Barcelona Retreat: April 2026

April 10–20th, 2026

Friday, April 10th - WELCOME
To make the most of our stay in Barcelona, our retreat begins at 11am at the exclusive Mercer Hotel in the heart of the Gothic Quarter. We will gather for a morning coffee and welcome in the beautiful foyer before walking 3 minutes historic town hall where we will have special welcome to the city. Then, after lunch in the hotel, we will enjoy walking tours of the best craft spots in town with specialist guides who have been researching our needlework needs! In the evening we will sit down for a delicious tapas evening together.

Saturday, April 11th- EXCURSION
On our second day, we jet out of the city to take advantage of our proximity to the Mediterranean coast. We will leave in the early hours to escape north to the Costa Brava and the beautiful medieval village of Peratallada, which is quite simply an experience not to miss. We will spend the day there absurdity the untouched historic surroundings before returning to our Barcelona hotel for dinner.

Sunday, April 12th- MUSEUM VISIT & BONUS WORKSHOP
On our final day in the city, before we leave for the mountains, we will begin early with a guided visit to the Picasso Museum, followed by a bonus workshop led by Natalie Dupuis inspired by the line drawings you will see at the museum. We will take lunch on a nearby terrace, then depart at 4pm to embark on our two hour journey into the Spanish Pyrennes.

Monday, April 13th – TUITION
Now the real fun begins. Today we will begin our workshops and break the seal on three different designs that have been developed especially for this retreat. All three have been created in collaboration with local museums and your tutors Zina, Natalie, and Phillipa are eager to get started. This will be followed by an evening lecture and dinner.

Tuesday, April 14th– TUITION
Workshops continue today as we settle further into this beautiful hotel. Our exclusive use means we won't be disturbed by other guests. After your day of stitching there will be an optional visit to the local market town of Puigcerda. You will have time to visit the local shops, all of which after again at 5pm for the evening session. We will then enjoy an evening meal at one of our favourite local restaurants.

Wednesday, April 15th – TUITION
Your final day of tuition with your first tutor. Today will be a full day of stitching and relaxing in the hotel before listening to one of our tutors as they take the floor for our evening lecture. Take time today to enjoy the garden, or take a walk to the nearby village of Bolvir ( ust 15 mins away), or visit the small church in the grounds of the hotel.

Thursday, April 16th – EXCURSION & MUSEUM VISIT
Today is time to take a rest from stitching and explore the wider region of Catalonia. We will be travelling by luxury coach to the city of Terrassa, where the Terrassa textile Museum awaits us. We will be welcomed for an exclusive tour of the museum vaults to see their enormous collection of textiles, which date as far back as the 1600s. We will then journey to a traditional Masía for a leisurely Catalan lunch in the sun before travelling back for a quiet evening and light supper at the hotel.

Friday, April 17th – TUITION
Time to begin your second design! Depending on who you have chosen, you will now begin your three day session with either Zina, Phillipa or Natalie. We will then listen to our second tutor for our evening lecture.

Saturday, April 18th – TUITION
Our middle day in this second round of tuition is all about focus and quiet. Take more tome to enjoy the quiet of the hotel, and the beautiful scenery of the garden and nearby village. Optional walks will be led by our team and the hotel staff and electric bikes will also be available to take a little further if you feel like it. In the evening we will take our coach for a 20 mins journey up to a medieval and almost untouched village hidden in the Rocky Mountains behind our hotel. Their we will sit down to a wonderful meal at one of the hidden culinary gems of the region.

Sunday, April 19th – TUITION
This is our final day of tuition and a chance to ask any lingering questions and make sure you have absorbed what you need to complete your embroidery at home. Work through the last details of your design before our special farewell dinner to celebrate the week’s achievements.

Monday, April 20th – TRAVEL & FAREWELL
Our journey back to Barcelona will begin at 9am when a coach will collect us from the hotel to travel the spectacular E-9 route through the Pyrenees towards the city. Drop-offs are available at Barcelona Airport and city centre hotels.

