Conflict, care and the courage to disagree well.
Early-bird
Save up to €400 per person
Early-bird prices until 30 September 2026
Our retreat home sits in the citrus gardens of São Miguel, an Atlantic island of green hills, volcanic lakes and hot springs, only twelve minutes from the airport but a world away from everything else.
Solar Branco Eco Estate was built in 1850 at the heart of the island’s citrus trade, then abandoned for decades. A five-year restoration brought its five stone buildings back to life as an eco estate. Old walls, big dreamy beds, gardens being slowly rewilded, and a farm that feeds both the guests and the wildlife.
From here, we’ll look hard at conflict: where anger or fear of conflict come from, what they're protecting, and how to disagree without losing the relationship but actually improving it.
Most of us were taught that conflict is a failure of a relationship. So we swallow it. We go quiet in the meeting, we let it slide at home, and we call that keeping the peace.
It isn’t peace. It’s distance.
The Good Fight is a four-day immersion in the emotions we trust least. We’ll practise saying the hard thing and not walking away when it gets uncomfortable. We’ll look at what happens in your body when the temperature rises, and what it costs the people around you when you choose comfort over honesty.
You’ll leave able to have the conversation you’ve been putting off, at work and at home, and knowing that the willingness to disagree is one of the most caring things you can offer someone.
I already started to follow through at the retreat, and I have a plan of action when I get home.
Livramento, São Miguel, Azores
Top rated in the Azores, and featured in Condé Nast Traveller, Vogue, Forbes and the Financial Times.
The estate is home to the world’s largest gin collection, over 2,000 bottles in the Gin Library. Complimentary local beer awaits in your fridge, and €5 from each room per night goes to the Ocean Azores Foundation.
Whales and dolphins pass offshore. Hot springs, crater lakes, tea plantations and black sand beaches are all a short drive away.
Reserved exclusively for our group, the estate gives us heritage, quiet and genuine Azorean hospitality in one place.
A more detailed programme will be available in the next few weeks.
The retreat cost varies with your room choice (single or shared) and includes full board at the estate and all workshops. It does not include flights or airport transfers. Book by 30 September 2026 for the early-bird fees. See the next section for room options and fees.
A 35% deposit is required to confirm your booking, and it remains fully refundable until 14 January 2027, when the balance is due.
All food and drinks from arrival to departure are included. Coffee breaks are also included.
Meals are cooked by local chefs using Azorean produce, much of it from the estate's own gardens. Expect a mix across the week, from a sushi night built on sustainably caught local fish to Azorean-Mexican street food.
All meals cater for all dietary requirements, including vegetarian/vegan, gluten free and dairy free.
Alcoholic beverages are not included but can be purchased separately.
Sao Miguel packs an improbable amount into one island: the crater lakes of Sete Cidades, the hot springs and steaming ground of Furnas, Europe's only tea plantations, and some of the best whale watching in the world. Consider joining the Pre-Retreat from 10th April.
During the retreat, in addition to the workshops, you'll have access to daily morning exercise sessions and one optional excursion of your choice, including an Azorean gin masterclass.
A 5-day programme of workshops and work groups covering a number of topics around the themes of healthy challenge, anger, fear, conflict management and building better relationships.
The full programme with timings and detailed workshop information will be shared with participants following registration.
Full access throughout your stay, including a daily happy hour with the group. Join the Pre-Retreat and you'll take home a signed bottle of the estate's own gin.
The pre-retreat activities were great. Good to meet together early and enjoy each other!
Rooms vary in size and character, and are allocated in order of registration.
A 35% deposit is required to confirm your booking, and it remains fully refundable until 14th January 2027, when the balance is due.
Solar Branco has 8 suites and cottages across five restored buildings, including the Whale Suite, the Old Library, the Barn and the Ruin. Every room can be made up as a double or a twin.
Please note the estate is strictly adults only and, as a protected heritage site, all accommodation is reached by steps. Talk to us if that’s a concern and we’ll find the right room for you.
Early-bird
Save up to €400 per person
Early-bird prices until 30 September 2026
Full fee: €2,350€1,950
Early-bird price until 30 September 2026
including accommodation, meals and all the retreat workshops
Your own en-suite room for single occupancy. Full-board accommodation.
Per-person fee: €1,900€1,550
Early-bird price until 30 September 2026
including shared-room accommodation, meals and all the retreat workshops
Double or twin en-suite room. The price is per person. Full-board accommodation.
I come here because this is the only place I feel I can open up completely.
We advise booking flights as soon as possible and plan to arrive at Solar Branco by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, 14 April, and depart after 2 p.m. on Sunday, 18 April.
As is tradition, we’ll be organising a pre-retreat full of sightseeing, experiences, delicious food and fun activities, starting on Saturday 10 April. We’ll be staying at Solar Branco from the very beginning.
Fly into Ponta Delgada (PDL); the estate is about 12 minutes by car.
For those travelling from North America, there are direct flights to Ponta Delgada from Boston and Newark, around five hours. From Europe, there are direct routes from Lisbon, Porto, London and Manchester.
Car rentals currently start at ~€50 in total (yes!) for the retreat period, and the estate has electric hire cars available.
We’ll coordinate airport transfers, taxis or shared car rentals, once all participants’ flight schedules are finalised.