The Dreaming, a wellness retreat founded by singer Charlotte Church, has announced it will shut down to 'reassess', with no confirmed reopening date. The centre in Rhayader, which officially opened in 2023 at Rhydoldog House, will close from December, according to a statement from the team.
Retreat to 'go fallow' and 'hibernate'
The statement said the site will 'go fallow' and 'germinate new dreams for the future'. The team claimed they had welcomed over 3,000 guests, many using the 'pay-what-you-can' scheme, which allowed stays for as little as £1 per night. NHS workers could also stay for free.
'It is a different world today than the one we started off in just a short half decade ago,' the statement continued. 'As we stare clear-eyed at the exponentially complexifying crises that have been spreading out ahead of us all like cracking ice, we at The Dreaming need to reassess, with candour and courage what it is we should be offering to be in service. And so we must dream. And to do so we must hibernate. We cannot say when exactly we will be returning from the dream realm, but return we shall.'
History of the property
Charlotte, 40, purchased Rhydoldog House for £1.5million in 2021. Her renovation of the property was the focus of a Discovery Channel series, Dream Build, which aired in 2022 and documented planning battles and the unique makeover. In the show, she confessed she had blown 'pretty much all my life savings' on the place.
Rhydoldog House, once owned by Laura Ashley, features a 'womb room' with a 'vagina-shaped' shower. Nestled in the Elan Valley, it also has a hydro mill at a nearby waterfall for power and a water source heat pump. The seven-bedroom mansion has three storeys, a 200-year-old barn, and a helicopter landing area.
Rooms and pricing
One room, dubbed The Womb, was described as a 'celebration of womanhood' meant to make guests feel 'swaddled'. Other rooms have been transformed for yoga classes, group work, and sound healing. The house also has extensive gardens with a potting shed and Japanese tea house.
Breaks usually start from around £450 for three days, but every retreat offers the pay-what-you-can option. The most expensive room, The Forest Spirits, comes with a £900 per person price tag. Alcohol is not allowed at the house, and meals are served communally, largely consisting of plants grown on the 47-acre property.
Charlotte's vision
When The Dreaming opened in 2023, Charlotte said she wanted to 'connect with nature' and cared about the 'future of the planet'. 'In our busy lives, we don't have time,' she said. 'People are so distracted by everything. Our nervous systems are getting burned out. I really think that we can turn things around, and so I wanted to be involved in projects and I wanted to start projects, which was living my values really, and living my activism.'
Charlotte hasn't said when the retreat could return or in what form, but the website promises they 'shall return'.
