Retreat In Santa Barbara is a Paradise

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Retreat and Conference Center Offers Hospitality and Peacefulness

Some years ago friends insisted we stop at the San Ysidro Inn, a fancy resort in the Montecito section of Santa Barbara. It was beautiful, and expensive. Quite a surprise when we began our reserach for "Sanctuaries" and visited the Immaculate Heart Community and their La Casa de Maria retreat and conference center to discover that the retreat property adjoined the resort property. But, instead of paying hundreds of dollars and getting lots of luxury, we were paying a fraction of the price and getting lots of peace!

Members of the Immaculate Heart Community welcome guests from Wednesday through Saturday in a lovely mansion that sits in the center of the 26-acre property of lush tropical vegetation and orange groves. From the moment you enter the grounds you feel safe and calm. Community members greet you warmly, provide freshly squeezed orange juice from their own trees at breakfast, freshly baked cookies in the afternoon, and delicious and healthful meals.

This is the height of the retreat center world, with luxurious rooms, a wood-paneled library filled with spiritual books, grounds to wander at will, and an ecumenical approach to religion.

Their La Casa de Maria is set up to accommodate larger groups in very pleasant rooms on another part of the grounds, which include a swimming pool, a tennis court, and massage rooms which are staffed by a variety of practitioners. We attended a 30-day silent retreat there a few years ago and it was a pleasure.

Sanctuaries- a guide to lodgings in Monasteries & Retreats in the U.S.

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