. The cumulative strain of obligations that never end, notifications that never stop, roles that never rest.
Some carry 3/10 strain—they’re functioning but feel the heaviness building. Some carry 8/10—they’re exhausted, disconnected, running on fumes.
All recognize the same truth: you can’t work on your relationship when you’re both depleted. Individual restoration must come first.
Mining professionals after intense rosters. Anniversary couples celebrating beneath the logistics. Parents-to-be before everything changes. Wellness enthusiasts who understand nervous system science. Professionals needing complete break from doing mode. Strong couples investing proactively before strain accumulates.
Different motivations. Same outcome: lighter, reconnected, restored. Guaranteed.
YOUR 3-NIGHT ASCENT: BASE CAMP TO SUMMIT
Research shows your parasympathetic nervous system—the “rest and restore” system—returns to baseline within 24 hours of sustained environmental safety. Then stabilizes through hour 48.
But during hours 48-72, parasympathetic activity increases ABOVE baseline.
This is why most weekend getaways don’t create lasting change. They get you TO baseline but not BEYOND baseline. Your body needs 72+ hours to shift from temporary relief to genuine elevation.
NIGHT 1: BASE CAMP - Arrival & Release
Thursday or Friday, 2-8pm check-in.
You drive up the mountain. Watch the tropical rainforest close in around you. Turn onto our private road. Unpack in your luxury bungalow—spa, fireplace, complete privacy.
Some couples organize dinner. Others open the champagne, light the fire. Many just sit by the pool watching darkness settle over the mountains.
The common thread: you finally stop doing.
Your phone sits unused. Your mind shifts from planning mode to presence mode. Your nervous system begins the shift from sympathetic (doing) to parasympathetic (being).
That night, sleep comes differently. Deeper.
This is base camp. The doing stops. You finally exhale.
NIGHT 2: THE CLIMB - Restoration & Discovery
Saturday. No schedule. No obligations. Your time, your pace.
You wake and notice your body feels different. Lighter. More at ease.
Some couples use the facilities in the morning. She floats first—400kg of magnesium suspending her in body-temperature water, every sensory input stopping. When she emerges 60 minutes later, her face looks different. Softer. Present.
He tries the sauna next. 100°C Finnish heat. Twenty minutes later, the cold pool. His body tingles. Alive.
Others stay on property all day, alternating between floating, reading by the pool, walking the rainforest trails. Maybe a massage. Maybe just stillness.
By evening, you notice: something has shifted.
This is what the research shows—your body reaches baseline. Cortisol levels normalize. Your parasympathetic nervous system stabilizes. The constant doing stops. Being begins.
You’re not trying to reconnect. You’re both just… here.
This is the climb. The cup empties. Restoration happens. You’re ascending.
NIGHT 3: THE SUMMIT - Integration & Connection
Sunday. The shift becomes unmistakable.
You’re laughing more. Touching more. Making plans together that excite both of you.
She reaches for his hand while reading. He suggests they skip the planned beach trip and stay by the pool instead. They agree without needing to discuss it.
Conversation flows. Not logistics. Just connection.
This is the 48-72 hour threshold where parasympathetic activity exceeds baseline. Not just recovered—elevated. Not just baseline—summit.
This is the new feeling you invested in: Ease. Vitality. That glow of connection. More yourselves. More alive.
You leave Monday morning not just rested, but transformed. The cup didn’t just empty—it refilled and overflowed.
And after 13 years and 2,000+ couples, we’ve become very good at creating the right conditions.
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Self-directed and facilitated retreats in paradise
TRANSFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES
The 3r Approach: restore - revitalise - reconnect - A Nervous System Reset, Backed by Science
Why Systematic Conditions Work When Willpower Doesn’t
Most couples try to create quality time through effort: planning the perfect dinner, scheduling activities, forcing conversation.
But genuine restoration and connection happen through conditions, not effort.
