One night during a four-day stay at the hiiumaa wellness retreat Eha, a member of the 30-person staff told guests a story. Long ago, the people of Hiiumaa, the Estonian island where Eha stands, believed the North Star held up the sky. They feared the star might shift and bring the sky down, so they built teepee-like shelters from the tall trees that cover much of the island.
The pointed tops, the story goes, would protect them if the sky fell. A hole at the centre let them track the star.
A modern retreat shaped by an old island
That old belief shapes the look of Eha, a hiiumaa wellness retreat on the Baltic coast. The buildings are low and minimalist, with pitched roofs, blonde wood interiors and natural stone. Expansive glass panels bring in views of the Baltic Sea and the reed-filled coastline.
Eha wants guests to feel they are in Estonia at every turn. That is its central idea.
Estonia is not the first place people think of for a wellness break. Spas tend to sit on sunny beaches or in Swiss mountain clinics. Eha bets that an estonia retreat rooted in regional traditions and landscape will appeal to people who want something different.
Saunas are central to Nordic bathing, and Stockholm’s Floating Sauna on the Hornstull Waterfront shows how the tradition is being reimagined on open water.
Five seasons, one calendar
Eha organises its programme around Hiiumaa’s five seasons. The fifth is Springrise, a short stretch between winter and spring. Each season sets the tone for the food, spa treatments, exercise classes and guided outings.
Autumn is the season of grounding and preparing for rest. Autumn practices help guests let go of the months that have passed. The schedule includes a post-dinner sound bath, one-to-one sound bowl and lymphatic drainage massages, and energy and fascia flow sessions in the morning. A traditional sauna whisk made of birch twigs gathered from the forest closes many days.
Winter belongs to the sauna, candlelight and deep sleep. Springrise is the brief stretch between winter and spring. Summer offers white nights, wild swimming and time outdoors.
Wellness director Kai Laus combines ancestral Estonian healing with modern methods. They are circadian rhythm alignment, nervous system regulation, and a connection to nature, self and others. Olo has composed sound journeys from the island’s own soundscape.
Food from the island
Chef Peeter Pihel, who holds a Green Michelin Star, writes menus around Eha’s organic kitchen garden, line-caught fish and produce from growers and foragers across Hiiumaa. Wild seaweed, fermented forest berries and garden herbs give the plates their northern character. Workshops on fermentation and medicinal mushrooms teach guests how Estonians preserve the harvest through winter.
A recent autumn menu shows the range. Breakfast included homemade rye bread, yogurt with plum compote and eggs from local chickens. Lunch featured pumpkin gnocchi and tender steak. Dinner offered white fish caught in the ocean just outside the dining room window, a warming beetroot and cheese broth, and a roasted root vegetable salad.
Breakfast and lunch are served buffet-style. Dinner is served family-style.
Days at the hiiumaa wellness retreat
Every stay at this hiiumaa wellness retreat begins with a personal consultation. Guests then receive a written schedule with times for morning workouts, meals and treatments. The rest of the day is theirs, whether they walk the forest trails behind the retreat, rest in the private living room in each room, or use the saunas, steam rooms, hot tubs and pools.
The heated pool overlooks the Baltic. Cold-weather guests are especially encouraged to swim outdoors there.
For readers drawn to a secluded stay that rests lightly on the land, Vermont Retreat Clad in Charred Cedar offers a similar blend of architecture and forest.
Eha’s spa adds indoor and outdoor pools, saunas inside and out, a mindfulness studio and zones without screens. Treatments include peat wraps, birch sauna ceremonies, breathwork and aerial yoga. The retreat also offers sound healing and forest walks.
Hiiumaa is roughly the size of Singapore and home to about 10,000 people. Forest covers about two thirds of the island, which is part of a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Eha asks guests to leave their phones and shoes behind, and it provides slippers for every guest.
Sources differ on the length of a stay. One guest account describes a two-night, four-day retreat. The hiiumaa wellness retreat’s own listing describes programmes of three, five or seven nights. Opening dates also vary. The listing gives September 2026 as the opening date.
Getting to Hiiumaa
Flights from Tallinn to Kärdla, the island’s small airport, take about 30 minutes. Travellers can also take a ferry from Rohuküla, near Haapsalu, to Heltermaa on Hiiumaa. The crossing takes around 90 minutes, followed by a drive across the island.
She told Vogue that Hiiumaa has its own rhythm and that nothing can be forced. The retreat’s owners say their goal is to let the island set the pace.
Maran has a simple view of the landscape. The landscape itself becomes part of the experience. For guests who come to Hiiumaa to slow down, the island offers exactly that.
Plan a stay at this hiiumaa wellness retreat and find full programme details on eharetreat.com.
Via wallpaper.com
Frequently asked questions
How do you get to Hiiumaa from Tallinn?
Flights from Tallinn to Kärdla, the island’s small airport, take about 30 minutes. Travellers can also take a ferry from Rohuküla, near Haapsalu, to Heltermaa on Hiiumaa, which takes around 90 minutes before a drive across the island.
What is Springrise at the Eha retreat in Hiiumaa?
Springrise is the fifth of the five seasons that Eha uses to organise its programme on Hiiumaa. It is a short stretch between winter and spring.
Do guests at Eha have to leave their phones and shoes behind?
Eha asks guests to leave their phones and shoes behind. The retreat provides slippers for every guest.
What happens at the start of a stay at the Eha retreat?
Every stay begins with a personal consultation. Guests then receive a written schedule with times for morning workouts, meals and treatments.
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