THE PUNCH HOTELS
Escape Haven: A Luxury
Women's Wellness Retreat in Canggu.
Escape Haven invites you to experience absolute indulgence. You will be nurtured, supported and pampered so you can return home truly revitalised and with a full tank. Escape Haven luxury Bali retreat allows you to experience freedom from all the responsibilities of daily life, with an experienced, friendly and dedicated Bali retreat team that make you feel like family from the moment you arrive.
COMMITMENT 1
Sustainable Management
By documenting and implementing a clear sustainability plan, Escape Haven is demonstrating their commitment to the environment and their communities.
COMMITMENT 2
Cultural Interaction & Heritage
By incorporating authentic elements of traditional culture in their operations, Escape Haven is committed to celebrating and preserving Bali’s local cultural heritage.
COMMITMENT 3
Sustainable & Local Sourcing
By giving priority to sustainable, local, Fairtrade, organic and/ or recycled produce, Escape Haven is emitting less carbon emissions while celebrating the local economy.
COMMITMENT 4
Equal & Local Employment
By giving equal opportunities to local residents including management positions, Escape Haven is promoting diversity and elevating employees engagement.
COMMITMENT 5
Staff Engagement
By engaging their staff in the implementation of the company’s sustainability goals, Escape Haven is increasing sustainability knowledge, competence and action.
COMMITMENT 6
No Single Use Plastic
By not using single use plastics, Escape Haven minimizing by millions the amount of plastic ending up in the streets, in the rivers and in the ocean.
COMMITMENT 7
Waste Management
By having a clear waste management plan in place with actions to reduce, separate and reuse / recycle waste, Escape Haven is not only minimizing the amount of waste in Bali; the brand is also leading the example to their employees and customers.
COMMITMENT 8
Energy Conservation
By using equipment and practices to conserve energy, Escape Haven is contributing to reduce the demand for carbon-intensive power plants which in turn benefits the environment by reducing carbon dioxide emissions.
COMMITMENT 9
Community Support
By supporting their local community through various ways, Escape Haven is offering jobs, providing goods, services, and financial support to their community.
COMMITMENT 10
Guest Awareness
By providing accurate and transparent communication regarding the company’s sustainable practices and goals, Escape Haven is helping guests make better purchase decisions.
SUSTAINABILITY MANAGEMENT
“At Escape Haven we are committed to the implementation of proactive measures to help protect and sustain the natural environment and conserve Bail’s beautiful and precious land and resources. We are also passionate about making a positive difference and contribution to the local community.
By choosing to retreat with us, you are making a conscious and positive stand for the world you wish to support. We believe that in unity we have the power to instigate change. As we transform and heal internally, we become motivated to help transform and heal the people around us and the planet that we share. We are all connected, and the choices that we make have a ripple effect that has the power to dramatically transform the world.”
SUPPORTING LOCAL FARMERS & SUPPLIERS
“We support the local economy by purchasing our fresh produce from local farmers here in Bali. We choose organic wherever possible and work with farmers and suppliers to ensure the best quality, whilst also supporting ethical practices and local businesses. From locally grown greens to freshly caught seafood, to local coffee, cacao and coconuts, we love utilising and celebrating Bali’s abundant natural bounty.”
CONSERVING WATER
“Water is by far our most precious commodity. Every day millions of gallons of water are wasted in the hospitality industry for towels and linen that have only been used once. At Escape Haven we are committed to conserving water because we know that every single drop counts. You can help us with this commitment -simply hang your towels up in your bathroom to let us know that they are still in use.”
"We have designed and created our own Escape Haven reusable BPA-free water bottle that is a complimentary gift for all guests on retreat."
REDUCING PLASTIC
“Plastic is a serious issue worldwide, and perhaps even more so in a developing country like Bali. We are committed to reducing our plastic footprint wherever possible. Rather than plastic water bottles, in your bathroom you will find reusable glass bottles that are replenished daily with clean filtered water. We also do not use plastic straws on retreat and do our best to work with companies and suppliers that have minimal plastic use.”
REFILLABLE DRINKING BOTTLES
“We have also designed and created our own Escape Haven reusable BPA-free water bottle that is a complimentary gift for all guests on retreat. Refilling your water bottle over your stay is a simple and easy way to help reduce the amount of plastic waste that ends up in landfill and in the ocean. You will find your Escape Haven reusable drink bottle in your goodie bag upon arrival.”
CREATING FUTURES FOUNDATION
“Our charity, Creating Futures Foundation, Creating Futures Foundation aims to create a promising future for orphans in Bali. The organisation offers effective and innovative education programmes offering English classes and outdoor activities such as surfing and yoga, so that underprivileged children in Bali can create a sustainable, successful life for themselves in the future. On retreat, our left over food and also towels and bedding, are passed on to our orphanage to these children in need. Guests are also welcome to donate to the orphanage and even visit the orphanage to meet and spend time with the children. We believe in giving back to the people of Bali and love supporting the local children to live happier lives with brighter futures.”
Meet Janine,
Founder of Escape Haven
WHAT IS YOUR STORY?
“I started Escape Haven when I came to Bali 14 years ago with a dream of creating a luxurious sanctuary for burnt-out corporate women to escape to, hoping to prevent them from returning to that state of mind.
Initially, I went to Brazil to quit the corporate rat race, drained all my life savings, cashed in my shares, and sold my car and even my laptop, which in hindsight wasn’t a great idea. I lost almost everything trying to start my own wellness retreat. With ten grand left, I decided to come to Bali, even though it wasn’t my plan B or even plan C! I was so wide-eyed and believed that anything was possible. I just wanted to create this vision I knew so firmly had a place in the world.
