🌸 Hello!
If you’ve found your way here, welcome. This space was created for seekers of all kinds who love adventure, the thrill of the unknown, and epic nature vistas — and who crave authenticity, connection, and inspiration. Whether you come for inspiration, healing, travel, or simply a breath of calm in a noisy world, I’m grateful you’re here.
I invite you to join me on Vancouver Island — a space to pause, reconnect, and nourish your body, mind, and spirit. Come experience gentle guidance, ocean views, and the quiet freedom to begin again, soften, and return to yourself.
About Melissa Horrell ~ Vancouver Island Retreat
Storyteller | Retreat Leader | Mentor for Women
I’m Melissa Horrell — a British-Canadian-Francophile born in Uganda, shaped by the world, and called to the wild edge of healing, adventure, and leadership.
From a young age, I was captivated by human philosophy — pondering those existential questions, reflecting on the way we heal, grow, and find meaning in the spaces in between. Growing up between continents, the daughter of a former MI6 director and an artist-academic mother, I was steeped in curiosity, creativity, and a deep sensitivity to culture.
Art lectures in London, Santa Clause on every street corner in New York, laughter in Abidjan markets, late night dancing in Brussels, a visit to Buckingham Palace – each place taught me something about courage, creativity, and the power of perspective.
✈️ A Life of Exploration and Transformation
In 1999, I embarked on a solo journey that would change my life. Traveling through Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas, I sought more than adventure — I sought depth, understanding, and connection. From skydiving in New Zealand to gorilla trekking in Uganda, hiking the Annapurna Trail, fundraising for New Hope Orphanage in Uganda, and living with families across Europe to learn Spanish and Italian, I chased experiences that challenged me, expanded me, and shaped me. 
My loved ones affectionately called me “Indiana Joan,” a nod to my fearless grandmother who paved the way for bold women. These journeys weren’t just about adventure and adrenaline — they were filled with journals that taught me to find strength in vulnerability, learn to listen to life’s whispers, and realize that courage is not the absence of fear — it’s the decision to keep going anyway.
“I had a pull to see different countries, to understand how other people lived, what beliefs they held, and how landscapes shaped their lives. I came home deeply enriched and transformed. Staying in touch with people from different cultures brings a form of connection and worldliness that is meaningful and empowering.”
🌸 From Healing Arts to Leadership
When I returned home, I knew I was meant to bring my discoveries into healing. I trained in aromatherapy and massage in London, later expanding into reflexology, yoga, and counselling.
What began as a personal exploration evolved into a 20+ year career in wellness and hospitality. I went on to direct one of British Columbia’s largest spa resorts, open my own award-winning spa — Cave Cure & Therapies — and previous to that I founded White Ocean Gallery, a sanctuary for art, beauty, and creative expression in Vancouver.
Along the way, I’ve consulted for wellness businesses across North America and UK, blending intuition, strategy, and heart into every project. My approach is grounded in the belief that true leadership begins with self-awareness — the courage to lead your own life first.
💔 Walking Through Loss and Living With Purpose
Life has not always been smooth. My brother, who lived with schizophrenia, died by suicide — a heartbreak that forever changed my understanding of grief, mental health, and resilience. His passing led me toward community work, where I found meaning in supporting others living with mental health challenges and disabilities.
Each day, through my work, I learn something I wish I had known when he was alive — insights about empathy, systems of care, and the everyday bravery it takes to live with unseen struggles. These lessons continually deepen my compassion and reinforce my commitment to creating spaces of safety, dignity, and understanding.
Other hardships, the quiet stigma that can come with not having children, and the courage it takes to start over and rebuild life in new places. These experiences have shaped me into someone who leads with softness, truth, and heart.
It’s this blend of adventure, healing, leadership, and lived experience that informs every retreat, workshop, and mentorship I offer.
✨ Full Circle
One day during Covid, I pulled out a journal from my Southeast Asia trip and found this entry in my journal, written 20 years ago:
“One day, I will open a wellness retreat — a place where people can rest, heal, and remember who they are.”
At the time, I didn’t know where or how that dream would unfold. I just knew I was searching for something that felt like home — not a building, but a way of being.
Two decades, and countless transformations later, that vision became Vancouver Island Retreat — a living, breathing reflection of everything I’ve learned about courage, beauty, and belonging.
Here, I offer what I once needed most: a place to exhale, to reconnect with nature, and to come home to yourself.
Vancouver Island Retreats Designed for Transformation
Today, on the wild, sea-salted shores of Vancouver Island, I host immersive retreats for women ready to rediscover themselves — body, mind, and spirit.
Each retreat is a journey into courage, creativity, and connection:
Adventure Retreats – Reawaken curiosity through movement, exploration, and play in nature’s embrace.
Deep Healing Retreats – Gentle, introspective experiences that weave counselling, aromatherapy, yoga, and soulful coaching.
Women’s Leadership Retreats – Empowering sessions designed to awaken confidence, clarity, and authentic influence.
Yoga Immersions – Grounding and revitalizing practices that restore balance and reconnect you to your essence.
Whether you come seeking peace, laughter, or a spark of courage, each retreat offers space to reconnect — to nature, to community, to yourself.
🌙 Why I Do This Work
I believe in the healing power of art, nature, and human connection.
I believe vulnerability is strength.
And I believe that courage grows in small, intentional acts — a breath, a conversation, a single brave choice.
“Not everyone is content with the status quo. Sometimes you must go beyond your limits to understand where you truly belong.” MH
Through my retreats, writing, and mentorship, I create a space for women to reconnect with themselves, their intuition, and their innate power. My work is not about quick fixes or cookie-cutter solutions — it’s about soulful transformation, lasting growth, and embracing the fullness of life.
✨ Time to Reconnect and Retreat into You
Your choice:
- 🌿 Discover My Women’s Retreats: Vancouver Island Retreats for Women – If your heart is calling for deeper healing, creativity, and soulful growth, I invite you to explore one of my Vancouver Island Retreats for Women — immersive, nurturing experiences designed to help you breathe again, find clarity, and reconnect with your true self through nature, community, and reflection.
- 🏡 Book Your Island Escape: Vancouver Island Retreat Airbnb – If what you need right now is simply quiet time in nature — a peaceful space to rest, write, or think without obligation — you’re warmly welcome to stay at my Vancouver Island Retreat Airbnb. No retreat commitment required, just space to pause and reflect.
Vancouver Island Spas
Water has always been know to be a powerful healer — from working in spas rooted in hydrotherapy, to living by the ocean and spending time on a sailboat, I’ve witnessed how the rhythm of water soothes the nervous system, clears emotional weight, and brings us back to our natural flow.
Like many, water has always called to me—its rhythm, its reflection, its ability to cleanse what words cannot reach. From my earliest days sailing, to settling near the shores of Vancouver Island, I’ve felt most alive near water. It’s where I find clarity, stillness, and soul.
That love for water naturally led me to the world of spas, where I discovered that healing has always flowed through water. Ancient spa rituals—from Roman baths to Japanese onsens—used hydrotherapy not only to soothe the body but to restore the spirit.
I’ve carried these traditions into my own healing work—infusing aromatherapy, mineral soaks, and therapeutic touch with the wisdom of water. In every treatment, retreat, or ritual I guide, water remains my ally. It reminds us to surrender, to soften, and to trust the flow of life.”
More information on Vancouver Island Spas
“Travelling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.” – Battuta
This blog is dedicated to my brother Oliver, who inspires me everyday.