A wellness retreat founded by Charlotte Church has announced it will shut down to ‘reassess’, with no reopening in sight.
The Dreaming, a centre in Rhayader, officially opened in 2023 at Rhydoldog House, which Charlotte, 40, had purchased for £1.5million two years earlier.
Now, a statement has confirmed that the site will close from December to ‘go fallow’ and ‘germinate new dreams for the future’.
The team claimed they had welcomed over 3,000 guests, with many using their ‘pay-what-you-can’ scheme, which allowed them to stay for as little as £1 per night.
NHS workers could also stay for free, however, in the current climate, it appears the business model has faltered.
‘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.’
Charlotte’s renovation of the house was the focus of a series for the Discovery Channel, documenting planning battles and the unique makeover.
In the 2022 reality show, Dream Build, she confessed she had blown ‘pretty much all my life savings’ on the place.
Rhydoldog House, which was once owned by Laura Ashley, now sports a ‘womb room’ which has 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 boasted three storeys, with a 200-year-old barn and a helicopter landing area, as well as specially designed rooms.
One was dubbed The Womb, which was a ‘celebration of womanhood’ and meant to make the guest 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.
Usually, breaks start from around £450 for three days but every retreat offers the pay-what-you-can option too.
The most expensive room on the site is The Forest Spirits, which 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.
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’.