Willka T'ika Essential Wellness — Hotel in Urubamba

In March of 2022, I experienced Willka T'ika's "Essential Wellness Retreat" for 7 days. The group retreat consisted of 8 other solo travelers, with none of us fully understanding what we signed up for (albeit, there are plenty of pre-read materials available on the WT website). Now that I've return from Willka T'ika, I'm taking great care to not speak about my experience at every available opportunity. I want to share it with everyone. I want everyone to experience the mental and physical rebirth that I've had.

I chose this retreat because the itinerary seemed intentional and carefully crafted, which stood out from other options in my research. Now that I've had a chance to reflect on my trip, it's clear that Terry, Tristen, and the entire staff, have infused intentionality into every aspect of the hotel property and the retreat experience.

From the moment I paid for this trip, Vidya was extremely helpful, accommodating, and communicative in pre-planning necessities. Things like airport transportation and extra activities were easy to schedule. They were also easy to schedule onsite (e.g., Machu Picchu if tickets are available) so don't worry too much about doing all the planning before you get to Urubamba.

Once I arrived at Willka T'ika, the staff took care of our every need. Breakfast will haunt my dreams for years to come because it was so good. Prepare for the best fruit and coffee of your life. None of us missed meat–the vegetarian food fills you up.

Though there are many, many moments that standout from my 7 day experience, a lasting impression for me is how much Terry, Verena, and the whole team truly care. After the sweat lodge experience, I wasn't feeling physically/mentally well. I wanted to be alone, in a quiet space, and ride out an intense headache/fatigue. Verena coordinated my lunch in a quiet area and kept checking on me throughout the day. When I skipped group dinner, Terry (who is the Director of the resort) brought dinner to my room, checked in on me, and assured that my water jug was refilled. I already felt cared for during my time at Willka T'ika, but the familial treatment I received when feeling ill will stay with me forever.

There are so many reasons to choose Willka T'ika: the grounds, the energy, the DOGS, the likeminded people, the helpful staff, proximity to town (Urubamba), and the fact that all the logistical planning is done for you. It's hard to explain until you experience it yourself, and your experience will be different than mine based on the people you share it with. But if there's any hesitation, any voice that's trying to tell you not to do it, shut that voice up immediately. The Willka T'ika Essential Wellness Retreat will enrich your life in ways that you'll want to share with everyone else. What you'll bring back is far more valuable than anything you'll "give up" going into this retreat. It's worth the money, worth the travel time, worth the time away from loved ones, and worth the PTO. This is the best gift I ever...

Updating my review as ownership at WT has asked me to do so:

Most importantly, Verena, Roxana and Livio are THE BEST. One hundred stars for them.

The grounds at Willka T’ika are incredibly beautiful. The scenery is just remarkable and makes you feel very connected to nature and Mother Earth. That’s pretty much where my positive opinion of WT ends.

There was a group of about 22 of us who traveled to WT this past week. Unfortunately, nearly our entire group got sick while at WT and there were 8 confirmed cases of Salmonella from blood tests once they started testing. We required IV medication and supervised care from a doctor and nurse who came to the facility for several days to treat our whole group. Based on how we got sick (over several days having not eaten elsewhere), one can reasonably assume the salmonella came from WT though that is not confirmed to my knowledge.

The interaction we had with Terry (the owner Carol’s son who now runs the facility) did not leave me feeling good. He told the group that salmonella is transferred via droplet (untrue based on CDC resources) and that a room holding 3 people (myself included) was sharing water bottles. This was untrue and when confronted (I don’t think he realized I was in the room when he said this) he changed his sentiment and said he meant droplets from a shared space. When we asked for bottled water due to trust issues with the provided filtered water he then mentioned that WT is a plastic free facility which felt to us like being shamed for asking for plastic water bottles given the timing and circumstances. We did not at this point have results from water testing. He also, multiple times, tried to ask us to turn off our room heater while we were literally attached to IVs due to the illness.

I also think generally “luxury” isn’t how I would define WT. It’s more eco chic with things like paper thin cotton robes vs terry cloth, no drinking water in guest rooms, bed frames on wheels, etc. Google’s 3-star hotel classification feels accurate to me.

A few suggestions to make guest experiences better:

-safe drinking water in rooms -robes that are comfortable and feel clean (not the same fabric as the sheets) -increased variety in food (we got very tired of vegetables and rice/quinoa) -trashcans without swing lids so that when you’re disposing of soiled toilet paper you don’t have to constantly be touching other TP in the can...

I was really looking forward to staying at this property before my holiday, but unfortunately, my high expectations may have contributed to my disappointment.

Willka T'ika is a beautiful place, particularly suited for group retreats, but I found it overrated and extremely overpriced for solo travellers or couples. My partner and I visited in the summer of 2024, expecting a serene and enriching experience.

One of my main concerns was the limited offerings for guests who weren’t part of a group retreat. The website mentioned activities like sound baths, cacao ceremonies, and yoga in a way that implied they were included in the stay. However, upon arrival, we learned that all activities were charged separately—and at significantly higher rates than similar experiences at nearby hotels (2-3x more). Some, like the cacao ceremony and sound baths, weren’t even available during our visit. So we ended up going elsewhere for these activities.

We paid their exceptionally high fees for a few activities and they ended up hiring instructors from the local area whom you could hire elsewhere for half the price. The quality was the same as other places that we had visited.

Despite the property's emphasis on supporting the local community, we noticed a contradiction. The menus and guest materials frequently warned about safety concerns in the area and made dismissive comments about the quality of other hotels and restaurants. This came across as condescending and at odds with their supposed commitment to the local community.

We also had an interaction with the owner. While she was generally pleasant, she made a few remarks about our backgrounds that we found surprisingly condescending and left us puzzled for the rest of our stay. Her pride in the property is understandable—it is a beautiful space—but at times, it felt a bit self-important. Perhaps she was unfamiliar with guests who aren't their typical clientele of rich white ladies?

Overall, this is a lovely place, but I’d recommend managing expectations. They seem to think they are the Four Seasons of the area, judging from the prices they charge and the tone in their writing, but the quality is not living up to the standards.

If you're part of a group retreat, you may have a wonderful time, but if you’re travelling independently, be prepared for high costs and...