What is The Better Neighbors?
The Better Neighbors is a company that hosts co-working retreats for artists, digital nomads and slow travelers. They currently host four retreats per year, two in Romania and two in Spain. I attended their October 2026 retreat, which took place at Hotel Robson in Lloret de Mar, about an hour outside of Barcelona.
The retreats host remote workers as well as artists with a art residency program. At the retreat, we all stayed at the hotel and each had our own private room. We shared a co-working space on the ground level, and a rooftop which has a laundry room and space to do yoga or hang out.
We participated in activities such as Spanish classes, yoga classes, padel lessons, day trips and various workshops hosted by the other retreat attendees.
My favorite beach in Lloret de Mar. I nicknamed it “princess beach” because of the castle.
What is a co-working retreat?
A co-working retreat is a structured program where people who work remotely share a living and office space for a designated amount of time. They are often hosted in hotels, villas or a co-living house.
Unlike co-living homes, where you can book a room any time of a year, as you would with a hotel or short-term rental, co-working retreats are for a set amount of dates. For example, the Better Neighbors retreat in Lloret de Mar ran from October 4th - November 1st.
The appeal of a co-working retreat is the community aspect. Since these types of events typically attract digital nomads and full-time travelers, it gives attendees a built-in community for the duration of the retreat. It’s a great way to network with others who are doing interesting remote work such as freelancing, founding start-ups or other non-traditional jobs.
Dinner at a local Greek restaurant with several of the retreat attendees.
What is the retreat like?
Not everyday was exactly the same and all attendees were welcome to participate is as many or as little of the activities as they’d like. For me, my typical daily routine on a week day consisted of waking up around 9:00am, and having breakfast. After that I might do a bit of admin work such as catching up on emails, before taking an extended lunch break to go for a walk or head down to the beach.
By around 3:00-4:00pm, I would usually head back to the hotel to do some more work until around 8:00pm. This is because my team for my part-time remote job is online during New York hours, so it was easiest for me to work while they were available to respond to messages. After 8:00pm, I would typically make dinner or go out to dinner with some of the other retreat attendees, and then hang out and chat with them for a few hours until we got too tired.
On weekends I usually try to take off of work, so I would try to join in on the day trips to nearby towns or hang out at the beach if the weather was warm. If it was cold or raining, I would typically try to go on a short walk or maybe do a bit of admin for my content creation work, such as responding to missed emails, applying for collaborations or making updates to my website.
What I like most about the relaxed schedule of the retreat is that you can really customize your days to your needs, depending on what time you like or need to work, and what types of activities you are interested in participating in.
Working on my laptop in my hotel room while still wearing my bikini from the beach.
Why book a retreat instead of a solo trip?
So you might be thinking, wouldn’t it be cheaper for me to just go on a solo trip, book a local hostel and do my own thing? And while yes, it might be, that’s not the point of a retreat like this. The point is to connect with a community of like-minded individuals who inspire you to continue creating a career and life that feels aligned with your personal values. In addition to this, many of the retreat attendees hosted workshops to share their skills and knowledge with the community.
Me for instance, I love to travel and have been on numerous solo trips. But something I often find myself craving is community. Especially as I’ve started working online and traveling for longer periods of time. It can be difficult to find people who get what you’re trying to build and aren’t satisfied with the typical path of staying in their hometown, going to university, getting a “good” office job, buying a house in the suburbs and starting a family. Not that there’s anything wrong with this path, but if you’re reading this, I think it’s a safe bet that you crave something a little different.
Myself and Thea (@lifewiththea), who I met at the retreat, enjoying dinner at a local Italian restaurant.
What is included in the price of the retreat?
The Better Neighbors retreat is a great price, which often has people asking the question, what is actually included in that price? So here’s a breakdown of what’s included:
Your stay at the hotel in private accommodations with your own bedroom and bathroom
Access to the hotel’s co-working space
Access to a shared kitchen to prepare your meals
Workshops presented by retreat participants on relevant topics such as social media, AI, art and freelancing
A built-in community of artists, digital nomads and people who are creating a career and lifestyle outside of the expected norms
So what is not included? Your travel expenses, food and any additional activities you choose to participate in outside of the retreat experience. I personally didn’t spend too much in these areas since I walked or took the bus to get around, bought groceries to prepare most of my meals in the hotel’s shared kitchen (which can only be used by retreat participants) and mainly went hiking or relaxed on the beach during my free time.
My private room at Hotel Robson for the retreat.
What is the true value of attending a retreat like this?
Everyone is going to have a different experience, and just like most other experiences, it’s truly what you make of it. Personally, I felt extremely inspired by the other attendees, who are doing things like working as an artist full time, living abroad in their dream cities, and building their own businesses. It’s difficult to put a price on having the opportunity to network with people like that and having the entire month to get to know each other.
So not only did I get to stay in and explore a beautiful area of Spain, but I got to connect with attendees from various countries and feel inspired by them to continue along my journey of building an online career. Living right near NYC does give me access to a lot, but career wise, most of my family and friends aren’t building one that allows them to work from anywhere. This is why I truly love being able to connect with digital nomads and other people who are building global lifestyles.
A photo taken of me on a day trip to Tossa de Mar.
Why did I decide to attend this retreat?
The reason I specifically decided to attend this retreat was because I was asked to join as a content creator. When I received the email, I took a look at the website and really like the idea. And then after chatting via video call with the host, Alejandra, I knew it was something I wanted to be a part of. I love traveling and creating content about the places I travel to, so I felt like it would be a good fit for my platform and audience. Plus it’s one of the most exciting opportunities I’ve received so far since I started building up my social media pages. So if you need a sign to start posting your content, let this be it, because you never know who’s looking at your work and what types of opportunities you’ll get because of social media.
Working from the rooftop at Hotel Robson.
In conclusion, would I go back?
Yes I would! Even if it weren’t for being brought on as a content creator, I think the retreat contained enough value for me to justify attending another one. Between staying in a beautiful place, having private accommodations, and the access to community, it felt worth it for sure. I think if you’re currently a digital nomad, or if you’re a freelancer who’s just starting out with working online and can make the trip, it will be a good move for you.
In fact, I’m hoping to attend The Better Neighbor’s Romania retreat in spring 2027, so maybe I’ll see you there! It’s happening right before Bansko Nomad Fest, which is the biggest digital nomad festival in the world, which happens nearby in Bulgaria every year.
As always, feel free to connect with me over on Instagram, this is where I post travel and lifestyle content daily. I also have a free to join broadcast channel on my Instagram, where I post work and travel opportunities that you can explore. I hope to see you somewhere around the world soon!