Arrivals are the
most important
A practical, step-by-step guide to the first 60 minutes of your retreat — from venue prep to the moment your guests walk through the door. Twenty years of curated arrival rituals, distilled into one guide.
Academy
You've planned the workshops, the menus, the massage schedule... but not the first 60 minutes.
Guests arrive road-weary, unsure, half-guarded. That first hour decides whether they'll actually let go into the experience you've spent months creating.
Miss it, and you're playing catch-up for the rest of the retreat.
- –You don't know what to prepare with your host before you've even booked the venue
- –You leave arrivals to chance — or to your host — instead of holding space yourself
- –Your team isn't aligned on who does what in the first hour
- –There are 21 small details that matter, and no checklist to work from
Twenty years of arrival rituals.
One guide.
Everything Polly has learned curating first-hour experiences across two working retreat venues — organised into four practical sections: the venue, your guests, your team, and the moment they walk in.
No fluff. Just the specific, actionable details that make guests feel held from the second they arrive.
Built for retreat leaders who want guests to feel held from the first minute
- You run retreats and want a repeatable arrivals process, not last-minute scrambling
- You're planning your first retreat and want to get the first hour right from day one
- You work with venue hosts and want to know the right questions to ask before you book
- You lead a team of practitioners and want everyone aligned on arrival day
- You believe the first 60 minutes shape everything that follows
Everything inside
the guide
Polly Moore
Polly Moore is the co-founder of The Retreat Academy and Erth Retreat — based at Erth Barton, a Jacobean manor on the Erth Peninsula in Cornwall. With 20 years of experience running retreats across two venues, she's curated arrival rituals down to the smallest, most meaningful detail.
This guide is distilled from two decades of welcoming guests — and learning exactly what it takes to help someone feel safe enough to let go, from the moment they arrive.
"I used to leave arrivals to whoever was free. The first retreat I followed this guide, three guests told me — unprompted — it was the calmest they'd felt walking into a space. That's the whole game."
One guide.
Every retreat, ready.
Stop leaving arrivals to chance. Get the framework once, use it for every retreat you ever run.
- The complete Arrivals guide (PDF)
- Venue, Guests, Team & First-Hour sections
- 21-point arrival essentials checklist
- Real rituals from 20 years of retreats
- Instant download · lifetime access
If this guide doesn't change how you welcome your guests, reply to any email and we'll make it right.
The Arrivals guide lives inside The Circle
The guide gives you the framework. The Circle gives you the community to bring it to life alongside. A membership for retreat leaders who want ongoing mentorship, peer accountability, and first access to everything The Retreat Academy creates.
Built around the same principles as this guide: relational, unhurried, deeply practical. This is not another course. It's a room of people who actually understand what you're doing and why it matters.
- —Monthly live sessions with Polly Moore
- —First access to all new frameworks, templates, and resources
- —A private community of retreat leaders — peer support and real conversation
- —Hot seat sessions: bring your real challenges, leave with real next steps
- —The Arrivals guide included in your first month
The Arrivals guide is included in your first month — no need to purchase separately.
A few things people ask
Your guests deserve
to feel held from the start.
Stop leaving the first hour to chance. Get the Arrivals guide and know exactly what to do — every time.
Get the guide — £9.99 →