The Soft Reset: A creative sabbatical to reinspire your career design

Location icon
Château de Montsymond, Mont Simon, Vescours, France
Users icon
Up to 10 in group
Date
September 27 - October 3, 2025

Retreat Highlights

  • Meals from scratch by a private chef
  • Unstructured time to relax and reflect
  • Light programming to reinspire your career design (hosted by Sam Ogborn)
  • Optional daily creative sessions
  • Cooking demonstration
  • Private rooms & bathrooms
  • Heated pool
  • Sauna & steam room
  • 17-acre estate
  • About Sam Ogborn, our featured guest
  • Sam Ogborn is a marketing strategist, content creator, and adjunct professor who has crafted a fulfilling career path—and an online audience of 150,000+— that embraces her marketing expertise and big-picture thinking.
  • Beginning with her in-house career as a marketing leader at Red Bull and Synchrony, where she specialized in content and brand marketing, Sam now charts her own path with a blend of exciting and enriching work through CMO advisory, online media, and teaching.
  • Sam is preparing a bespoke program for this retreat. Over 3 mornings, she’ll lead presentations and discussions about how to design a career—and a career identity—that is uniquely yours.

About this Retreat

Your Guides

Details of this retreat

For creative knowledge workers across disciplines—or anyone who is creative—there’s often little space left to think deeply about the work you really want to do.

This retreat is your creative sabbatical: a chance to step outside of predetermined paths and gain the space, time, and inspiration to rethink what’s possible.

Through a blend of spacious sessions, hands-on experimentation, and lots of unstructured time to simply be, we’ll explore mindful rituals that support sustainable inspiration—for your career and beyond. Expect conversations that challenge conventional professional paths, creative exercises that open new possibilities, and long, delicious meals with fellow explorers.

No hustle, no pressure—just the clarity to reconnect with what you really want and the time to start crafting it.

Schedule

Day 1 - September 27

Arrivals
Welcome reception
Dinner

Day 2 - September 28

Breakfast
Morning nature walk
Lunch
Unstructured time
Afternoon mind/body connection workshop
Apéro* salon
Dinner
Unstructured time

Day 3 - September 29

Breakfast
Morning program with Sam Ogborn
Lunch
Unstructured time
Afternoon free writing exercise
Apéro* salon
Dinner
Unstructured time

Day 4 - September 30

Breakfast
Morning program with Sam Ogborn
Lunch
Unstructured time
Afternoon creative cuisine cooking class/demo
Apéro* salon
Dinner
Unstructured time

Day 5 - October 1

Breakfast
Morning program with Sam Ogborn
Offsite activity (TBA)
Lunch
Offsite activity (TBA)
Dinner
Unstructured time

Day 6 - October 2

Breakfast
Morning nature walk
Lunch
Unstructured time
Closing reception
Dinner
Unstructured time

Day 7 - October 3

Breakfast
Departures
Note: Schedule is approximate and may change

Getting Here

Location icon Bonfire Collective, Château de Montsymond, Mont Simon, Vescours, France

Directions

Château de Montsymond is located on Route de Mont Simon, Vescours, France 01560.

If you’re not already in France, you’ll need to get there first! The two most convenient cities from which to start your journey are Paris and Lyon, though you could also start from Geneva, Switzerland.

Once your booking is confirmed, we will help coordinate your transport to one of the local train stations if you don’t plan to drive yourself. Transport to and from these set stations is included in the cost of the retreat, but other travel costs and transport to and from non-designated stations is not.

From Paris
From Gare de Lyon: Take a high-speed TGV INOUI train to Mâcon Loché (1.5 hours). We will arrange group transport from there (40 mins).

From Gare de Bercy: Take a regional TER train to Tournus (4 hours). We will arrange group transport from there (20 mins).


From Lyon
From Gare de Lyon Part Dieu: Take a regional TER train to Tournus (1 hour 10 mins). We will arrange group transport from there (20 mins).


From Lyon
From Gare de Lyon Part Dieu: Take a regional TER train to Tournus (1 hour 10 mins). We will arrange group transport from there (20 mins).

From Geneva
From Gare de Genève Cornavin: Take a regional TER train to Lyon (2 hours), then follow the “From Lyon” instructions above!

Accommodation

Solo participants Solo participants will enjoy a private room with an en-suite bathroom, furnished with fresh linens, a comfortable bed (queen or twin, depending on availability), and space to relax or reflect. Each room has its own unique charm, with thoughtful details to support rest and creativity. It’s your personal haven for the week—quiet, cozy, and all yours. Couples Couples will share a private room with a queen bed and an en-suite bathroom. Each room is thoughtfully appointed with fresh linens, cozy furnishings, and plenty of space to relax together or enjoy solo time. Shared room You and a friend/family member/colleague may share a room, or you may share a room with one other solo participant for a reduced fee. If you opt to share a room with someone you don’t know, we’ll connect you via email in advance so you can “meet” beforehand!

Accommodation
Solo participants
Accommodation
Couples
Accommodation
Shared room

Venue & Amenities

Venue & Amenities
A/C in Rooms icon A/C in Rooms
Free Wifi icon Free Wifi
Spa icon Spa
Sauna icon Sauna
Pool icon Pool
Towels icon Towels
Free Parking icon Free Parking
Kitchen icon Kitchen
Tour Assistance icon Tour Assistance
Hot Tub icon Hot Tub
Coffee/Tea icon Coffee/Tea
Cafe icon Cafe
Restaurant icon Restaurant
Fitness Center icon Fitness Center
Yoga Studio icon Yoga Studio
Housekeeping icon Housekeeping
Bicycles For Rent icon Bicycles For Rent
Château de Montsymond is a peaceful and picturesque estate nestled in the rolling hills of Burgundy, France. It’s the kind of place that invites you to exhale.

Surrounded by forests, fields, and a private lake, the château offers an ideal balance of rustic charm and modern comfort. With amenities like a heated pool, steam room, and sauna, plus cozy common areas and beautifully restored bedrooms, it’s designed to help you fully unwind. Whether you're wandering the grounds with a notebook in hand

Meals

Menu Types

Enjoy authentic French cuisine made fresh daily by Maëva Chiappe, our onsite chef. Maëva Chiappe is a passionate and creative private chef, who brings a personal touch to every dish—rooted in a backg

What's Included

  • Accommodations for 6 nights (single or double occupancy according to your choice)
  • All meals on the premises, made from scratch by an onsite chef
  • Access to the grounds, heated pool, small gym, steam room, and sauna
  • Transportation to and from the nearest train stations to the château (info below)
  • 6 days of onsite programming and select activities in the surrounding area
  • Speaker fees
  • Materials for sessions and workshops
  • Transportation to and from any programmed activities off site

What's Not Included

  • Transportation to and from the retreat location (e.g. flights to and from France, trains from Paris to the nearest station to the château, etc.)
  • Meals/shopping in the nearby villages
  • Any additional activities not listed our official programming

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