WHY WE BUILT THIS
Anything you do is everything you do is a motto we live by and run Alaya Ascend aligned to.
We applied this philosophy to do what was required to create a place that could make a difference to people. Facilitate a whole new state when people leave compared to when they came.
Alaya means sacred abode, a state known as sublime.
Ascend is what happens when you decide to prioritise yourself (for once), even briefly.
Most people arrive having put themselves last for too long, running on the business of busyness until something gives way. We developed this retreat into what it is now to remedy that.
WHAT WE LEARNED: YEAR 3
Individual restoration had to come first.
Around year three, something became undeniable.
1. People could not reconnect to what mattered to them, their partner, purpose or peace of mind, until they had first restored themselves.
2. The ones who tried to skip ahead had a good time, but not a transformative one. Individual restoration had to come first.
That was the pattern, watched across more than 4,000 people now, and it shaped everything about how we run this place.
ALAYA ASCEND OWNERS
CRAIG, MOLLY, THE GIRLS & 'THE BROWN'
Craig always meets you at the car, bags carried, nobody gets lost and probably makes some terrible joke about keeping the sauna and the dog if my wife kicks me out.
Craig is the maverick, big picture, creating things. Has coached and consulted around psychology systems in education, mining, private and health sectors for over 20 years and runs regular retreats for men stuck in ‘no man’s land’.
Craig chats too much probably. Molly’s better at knowing when to leave people alone.
Molly makes this place look and feel the way it does. She fills it with that special touch a mongrel like me just doesn’t have. The float room prepared before you arrive, the bungalow details you notice, the gardens, the arrangement, the provisions in the fridge. The little things.
Molly is a full-time high school teacher who somehow also makes four bungalows feel like they were prepared specifically for you.
Scarlett and Indigo are our girls. They grew up here in the mountains and help us out when it suits these teenagers! Our Brown Dog, named “Brown Dog” (killer Staffy) lives here too.
Molly and I have been together over twenty years and people who came a decade ago still come back as friends who just happen to stay in one of our bungalows. This is our home and we make everybody feel like it is theirs too when they arrive. It’s important to us. You’ll feel that when you arrive.
We could have built a dozen rooms. Four means it is personable, intimate, your experience gets the attention it deserves.
Good people needing quality time, a reset and a transformation if they choose it.
Award Winning Sunshine Coast Retreat | 13+ Years Of Excellence | Evidence-based
Private luxury bungalow. Provisions hamper. Complete freedom.
Cortisol and heart rate variability return toward baseline around the 72-hour mark. The point where the mind actually quiets rather than just slows down. We’ve watched it happen 4,000 times.