Arrival: We recommend flying to Barcelona El Prat Airport. The retreat will officially begin at 11am on Friday 10 April 2026 at the Mercer Hotel, Barcelona.

Departure: We will return, by coach, to Barcelona with drop offs to Barcelona city centre hotels or El Prat Airport on Monday 20 April 2026. We will depart from our mountain retreat, Hotel Torre de Remei, at 9am and expect to arrive in Barcelona around midday and the airport by 1pm.

Extra Nights: Our recommendation is to arrive a few days early to make the most of Baraclona, especially if you haven't not had the pleasure of exploring the city before. Pre-retreat nights are available at the Mercer Hotel, and can be added at time of booking.

During this retreat, we will offer three new designs created especially for Barcelona: The Rocamora Fan with Zina Kazban, a design inspired by at 18th-century mens Casaca (or dress coat) with Natalie Dupuis, and The Barcelona Frame with Phillipa Turnbull. All of these designs have been inspired by designs from local museums — the Terrassa Textile Museum, and the Disseny Hub Barcelona.

Each tutor will teach a three-day class, and students will have the opportunity to choose two of the three designs to work on during the retreat — an inspiring balance of variety and depth across six full days of workshops. All three designs will be available to purchase for retreat students.

Accommodation & Food in two 5* Hotels
10 days full board accommodation (breakfast, lunch, and dinner included).

Tuition & Kits
6 full days of tuition, workshop kits, loan of a frames, magnifying light and other necessary equipment, refreshments during class, and a goody bag.

Excursions & Lectures
Local needlework excursions and informal stitching sessions, as well as optional walks and cultural visits. All coach travel, entry fees and refreshments during the visit are included.

Travel
Travel as per the programme. Transfers to Hotel Merce, Barcelona from Barcelona El Prat Airport and local transport links. Return transfers from Torre Remei to Barcelona El Prat and city centre hotels (within Zone 1).

What is not included in the price?

International Travel is not included in this booking
Personal expenditure at hotels, excursions and events, e.g. bar, laundry, telephone, IT, meal extras beyond anything that has already been arranged as part of the Retreat
Tips & gratuities are at your own discretion

How to book

Reservations can be made by paying a non-refundable deposit (or the full amount immediately) for your chosen Retreat via our website www.crewelwork.com. We use WeTravel to handle all bookings and once your payment has been received you will receive confirmation from that platform. Subsequent installment requests will also be sent via WeTravel.

Instalments will be required as follows:

- Deposit on booking
- 50% to be received 1 year prior to departure date
- 100% to be received 6 months prior to departure date

Some installment dates may differ depending on the retreat. In the case that your booking has been made after the scheduled installment date, you will be automatically prompted to pay it during the booking process. Please contact Emma Morgan at emma@crewelwork.com if you would like to discuss this.

Payment Methods

Deposits may be paid via our website, which accepts credit/debit card or Paypal. We do not accept Paypal for payments other than the deposit. Instalment payments from the UK may be made by UK cheque or bank transfer. Payments from a foreign currency may be paid by debit or credit card or by bank transfer (in our experience the best transfer service to use for foreign currency transfers is wise.com). Please opt to pay all sending and receiving fees.

Cancellations

You may cancel your booking at any time. Written notification from the person who made the booking or your travel agent must be received at our office by email. Since we incur costs in cancelling your retreat arrangements, refunds are applied as follows:

- Less than 6 months before departure date - no refund
- 6 months to 1 year prior to departure date - 50% of price of holiday
- More than 1 year prior to holiday - 100% refund (minus deposit)

Note: If the reason for your cancellation is covered under the terms of your insurance policy, you may be able to reclaim these charges. If, at any point, we are able to fill your place with someone from our waiting list, we will notify you of any refund that can be made. All refunds in this case are at the Organiser’s discretion.

We are a member of ABTA with membership number Y6352. We follow ABTA’s Code of Conduct to provide a high standard of service. For more information, visit www.abta.com.