Corporate & Executive Retreats in Ireland

A beautifully considered space for those who want to step back, reset, and retreat into the stillness of one of Ireland’s most beautiful landscapes.

On the edge of Connemara, along the Wild Atlantic Way, this hidden gem offers the kind of escape that is both nourishing and quietly transformative.

A Calm, Architectural Space to Step Away from the Noise

The CHI Studio retreat offers something rare:

a quiet, founder-shaped environment held by design, landscape, and stillness.

Guests stay in a private, open-plan one-bedroom apartment in the centre of Cong village - just a short walk from Ashford Castle and its forest trails.

The interiors are shaped with quiet luxury, and a sense of effortless comfort. It is the kind of space that settles you as soon as you arrive. What makes your stay truly unique is the dedicated private work and meeting space, rarely found in retreats of this scale.

“I kept hearing the same thing - more people now work with flexibility, and wanted a beautiful place to stay where work could sit comfortably alongside rest, without being confined to a hotel bedroom. That became the starting point for this retreat.”

— Chrissie Hofford

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Your Stay, In Detail

Your stay at The CHI Studio has been thoughtfully shaped by Chrissie to give you both comfort and clarity — a quiet, nurturing environment that supports rest, reflection, and focused work when needed.

A calm, open-plan apartment with layered materials, architectural simplicity, and quiet luxury that feels natural, easy, and immediately comfortable.

The apartment includes:

A double bedroom with quality linen and soft, layered lighting designed for deep rest.

Automated lighting and curtains create soft transitions throughout the day, helping you settle into an easy, natural rhythm.

A serene living area with curated contemporary furniture and a 65" TV with cinematic surround sound - perfect for unwinding, or reflecting.
A generous shower room, warm, simple, and restorative.
A kitchenette for simple meals and slow mornings - complete with coffee facilities, a Quooker hot tap, microwave, and VIPP ceramics that echo the quiet luxury across the studio.
High-speed WiFi, suitable for video calls, remote work, streaming, and staying connected without compromise.
A private entrance, ensuring complete independence and uninterrupted privacy.

A considered space designed for ease, comfort, and focus.

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What Makes Your Stay Unique

What makes your stay at The CHI Studio truly unique is that, alongside the private apartment, your retreat also includes exclusive use of the Client Suite throughout your stay.

The Client Suite

Situated directly beneath the apartment, the Client Suite is a calm, architectural space reserved entirely for you - a rare offering in retreats of this kind.

Designed for focus and thoughtful exchange, the Client Suite offers a composed, professional setting that supports working away - without disrupting the ease and enjoyment of your stay.

The Client Suite features a statement eight-seater limestone table for working, planning, or hosting intimate meetings, alongside a large, comfortable sofa for reading, thinking, or pausing between calls. A warm, layered aesthetic - with tonal textures, sculptural lighting, and considered details - creates a sense of balance, clarity and ease.

Reliable, high-speed WiFi and integrated video-conferencing technology ensure seamless connectivity for video calls, presentations, and focused work, while complete exclusivity means the suite is yours alone throughout your stay.

This is a space rarely found in retreats - one that blends design, discretion, and quiet productivity, adding a deeper layer of purpose and possibility to your time at The CHI Studio.

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Tailored Add-Ons

The VIPP Kitchen Experience

This beautifully engineered space is designed for both living and hosting - elevating longer stays, quiet moments, and professional conversations alike. It offers a rare opportunity to experience VIPP’s architectural kitchen design in a lived environment, rather than a showroom setting.

This optional addition is particularly suited to longer more immersive stays, private dining with a chef (subject to availability), hosted client meetings, or for guests considering a VIPP kitchen for their own home or project.

Enhancements may include:

Tailored provisioning arranged in advance, ensuring the kitchen is fully prepared on arrival for longer or more immersive stays

Private chef service (subject to availability), allowing the space to be enjoyed as a dining environment without disruption

Support for hosted meetings or conversations, where the kitchen becomes an elegant architectural backdrop for presentations, breakouts, or shared meals

The VIPP kitchen subtly transforms the atmosphere of a stay - adding architectural presence, hospitality, and a depth of design immersion that is unique to The CHI Studio.

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Private Chef Experience

(Subject to availability)

For guests who would like something quietly memorable during their stay, a private chef can be arranged to prepare a beautifully considered meal in the VIPP kitchen lounge area.

This intimate experience is ideal for longer stays, a special evening, or a relaxed working retreat. Menus can be tailored to your preferences - whether you prefer a simple, elegant supper or a more curated, multi-course menu.

Everything is prepared and served within the studio, allowing you to enjoy exceptional food in complete privacy, without ever leaving the calm of your surroundings.

