Welcome
Meet our founder and dedicated team. The people behind the heart and soul of our retreats. With passion, care, and attention to every detail, they create meaningful experiences where you can slow down, reconnect, and feel fully supported in a warm and inspiring environment for body, mind & soul
About Founder Elise
At the age of 28, just after graduating from Hotel Management School, I was faced with the life‑changing challenge of breast cancer. What could have been the end of my dreams became the beginning of a new path. Alongside the exceptional medical care I received, I realized something was missing: holistic guidance. That support was not available in the hospital, so I had to seek it out myself. Exploring, trying, and embracing practices that gave me strength, peace, and trust in life again. Yoga, meditation, sound healing, stress management, balanced food and reconnecting with myself opened a whole new world.
After recovery, I set out to explore the world. My career as a hotel manager took me to extraordinary destinations, where I learned to balance professional life with a deep connection to nature and inner wellbeing.
Through multiple hospital visits and surgeries, I carried with me deep admiration for the doctors who cared for me, but as a patient I felt lonely and at some point wondering if I was the only young adult dealing with breast cancer. Despite the statistics, I rarely encountered other women who had faced or overcome breast cancer.
Life eventually brought me to Southern Portugal, where together with my partner I founded a private chef company. Working in stunning locations for private retreats, I witnessed the transformative power of healing, connection, and celebration of life. It was here that the vision for our retreats was born: creating spaces where women who have experienced breast cancer can come together, find community, and rediscover joy in beautiful surroundings.
Our retreats are more than a getaway, they are a place to feel relaxed to connect, and to embrace life with renewed strength. We believe in the power of community, the beauty of nature, and the courage of women who choose to live fully after breast cancer.
Our Mission
Our Retreats are to support women after breast cancer in reconnecting with life, joy, and serenity.
At Eliviate Retreats, our mission is to create holidays designed specifically for women after breast cancer. We know this time in life can feel intense and overwhelming. When treatments are finished you may feel ready to return to “normal life”, yet from experience, we understand that this transition can also feel scary, different, or too fast.
That’s why we created retreats just for you: to offer the space and time to gently reconnect with your body, mind, and soul. Our commitment is to empower every guest to cultivate balance, harmony, and vitality, while rediscovering joy and strength in a safe, uplifting environment.
Through our personalized programs and the expertise of our practitioners, we aim to create a supportive space where each individual can be herself, rest and recharge with power & strength. We choose retreat locations close to nature where we can rest at our best.
Meet the Team
We work with a team of powerful, positive women from diverse backgrounds. Each location may feature a different mix of team members, but all share the same open mindset, expertise, and passion for supporting other women
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