Running a yoga retreat on Gili Air: what the venue needs to have

Space and quiet

No cars or motorbikes anywhere on the island means no traffic noise at 6am, ever — not a curated quiet, a structural one that nobody can override with a delivery truck or an early commute. The garden takes a practice space of around 20 mats, and the poolside areas can host a group session without disrupting other guests, particularly outside July and August when the property is at its calmest.

Group rates and buyouts

Five to nine rooms qualifies for a single group rate with one point of contact, plus a private barbeque night if you stay three nights or more. Ten to seventeen rooms adds a reserved area of the garden, flexible meal timings and a dedicated host for the stay. All 28 rooms gets you a full buyout — every pool, the restaurant, Soma Vita and the garden, arranged entirely around your programme. Buyouts are not available in July or August; every other month is negotiable. See groups & buyouts for the specifics.

Where guests actually sleep

A retreat group typically spreads across the Standard, Studio and Deluxe rooms, with the Private Villa held back for the retreat leader or a couple attending together. All six room types share the same garden and pool access, so nobody on a smaller-room rate is meaningfully cut off from the group experience.

What to build around the schedule

Soma Vita's sauna, ice bath and magnesium jacuzzi circuit pairs naturally with a retreat structure, morning or evening — see our explainer on the sequence and why the order matters. Between sessions, snorkelling with the resident turtles and the island's hour-long cycling loop give a group something to do that is not another meal or another savasana.

Food for a group

The kitchen cooks plant-based properly rather than as an afterthought, and can run a fixed group menu across breakfast, lunch and dinner rather than the usual à la carte service, if that is easier for your schedule. Tell us dietary requirements as a group list well ahead of arrival rather than table by table on the day.

Logistics for organisers

We can meet a group boat at the harbour and move luggage by cidomo — the five-minute walk feels considerably longer with fifteen people and their mats than it does with two guests and a weekend bag. Tell us your numbers and arrival boat in advance and we will have rooms and the practice space ready together, not staggered across the first afternoon while people wait around for keys.

Written by the team at The KOHO Air Hotel, a boutique wellness retreat five minutes’ walk from Gili Air harbour. We answer these questions by message most days — just ask.

Common questions