Our Approach
Due North Retreats is a global retreat company producing high-end, transformational experiences in extraordinary locations around the world. The company curates one signature retreat at a time, each anchored by a distinctive guiding voice, such as thought leaders, artists, teachers, or cultural figures.
Each retreat blends place, presence, and purpose: immersive environments designed to support grief work, life transitions, creative awakening, emotional healing, and personal reinvention.
Due North is not a retreat center. It is a traveling constellation of experiences - each one a temporary world built around a guiding “North Star” figure and a thematic transformation journey.
Lisa Gillooly, Founder
Lisa Gillooly is the founder of Due North Retreats, a company born from a lifelong relationship with travel, place, and personal reinvention.
Her life has been shaped by movement, from the Amazon River to the quiet intensity of Peru and across Morocco’s desert landscapes. She has spent years moving between Italy, Spain, France, England, Germany, Greece, and beyond, drawn not only to destinations but to the feeling of being fully awake in unfamiliar places.
Travel, for Lisa, has never been leisure alone. It has been a way of listening, resetting, and returning to what matters. Each journey has offered a different lens on how people live, how they gather, how they heal, and how they begin again.
Due North Retreats is the natural extension of that path. It is built on the belief that time away, done intentionally in meaningful places, can realign direction, clarity, and inner steadiness.
What truly distinguishes Lisa is her ability to create experiences that feel both exquisitely curated and deeply personal. She has an instinct for anticipating needs before they're spoken, thoughtfully attending to every detail so guests feel effortlessly cared for from the moment they arrive. Whether it's the rhythm of the day, the beauty of a shared meal, or the smallest personal touch, Lisa believes true luxury is found in genuine warmth, gracious hospitality, and making every guest feel welcomed, pampered, and completely at ease.
Before launching Due North Retreats, Lisa built a 25-year career in real estate and also worked as a legislative aide to a State Senator, grounding her understanding of how environment, community, and choice intersect.