Thewomensanctuary Avis 

I attended the womens sanctuary, mary in the Quran retreat in Corsica, Fr. While I believe the concept has potential and genuinely want it to succeed, my experience was one compromise after another. My biggest criticisms were the lack of organization, professionalism, and meaningful content, which left me feeling disheartened, confused, and regretful.

I booked my spot in Jan. for the July retreat after it appeared nearly sold out and even encouraged friends to join, though they were unable to secure spots. Although I was nervous to attend alone, I looked forward to it. I paid the required €500 non-refundable deposit through the payment link provided. In March, I was urgently asked to pay the remaining balance. The payment link would only allow €500 increments, so I completed multiple transactions and emailed for clarification but received slow responses. I was later reprimanded for using the provided payment link instead of a bank transfer—something that had never been made clear. I was expected to wire funds to a personal foreign bank account and pay €100+ in ADDITIONAL processing fees because of the payment method I had used. As someone who works in banking and finance, I found this unprofessional/ lacking compassion, especially since clearer instructions could have prevented the issue. Eventually, I was offered PayPal for future payments. The retreat itself costs me €3,300 plus the additional fees, NOT including flights, transportation, or lunches.
The retreat lacked structure, particularly around prayer. Attendance at Fajr gradually declined, no one consistently led prayers, and there was no prayer schedule or adhan. Daily prayers were generally unorganized, with participants praying individually or in small groups. My intention was to reestablish a consistent Fajr routine and watch the sunrise each morning before returning home to my toddlers, but now I realize I didn’t need this to get back in the groove!

The educational content lacked depth and was the greatest let down. The lectures were only mildly engaging, I took very few notes, and I left wishing I had researched the speakers and organizers more thoroughly beforehand.

On screening participants. On my flight from Paris to Corsica, I met another attendee who shared comments that struck me as unusual. During the retreat, conversations revealed significant/shocking personal issues and raised questions about why certain individuals had been accepted into the retreat. Although one participant was asked/escorted to leave, I felt the organizers took little accountability for the situation, adding to the overall sense of disheartenment that many attendees already shared.

Other items:
A dog freely roamed the property, including prayer spaces and prayer mats. I felt this was inappropriate for an Islamic retreat, and participants should have been informed beforehand.
Prayer mats were sheepskins rather than traditional prayer rugs.

Transportation was poorly coordinated. I arrived in Corsica at 10am. but wasn’t informed until the day before that check-in/bag drop wouldn’t begin until 5pm. Participants were simply given the name of a café and a local driver, leaving several of us sitting outside in the heat with our luggage for 8 hours. Transportation to and from the convent cost €60–80 one way per car (holding only 4 people), adding significant unexpected expense.

There were no organized movement/ wellness activities. Thankfully, a fellow participant offered morning hikes and swims in the sea after Fajr, which became one of the highlights of the retreat.

Visiting the nearby town was never suggested or organized by the retreat staff. We independently arranged a trip to explore the farmers market and boutiques, which ended up being one of the most enjoyable experiences—including some of the best cappuccinos we had.

Housekeeping was minimal. Beds were made, but dirty cups weren’t replaced, fresh water wasn’t replenished, guests were expected to use the same bath/ pool towels through the entire 5day stay.

Tea service was also disappointing, often arriving long after dessert, we frequently had to retrieve it from the kitchen ourselves though dining far from the kitchen. Lattes were unavailable.

Overall, I felt the retreat’s marketing/ influencer promos created expectations that weren’t met. Based on the Insta content-particularly recurring images of a veiled woman with a young child-I mistakenly believed the organizer was a mom and that we’d be studying Surah Maryam and the divine feminine.
An itinerary wasn’t shared until the retreat began, adding to the mystery leading up to the experience. Rather than surrendering to the unknown - and then leaving spiritually fulfilled, most left depleted.