Research shows transformation happens when your environment signals complete safety and removes all demands. Here’s how we create those conditions:
Effortless CHANGES HAPPEN WHEN YOU PRIORITISE YOU AND YOURS
Alaya Ascend integrates multiple factors into a revitalisation system:
Float tank (sensory deprivation) + Finnish sauna (thermal stress) + contrast therapy (nervous system training) + mountain rainforest (environmental psychology) + ME-WE approach (individual restoration sequencing) + 72-hour protocol (parasympathetic elevation timeline).
These aren’t separate amenities. They’re integrated technologies working together as one system—because of how multiple factors integrate into revitalisation, not individual components alone.
Here’s how each factor contributes to the 3R outcomes of ME-WE:
Magnesium Float Tank
400-500kg pharmaceutical grade salts remove gravitational stress your body's been fighting since you learned to walk. Research documents 23% cortisol reduction. Your nervous system can finally stop defending and start restoring. Not a spa treatment. A systematic nervous system reset tool.
Finnish Red Cedar Sauna
Traditional design, 100-110°C heat stress triggers parasympathetic rebound. Finnish research shows 40% cardiovascular mortality reduction with regular use. Your body is recalibrating neural chemical release causing state revesal.
Hot/Cold Thermal Therapy
Temperature contrast protocols (heated spa 38-40°C, pool 18-22°C winter) improve vagal tone—the strength of your parasympathetic system's influence. This trains your nervous system to shift between states efficiently. Systematic nervous system training.
Mountain Environment
2.5 acres tropical rainforest, 450m elevation. Running water, bird calls, mountain breezes. Nature exposure research shows measurable cortisol reduction, blood pressure decrease, heart rate lowering. Your brain recognizes safety here in ways luxury hotels can't replicate.. Environmental psychology working in your favor.
The Alaya Ascend System:
When pharmaceutical-grade float tanks combine with Finnish thermal protocols with mountain environmental psychology with ME-WE sequencing—over 72 hours—you experience systematic restoration other retreats can’t replicate. Because of how multiple factors integrate into a revitalisation system.
HOW EACH FACTOR WORKS
Why Systematic Conditions Work When Willpower Doesn’t
Most couples try to create quality time through effort: planning the perfect dinner, scheduling activities, forcing conversation.
But genuine restoration and connection happen through conditions, not effort.
Research shows transformation happens when your environment signals complete safety and removes all demands. Here’s how we create those conditions:
Sunshine Coast Retreat Value
Most Sunshine Coast accommodation offers location. Some offer luxury. Few offer guaranteed transformation.
Alaya Ascend delivers all three.
You’re investing in systematic nervous system restoration through integrated technologies. The luxury bungalows are where it happens – not why it works.
The float tank isn’t a spa amenity. It’s 400kg of pharmaceutical-grade magnesium creating sensory deprivation that research shows produces 23% cortisol reduction. Systematic nervous system reset.
The Finnish sauna isn’t relaxation. It’s heat stress triggering parasympathetic rebound that studies link to 40% cardiovascular mortality reduction. Transformation technology.
The mountain environment isn’t aesthetic. It’s environmental psychology – measurable cortisol reduction, blood pressure decrease, heart rate lowering through nature exposure. Conditions for flourishing.
Most couples don’t know this when they book. They just know it looks special.
Then they arrive and understand: this delivers the new feeling they’ve been seeking.
Means most dates book 3-4 weeks ahead.
If you’re ready for the new feeling, the time to secure your dates is now.
More of what our clients say about us
Real stories from those who’ve Ascended to Restoration, Reconnection and Revitalisation at Alaya Ascend.
Award Winning Sunshine Coast Retreat | 13+ Years Of Excellence | Evidence-based
who have Restored - Reconnected - Revitalised from our Sunshine Coast Retreats.
Read through some of the 400+ online testimonials below:
WHY ALAYA ASCEND
BOUTIQUE
FREEDOM
SANCTUARY
TRANSFORM
PROVEN
WEEKEND PACKAGES
Your Weekend Investment: All packages include private luxury bungalow, unlimited transformation technologies, provisions hamper and complete flexibility. No schedules. No obligations. Your time, your pace.