Retreats were rare back then, so there was no blueprint to follow, but I recognized the need for something like this. We built our wellness hotel during the pandemic, which was interesting, but I’m so glad we persevered. We knew that on the other side of the pandemic, many women worldwide needed a healing sanctuary to come and escape.
Now, we’ve had 10,000 women joining our retreats from all over the world, both here and in Australia! We’ve also expanded our facilities to this new, beautiful property in Canggu.”
WHAT WAS THE BEGINNING OF ESCAPE HAVEN?
“So when I first arrived in Bali 14 years ago, I didn’t know a soul here but I had this dream I didn’t want to let die. I had $10,000 left, so I knew that was enough to last about two months. I laid it down on a beautiful luxury villa in Seminyak because Canggu didn’t exist beyond beautiful rice paddy fields back then.
I didn’t have a plan beyond that, so I invested in marketing. After my own market research, I learned that one of the main things women wanted from a retreat was beautiful luxury accommodation, excellent service, yoga, and beautiful food. Coupled with surfing, I had created my own curated luxury retreat!
Through a stroke of good fortune, a journalist contacted me about the retreat! I had to go to a nearby Global Extreme, a hot, no air-conditioner place, where I could go online because I had sold my laptop. I went in there, and this three-legged dog would always find me and sit on my foot while I’d be on the Internet.
One morning, I opened my email and had 3000 email inquiries. I remember thinking, this is what it means when something takes off. I’ll never forget that moment. I just sat there shaking & bawling at the same time. Everyone in the café might’ve thought I was a little bit crazy, but it was just such an incredible defining moment.
I went from five weeks to 25 weeks fully booked, then set up a second retreat the second year. This story ended up being the lead travel story in Australia and on the pop-up box on the Internet. Following that Channel Ten, CNBC, and Barefoot Investor invited me down. Then this show in the States called House Hunters International, which received up to 30 million viewers, profiled my journey here in Bali.
It was a beautiful start to my Bali journey. In that first year, I went from never dreaming that I would be an entrepreneur to it suddenly all happening. Looking back 14 years later, with two babies, a beautiful husband, and a really unique feel-good business with 80 fantastic staff having survived the pandemic, it feels great. Bali is home.”
"It's important for us to look
at the footprint we leave here in Bali. Since the day we started, one of our core values as a brand has been about impact."
WHY IS ESCAPE HAVEN A WOMEN’S ONLY RETREAT?
“We often get asked that. It’s not about excluding men. We love men. Men are amazing!
But I built Escape Haven just for women because I wanted a safe sanctuary—a safe space. I find that when you add men into the mix, as wonderful as they are, women end up playing a role. So you lose that element of the ability to relate with other women and to let down the competition and the need to be anything.
If you think about it, we are used to being shackled by different labels. Mum, girlfriend, manager, sister, friend, or whatever the case may be. The beauty of a retreat is that you can hit pause on life and on your responsibilities. You don’t have to play a role to anyone and you can show up as yourself.
With men are in the mix, you can only partially let your guard down. And for some women, competition arises in the presence of men. So there’s something wonderful and powerful I’ve found over the years: when women come together, connect, and share their experiences and journey through this retreat together, amazing things happen. And so I didn’t want to tamper with that. That’s why I’ve kept it exclusively for women and won’t be changing that.”
WHY IS SUSTAINABILITY IMPORTANT TO YOU?
“It’s important for us to look at the footprint we leave here in Bali. Since the day we started, one of our core values as a brand has been about impact—how we positively impact our beautiful guests and staff that work for us, our team, and our impact on our community.
Besides providing ethical and great employment, one of the key ways we can do that is by minding our footprint. So that’s something we are learning more and more about and certainly growing with over time.”
"Our sustainability commitments at Escape Haven are simple and can be done by any business."
WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR SUSTAINABLE COMMITMENTS AT ESCAPE HAVEN?
“Our sustainability commitments at Escape Haven are simple and can be done by any business.
We have solar panels to be as energy efficient as possible as well as good insulation. That was especially important in terms of our build and our development without having to sacrifice comfort, like air conditioning.
Also, we moved away from using plastic many years ago. We’ve got PABA-free, refillable drink bottles, and drinking stations around the retreat. As we’re in a land of banana leaves, we started using those for our wrappers, food storage, and bin liners. Utilizing banana leaves as a replacement for plastic packaging & boxes has been a nice implementation that our guests have taken notice of as well.
We also use salt water in our swimming pool instead of chemicals and have water filtration systems. Those are just some of the key things that are quite foundational in terms of our commitments.”
WHY IS COMMUNITY A BIG THING FOR YOU?
Giving back to the community and our team is naturally essential, especially over COVID. We firmly believe in impacting internally as well as externally. During COVID, we had 80 families that we needed to provide for.
Our guests are international, so our operations stopped when the pandemic hit, like so many other businesses here in Bali. But we stood by our team, continued to pay salaries, went a step further, and created a training academy on retreat, such as butler training, food training, spa training, etc.! We came together as a team because we knew once the pandemic was over, we would be stronger as ever.
We also put together Meals on Wheels! With our yellow golf buggies flying around Canggu, and we made our Karma Kitchen and distributed “sembako” and “nasi bungkus” packages for the community.
I think that was important for our team because when you’re giving and actually doing something that is of service to others, you’re in a place of abundance. We also acted as a team to give back to the community through a foundation i’ve set up called “Creating Futures” that focuses on orphans in Bali. I was once an orphan myself so this cause is very near to me as i wanted to give other orphans better futures.”