I was sincerely looking forward to joining this retreat. It was the first time I would join one. And I must admit that I was extremely disappointed. Looking at it now, I regret the lack of communication from the organiser the whole time. I was left for weeks without a response to my emails. When it happened the first time, I tried to reassure myself and was trying to find them an excuse. But it did not only happen once. When you pay this very high amount of money, you will expect a good communication service from the organiser. Further, while the organization team was leaving you for weeks without a response, they were expecting you to reply almost immediately and even threaten you to release your spot with no reimbursement whatsoever if you would not reply in a very short time. Also, I asked many times to receive the contract early on but only received closer to the start of the retreat. Another point that may need to be highlighted is that you never know with whom you are communicating via emails. Indeed, there is no name in the signature of the emails making the whole thing quite robotic and not really human. I was looking forward to receiving deep insights about the retreat theme, alas the workshop planned did not meet my expectations. Indeed, the workshops, etc., lacked substance and depth, and they were very superficial and there was no theological or philosophical study properly speaking about the theme of the retreat. The programme of the retreat was alas only shared with us on the first day so not really possible to know what to expect before to come. It should be flagged that we had proper food only twice a day which is quite surprising in particular considering the amount of money paid (at 10 am and then only around 8pm) with nuts and coffee provided before brunch and snacks around 2 pm. While the organiser shared with us some contact details regarding taxis, there was no taxis booked for us. We had to sort it out ourselves, again considering the high amount of money paid, it would have been nice to have taxis arranged/paid by the organiser. We were sharing one bathroom between 5 women which at time proved to be challenging. It would have been also nice if such information would have been provided in advance, with location of the venue so that you could plan certain things accordingly (e.g. activities to do in the free time, etc). Overall, while the idea is great, there are many aspects that need to be addressed / improved to justify the (very high) price.

HIJAB is NOT a prop. asking attendees to put hijab on for instagram content feels like catfish or scam. majority of the attendees were not in hijab, but asking us to wear it for photos, it’s weird.

for the cost of the retreat, there’s no transportation provided, communication is poor (only 2 days before retreat we heard from the host) but when it came to sending money, they were on top of it.

we had only 1 towel for the entirety of the retreat, 2 meals + 1 light snack.

the rooms with shared bathroom, the bathroom was shared with 5 women!!

the lectures lacked substance!!! it was all about feelings and pulling cards for names of Allah swt, that’s it.

it felt like a girls trip, swimming, lounging and lots of self lead activities among the women.

I had so much hope for this retreat and booked it far in advance with the intention to understand my faith better in what seemed to be a safe space.

I left feeling depleted, disappointed, and empty. It felt like a waste of money (over $4,000 for the retreat alone) excluding flights and other expenses, for what are basic rooms with no locks on the door. In the run up to the retreat, you are required to pay a 500 euro deposit (to a payment link), and then the full payment to a personal bank account (first red flag). Then, months later you are sent the contract to sign – which had some very strange one-sided terms that gives the participant almost no rights but given the full amount had been paid which was stated as non-refundable, there didn’t seem to be much of a choice.

I had emailed several times both before and after I paid the deposit to ask for a detailed itinerary of the retreat, and this request was consistently ignored. The itinerary was then provided on the evening of the arrival day, and the venue location was provided the day before. There was so much unprofessionalism and uncertainty before this even started, but I had chosen to join this retreat in the name of God and to strengthen my faith, so I wanted to give it benefit of the doubt.

Many participants flew in from all over the world, and we were told on the day not to arrive at the venue until 5pm – despite many landing before 10am. We weren’t even allowed to leave luggage there – for a retreat this expensive, you would think the host would do their best to help accommodate, I understand if we can’t enter our rooms until 5pm (which is already quite late), but to not even leave our luggage was quite frankly awful mannerisms, and instead many women were dragging their suitcases around Corsica for 8 hours. Upon questioning this, I was told we are staying in a Convent which is someone’s home – however, it is also a business that we paid to stay in, and not as guests for free.

Aside from very long breaks in the day (had I of known this I would have bought other things with me), and no lunch provided, the VERY high cost for underwhelming lectures and no activities planned (not one planned activity for movement and we were told to organize this ourselves).

However, the last straw was the final day where it became apparent we were in the company of an individual who held views which severely put all participants on the retreat at a safety risk. It is shocking that a religious retreat did not conduct due diligence on each participant. I was hugely disturbed by this and left in tears and felt a huge amount of anxiety and lack of safety. Even after feeding this back to the organizer, it became clear there was a lack of care and consideration for participants.

