Including a pool overlooking the view: A new holiday retreat opens in Gilboa

A new retreat complex has recently opened in Gilboa, where the Skimulator used to be and now houses the Kimel restaurant. This time, it's a wellness complex called BRIAA in Gilboa – a name that in Hebrew is a play on the word bri'a (creation) as well as bri'a in the sense of physical and emotional health (healthy).

BRIAA offers 48 rustic rooms built from natural stone, combining warm design, a heated pool facing the view of Emek Harod, and a spa treatment area with massages.

The rooms are suited for individuals/couples, located on two levels with various hospitality standards, and are designed inspired by nature and earth, with natural stone floors and warm wooden furniture. As part of the guest experience, BRIAA in Gilboa offers vegan-organic cuisine with chef meals.

Three Retreat Programs

The owner of the place is Jerry Mintz, one of the pioneers of retreats in Israel, who established the wellness farm in Mitzpe Alummot – the first and largest wellness farm in Israel over 20 years ago. About three years ago, he sold Mitzpe Alummot, and now he has opened BRIAA in Gilboa.

The place offers a hospitality experience that includes three types of body and soul retreat programs:

Three nights – Thursday to Sunday – an energy boost for the weekend with renewed strength. A short but powerful program aimed at giving participants a renewed energy boost over the weekend. During focused workshops and treatments, participants will rejuvenate and go through a quick healing process. The program includes activities that strengthen body and soul, helping participants return to their daily routine with fresh strength. All participants will receive personal attention, comfortable rooms, and calming spaces, and can enjoy spa services for an additional fee.

Four nights Sunday to Thursday – a life-changing retreat with processes of change and cleansing. This retreat program focuses on deep internal work on processes of change and cleansing, emphasizing personal development. During the retreat, participants will attend workshops and classes that focus on dealing with internal barriers, letting go of old patterns, and enhancing self-awareness. The program offers a process of change through personal treatments, meditations, physical exercises, and inner reflection. By the end of the retreat, participants will feel a deep sense of transformation and the ability to face new life challenges.

Seven nights Sunday to Sunday – deep body detox and renewal. This program is intended for people who want to undergo a deep experience of cleansing and renewal. Over the course of 7 days, participants will go through a deep body detox process, including close personal treatment and a rich program of healthy nutrition methods, empowering workshops, mental and spiritual activities, relaxing treatments, and strengthening techniques. Each day focuses on a different aspect of renewal and provides practical tools to improve physical and emotional health. At the end of the retreat, participants will feel a renewed sense of vitality and a refreshed feeling in all areas of life.

So what awaits guests at the retreat?

• Yoga practices for all levels – morning flow classes, evening restorative yoga

• Breathing exercises (Pranayama) to deepen inner connection

• Mindfulness classes to practice presence and reduce stress

• In-depth and personal development workshops

• Free movement and emotional release – physical and emotional stress relief practice

• Nature meditations – connect with the earth, close your eyes, and experience true silence

• Intuitive writing – a powerful tool for self-expression and internal healing

• Healing sound workshop – a sound healing experience with Tibetan bowls and gongs, and more

BRIAA also offers guests morning walks in the Gilboa mountains, breathing workshops, and sound healing for energy flow and inner connection, spa journeys and ice baths, deep meditations, and more.

As part of the wellness experience, workshops and in-depth processes take place throughout the week, led by a team of experts who accompany the guests throughout their stay. The program focuses on body-mind balance, renewal, and natural healing, including detox processes and consciousness development under the professional guidance of Dr. Gil Yosef Shachar, director of the Rambam Medicine Center.

Guests will enjoy vegan-organic cuisine with carefully prepared chef meals, rich in flavors and high-quality, fresh ingredients. The hotel chef is Gil Harari, with over 20 years of experience in the world of healthy cooking, from kitchens in the U.S. to the creation of vegan and organic recipes here in Israel. The guiding culinary principle is meals that balance, strengthen, and allow the body to renew. The kitchen uses fresh, seasonal, and local ingredients, aiming to source them from the surrounding community – and eventually from the organic garden that will be grown at the farm.

Prices:

A weekend of three nights ("Thursday to Sunday") in Navot rooms including breakfast costs NIS 3,900 per couple. In Irus rooms – NIS 4,750 per couple. More prices on the website.