Mediterranean Coast
April 13-17, 2026 | Costa Blanca, Spain
“That first Gateless Retreat completely changed my career, my writing and my life. I will never be the same.”
~ Sarah Montana, Screenwriter
The Experience
The Gateless Retreat in Spain is an escape designed for the writer within. The laid back beauty of Spain’s eastern coast, a small group curated for your creative growth, and the generative power of the Gateless methodology will cure you of all critical blocks. Destination retreats are where you start memoirs, finish novels and find your singular talent for the written word. Daily writing salons will be held in a sprawling sea view villa. Just steps away, you will stay in a private room in Maison Salva, a historic home from the last century, renovated to a 20-bedroom boutique hotel with high ceilings, arched doorways and bright bedrooms. This is where the creative journey of a lifetime begins.
The Place
Run away with ten other writers to discover the beauty of Costa Blanca and its secret pearl: the seaside city of Altea. Cobblestone streets, white-washed Moorish architecture, art around every corner, the scent of orange blossoms and the incredible blue of the Mediterranean rolling onto the smooth white stone beach below, these five days are a writer’s dream come true. This retreat has been in the making for five years and invites you to hours of writing sessions, excursions, a private chef and the power of Gateless feedback.
The Writing
Rising to the light of the Mediterranean sun, you will feast in the dining room, where our chef has prepared fruits, coffee, tea and breakfast (gluten-free available). You start the day with Reiki, Thai head massage and a deep meditative prompt. After writing and sharing work, Gateless feedback shows you your innate craft and unique genius. Midday, we spread out for a long Spanish-style lunch before afternoon excursions and more writing sessions. This retreat offers you a profound understanding of your personal power as a writer.
“The Gateless Writing Retreats are transformative, electrifying, nothing compares to the elation you feel when you receive feedback in the circle. That incredible infusion of community and soaring creativity can really only happen in Gateless. The critical voice falls away and you find again the pure bliss that’s been inside you all along. Nothing else compares.”
~ Lauren Myers, MFA, Newton, Massachusetts
The Schedule
Arrive at Maison Salva by 3:00 pm April 13th. We will meet as a group before exploring Altea. Dinner at the villa before a short evening session of writing and bed. Thereafter, breakfast at 8:30 am, Gateless writing session at 9:30 am. Break at 12:30 pm for lunch, an afternoon session and an exploration of the city and surrounding area follows. Every evening dinner at 7:00 pm, a short writing session, then bed. Retreat ends at about 9:00 am on April 17, right after breakfast.
Travel & Cost
From any major city in Europe, take a short flight to Alicante, Spain. From Madrid, you may also choose to take a two-and-a-half-hour train. Maison Salva Hotel can help arrange your taxi from Alicante to Altea (40 minutes). All rooms are single. Pricing includes everything but the vehicle there: a private chef, meals, excursions, Reiki, Thai head massage and prompts; writing sessions, feedback in the group, plus in your inbox. The retreat cost is $3,400 for a private ensuite room or $2,600 for a shared room. Everything is included in this cost, other than your transportation to and from the accommodation location. A $750 USD (plus a $25 USD processing fee) deposit holds your space. Payment plans are also available. The remaining payment is due five weeks before the retreat begins.
The Result
The Gateless Writing Retreat is a high-touch experience, known for changing lives. Based on creative brain science studies, these retreats shift your neurochemistry and fire the “feel good” neurotransmitters that lead writers into a blissful state of creative freedom. You come home from retreat with the understanding that what’s possible is bigger than you ever imagined. Gateless brings a newfound joy to your relationship with the page, with yourself and with your life. This is the creative escape you have been craving.
“A Gateless Writing Retreat is like 1,000 Christmas mornings…you never want to leave.”
~ Kate Baldwin, MFA, MEd, writing and editor
Ready to Register?
Please complete THIS FORM and note that a $750 USD online payment deposit (plus a $25 USD processing fee) will be required to secure and confirm your registration. Please note that any cancellations post paying this deposit will incur a $25 USD processing fee.
For any general questions about the retreat, please contact us HERE.
Your Retreat Leader:
Ivonne Senn connects worlds through words. For over 15 years, she’s been the translator behind more than 200 books, including works by Meghan Quinn, Susan Wiggs, Susan Mallery, and bestselling author Evie Woods. Her own journey took an unexpected turn eight years ago when a two-month stay in Altea, Spain, blossomed into a permanent residency by the sea with her beloved dog. As a money coach, she poured her own experiences and those of her clients into her insightful book, “Treat Your Money Like Your Lover.” She’s currently weaving a new story, a romance novel starring a 52-year-old heroine—a character who just might carry echoes of Ivonne’s own vibrant life experiences. A certified Gateless writing teacher, Ivonne is the “Spanish Ambassador” for our retreat in Altea.
Suzanne Kingsbury is an award-winning, internationally acclaimed author whose work has been translated widely abroad and optioned for film.
In 2007 after graduating from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop with Frank Conroy, and the Bennington College Masters in Fine Arts in Writing and the Literary Arts program, Suzanne founded Gateless Writing, a global literary arts organization whose unique methodology combines brain science, ancient Zen techniques, and therapeutic nurturing to develop writers’ unique talent and singular genius, enabling them to move through residual blocks and create domain-changing prose.
Suzanne is the recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship and the Oxford Town Fiction Award and her work has been profiled in Rolling Stone Magazine (European edition), The Guardian, The L.A. Times, O Magazine, BuzzFeed, Bustle, Ms Magazine, Thrive Global (named Top Writing Retreat of 2017), NPR syndicates, and more.
Suzanne is also trained in Reiki and certified in Thai head massage and can “read” a writer through touch. She began working as a scribe channel while she was leading her first Gateless Teacher Training in 2014, receiving messages from a divine source of unconditional love that helped writers find clarity and power in their words. As a writing intuit, she uses the sacred spirit of the word to understand deep patterning and repeated archetypes in a writer’s work, that leads to profound alchemy in their lives.
Through retreats, workshops, one-on-one intensives, and career training programs, Suzanne has helped countless writers on their way to landing top agents, signing lucrative book deals and winning prestigious literary awards. Her writers have also been profiled in some of the world’s top media outlets including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, USA Today, The Jane Pauley Show, the Today Show, CBS, NBC, ABC and more. She believes if you are a writer, you have been tapped by the divine to be a conduit for a message only you can tell and that writers can move a crowd with the power of their story.