2-night Weekend Retreat
- Flexible: Between Thursday to Sunday nights
- Private luxury bungalow (spa / fireplace)
- Unlimited float, sauna, thermal therapy
- Provisions hamper included
- Self-directed (your time, your pace)
- 11am Checkout
- Perfect for: Time-limited couples wanting introduction to restoration
3-Night Weekend Restoration
⭐ MOST POPULAR-
Flexible: Thursday-Sunday or Friday-Monday
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Private luxury bungalow (spa / fireplace)
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Unlimited float, sauna, thermal therapy
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Self-directed (your time, your way / pace)
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**Champagne on arrival **
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Provisions hamper
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**Midday checkout (12pm - extra restoration hour) **
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**72+ hour nervous system reset (research-backed)**
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Perfect for: Complete nervous system reset and natural reconnection
4-Night Deep Restoration
- Private luxury bungalow (spa, fireplace)
- Unlimited float, sauna, thermal therapy
- Provisions hamper
- ** Champagne on arrival **
- ** $250 spa credit (massage, facial, body treatments)**
- Self-directed freedom (your time, your pace)
- 2pm Monday checkout (no Sunday night stress)
- Perfect for: Extended decompression with therapeutic integration
Optional Enhancements
- Additional massage: 60min $125pp | 90min $170pp
- Extra nights: $350 per night
- Upgrade to 2-bedroom Nusa Dua bungalow: +$150
LOCATION: YOUR MOUNTAIN SANCTUARY
Twenty minutes from Sunshine Coast beaches and Maleny, our 2.5-acre property sits at 450m elevation in tropical mountain rainforest.
Close enough to reach easily. Far enough to truly disconnect.
- 20 minutes to Mooloolaba beaches
- 20 minutes to Maleny village
- 25 minutes to Montville
- 90 minutes from Brisbane
- 60 minutes from Brisbane Airport
The environment matters. Mountain elevation, running water, bird calls, rainforest canopy—these aren’t aesthetic choices. They’re environmental psychology working in your favor. Conditions where human beings naturally flourish.
1 Upper Rambert Road, Eudlo QLD 4554
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
One person can book for both. We just need both names for check-in.
Breakfast essentials (bread, eggs, bacon, jams, more..), snacks, tea, coffee, milk. You’re completely self-sufficient. Optional: we can arrange additional provisions or you can bring your own favourites.
No therapy. No counselling. No structured programs. We provide the environment and technologies for restoration. Your relationship naturally reconnects when you’re both restored.
Breakfast provisions included. Lunch and dinner are your choice—bring your own, order in, or visit nearby cafes (20 min). This flexibility lets you eat when and what you want.
Do we share facilities with other couples?
Maximum 4 couples total on property. Float tank and sauna are private bookings (you reserve your time). Pool and grounds are shared but never crowded.
Is this like couples therapy?
No therapy. No counselling. No structured programs. We provide the environment and technologies for restoration. Your relationship naturally reconnects when you’re both restored.
What if one of us doesn’t want to use the facilities?
Perfect. This is self-directed. One person can float while the other reads. No pressure to do activities together. Individual restoration is the whole point.
Can we book last minute?
Sometimes. Most weekends book 3-4 weeks ahead, but we occasionally have openings. Call Craig on 0404 381 533 to check availability.
What’s your cancellation policy?
4 weeks notice: Full refund. 2-4 weeks: 50% refund if we don’t relet your room. Less than 2 weeks: No refund unless we relet. We balance business reality with genuine understanding that life happens.
[See all frequently
4 weeks notice: Full refund. 2-4 weeks: 50% refund if we don’t relet your room. Less than 2 weeks: No refund unless we relet. We balance business reality with genuine understanding that life happens.
Shouldn’t be a problem. Most weekends book 3-4 weeks ahead, but we can have openings. Call Craig on 0404 381 533 to check availability.
Perfect. This is self-directed. One person can float while the other reads. No pressure to do activities together. Individual restoration is the whole point.
Get In Touch - We Will Contact You Directly!
Alternatively give Craig a call to see if we can help you with what you are looking for: MB 0404 381 533.