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Experiences Beyond the Studio

Beyond the studio, the surrounding region offers a rare breadth of experience - from quiet, walkable heritage to the wider energy of the west of Ireland and the Wild Atlantic Way. Days move easily between stillness, culture, and landscape, shaped by the rhythm of the place itself.

Just a five-minute walk through Cong village, the Ashford Castle estate forms part of the immediate setting. Guests may choose to enjoy Afternoon Tea at Ashford Castle, along with spa treatments and wellness therapies. Woodland walks, riverside paths, and specialist countryside experiences - including golf, falconry, kayaking on Lough Corrib, and horse riding through the surrounding landscape - all available nearby.

(by prior arrangement and subject to availability).

Beyond Cong, the west opens into Connemara - mountains, lakes, and a sense of scale that is unmistakably Atlantic. Kylemore Abbey sits within this wider landscape, and Connemara National Park offers some of Ireland’s most iconic walking terrain.

For those drawn to the region’s sacred and storied routes, Mám Éan and Croagh Patrick are powerful pilgrimage landscapes - walked as much for their atmosphere as for the summit and breathtaking views. A long lunch at Ballynahinch Castle, or a fly-fishing session with an experienced guide, brings another layer of Connemara to life, while Roundstone offers a perfect coastal pause for food and harbour light.

Galway City lies within easy reach, offering a contrasting cultural rhythm - food, music, and a lively arts scene - while the Atlantic edge, from the beaches of Achill Island to the Wild Atlantic Way, provides a sense of scale, air, and openness.

These experiences are intended as a guide. If there’s something specific you’d like to explore, we’re always happy to discuss it in advance and see what’s possible.

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Design Consultancy with Chrissie

For guests who would like to use their retreat to gain clarity around a home, interiors, or future property plans, a Design Break with Chrissie - founder of The CHI Studio — offers focused, intelligent guidance in a calm, beautifully considered setting.

These one-to-one sessions offer space to explore ideas and make design decisions without pressure, while enjoying the calm and comfort of your stay.

Whether you are refining a single room or progressing a larger project, the consultancy is focused, considered, and structured to support clear direction and next steps.

The emphasis is on clarity, ease, and progress - enhanced by the pleasure of working within the studio itself, where design, setting, and guidance come together in a way that feels both productive and genuinely enjoyable.

Working from within the CHI Studio environment allows design ideas to move naturally into tangible outcomes. Concepts can be translated into a considered furniture, lighting, and materials direction - including curated product selections and bespoke shopping lists - giving you a clear, actionable next step should you wish to proceed.

A Design Break can stand alone as a focused moment of insight, or become the starting point for a wider design and procurement journey with CHI Studio, shaped around your lifestyle, location, and timeline.

“After breakfast, we could sit with Chrissie in the studio and make design decisions in a professional and truly inspiring environment. The experience removed all the usual stress and Chrissie made the process so enjoyable, clear, and incredibly effective.”

— Private Client, Dubai / Ireland

Those Who Are Drawn to This Special Place

Executives & Founders

For those seeking a peaceful reset - time to walk, reflect, breathe, enjoy golf or afternoon tea at Ashford Castle - with the ability to work when needed. A calm base where clarity returns naturally, without pressure or performance.

Prep & Recovery Stays

For guests travelling to Ireland for important meetings, presentations, or negotiations - or decompressing afterwards. The CHI Studio offers a thoughtful pause before returning to the responsibilities at the centre of work and life.

International Business Travellers

For those visiting Ireland on business who value excellent connectivity, privacy, and a beautifully considered base in the West - allowing work, rest, and landscape to coexist with ease.

Entrepreneurs & Innovators

For those who gain perspective through a change of scene - lakeside walks, woodland trails, kayaking on Lough Corrib, a Connemara hike, or a cold-water swim - followed by the quiet stillness of a space designed to restore clarity.

Creative Professionals

For writers, designers, artists, and thinkers seeking inspiration and perspective - a place where Ireland’s landscape and stillness support fresh thinking and creative flow.

Solo Travellers

For those who value elegant comfort, privacy, and ease - with the reassurance of being in the heart of a village, where everything is within a short walk.

HR Teams & People Leaders

For organisations seeking a meaningful alternative to generic hotel stays - a private, design-led retreat that offers genuine recognition and space for high-performing individuals to reset.

Start-Ups Hosting Clients

For founders looking to host clients in a polished, intentional environment - combining the calm of the retreat with access to the Client Suite and VIPP Kitchen for beautifully hosted conversations.

Guests Visiting Ashford Castle

For travellers wanting a private, beautifully considered alternative nearby - offering calm, privacy, and architectural comfort just minutes from the Castle grounds.

Film & Production Professionals

For actors, creatives, and production teams seeking discreet space, inspiration, and stillness while working in the West of Ireland.