It will take some time to recover from the retreat which I gave my time, energy and money to, while also taking time away from work and loved ones. I do NOT recommend this retreat/organization, and while I am still in shock and what I experienced and witnessed, I would not want anyone else to waste their hard-earned money on this or leave with trauma like I, and so many others did.

I attended this retreat hoping for the depth its branding suggests. The imagery and ethos are genuinely compelling. Unfortunately, the experience didn't match.
The content was a big disappointment: sessions stayed at a surface level, with very little substance. There was no meaningful engagement with the Quran itself, and no organized daily prayers (other than fajr). For a retreat centered on reconnecting with Islam, this was hard to understand.

The organization also fell short. Key information (packing list, arrival details) came a day before the retreat, after most guests were already traveling, and arrival instructions changed at the last minute. Email communication before the retreat was slow, and some messages went unanswered entirely. Only two meals a day were provided, and on arrival day (after long international journeys) there were no refreshments until a dinner served very late in the evening.

Accommodation was far more basic than the website suggests: simple rooms with minimal furnishings and bathrooms shared between many rooms, none of which is clear before booking. Some rooms had ants and other insects. Set your expectations accordingly, especially for the price you are paying.

As women trying to navigate our faith in the modern day, a concept like The Women Sanctuary matters more than ever, which is exactly why it deserves far better execution. As it stands, I could not recommend it.

I attended this retreat with genuinely high hopes after following it online for quite some time. The concept is beautiful, there is clearly a need for spaces like this for modern Muslim women, and I truly wanted it to succeed. Unfortunately, my experience fell far short of what was promised and what the price suggested.

The biggest disappointment was the substance of the programme. We were asked to bring our Qur'ans (the day before the retreat), and I expected a meaningful exploration of Surah Maryam—opening the Qur'an together, reflecting on specific ayat, building a foundation, and then expanding into broader discussions. Instead, I found many of the sessions abstract, surface level, and lacking depth. There were some valuable moments (very few), but overall I left feeling spiritually underwhelmed rather than spiritually nourished.

The retreat also felt under-curated. We weren't given a schedule in advance, the packing list arrived only the day before (to bring a journal and quran and i feel these details for 14k AED pp for a small room should have included atleast a nice journal), and there were several logistical surprises that should have been communicated beforehand. We knew we would be sharing bathrooms, but we weren't told that five women would be sharing a single bathroom. Only two meals a day were provided, with the afternoon "meal" consisting of snacks such as cake, fruit and nuts. I found myself hungry most afternoons and having to buy additional food. For a retreat at this price point, I don't think that is an unreasonable expectation.

What disappointed me most is that I probably could have overlooked many of these logistical issues if the spiritual content had been exceptional. Unfortunately, I didn't feel that was the case.

One thing I also think future attendees should know is that the retreat appears much more overtly Islamic on social media than it felt in reality. The Instagram creates an impression of a very traditional Islamic environment, with many images featuring women in hijab. There is absolutely nothing wrong with whether someone wears hijab or not, but I do think the branding creates expectations about the atmosphere that weren't reflected in my experience. I would have appreciated a more authentic representation so attendees know what to expect.

I also believe there needs to be a MUCH more thorough screening process for attendees. This is an intimate, vulnerable and deeply spiritual space. During the retreat, many of us encountered individuals expressing beliefs and opinions that I personally found deeply inhumane and completely at odds with the values I expected in such an environment. It left me feeling deeply uncomfortable and affected my ability to feel safe and present. While no screening process can guarantee perfect compatibility, I believe a more thoughtful process than simply reviewing Instagram profiles and asking a few questions could have significantly reduced the likelihood of situations like this.

What made the experience even more disappointing was how the feedback was handled. I didn't feel there was genuine openness to hearing difficult feedback. Instead, it felt performative, and I left without any real acknowledgement of the concerns that had been raised.

It's unfortunate because I genuinely believe a space like this is needed. The vision is beautiful, and there is a real need for places where modern Muslim women can safely deepen their relationship with Allah and one another.

Unfortunately, after investing a significant amount of money, as well as additional costs for flights, taxis and meals, I left feeling depleted, drained, and honestly feeling that the experience did not come close to justifying what I had paid. More than anything, I left wishing the retreat had lived up to the vision it promised.