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The Best Wellness Retreats in Indiana: Four Picks, From a Domed Spa Hotel to Two Monastery Guest Houses

The best wellness retreats in Indiana are concentrated in the hills of the southern half of the state, and they split neatly into two kinds. French Lick Resort has two historic spa hotels where you can still soak in the mineral spring water that made the valley famous in the 1800s. Within an hour's drive, two Benedictine communities run quiet guest houses where a single room costs $75 to $80 a night plus tax, meals are a few dollars, and you can join the monks' or sisters' prayers or simply walk the grounds. A Franciscan center near the Ohio border adds day-long quiet retreats for $20. We checked all four against their own websites in October 2026.

The four at a glance

1. French Lick Resort: The Spa at French Lick and The Spa at West Baden

French Lick Springs Hotel, 8670 West State Road 56, French Lick, IN 47432; West Baden Springs Hotel, 8538 W Baden Ave, West Baden Springs, IN 47469. Two grand hotels a mile apart grew up around the valley's mineral springs, and both still run large spas. The Spa at French Lick covers 27,000 square feet and leans on its history: the Historic Signature Pluto Bath ($125) is a private soak in the same mineral spring water guests came for in the 1800s. The Spa at West Baden is a 28,000-square-foot, two-level spa laid out like a natatorium, with a fitness center and indoor lap pool, and offers a mineral bath of its own.

West Baden Springs Hotel is worth a night for the building alone: its atrium spans 200 feet and was once billed as the "Eighth Wonder of the World." Both spas are open 8am to 6pm Sunday to Thursday and 8am to 7pm on Friday and Saturday, and book on (855) 819-0408. Treatment prices are high for the Midwest, with a couples massage at $450 and signature facials at $300 to $360, so the mineral bath is the best-value way to try the place. Note the resort includes a casino; if you want a quiet weekend, West Baden is the calmer of the two hotels.

2. Saint Meinrad Archabbey Guest House, St. Meinrad

200 Hill Drive, St. Meinrad, IN 47577. Saint Meinrad is a Benedictine monastery and seminary on a hilltop in the far south of the state, and its Guest House and Retreat Center is the most straightforward retreat in Indiana to book. There are 31 air-conditioned rooms, each with twin beds and a private bath, plus a chapel, reading rooms and a dining room. A private, self-directed retreat costs $75 a night single or $95 double, plus tax, with meals at extra cost and a $25 non-refundable deposit to hold the room.

Guests can attend the monks' daily prayer and Mass in the Archabbey Church, walk the grounds, and join a scheduled retreat on Scripture, prayer, Benedictine spirituality or art; the schedule is on the website. Book by phone on (800) 581-6905 or (812) 357-6611. This is a religious house, so expect silence in the evenings and no spa, but for the price it is one of the best places in the Midwest to switch off.

3. Benedictine Hospitality Center, Monastery Immaculate Conception, Ferdinand

802 E. 10th St., Ferdinand, IN 47532. Twenty minutes from Saint Meinrad, the Sisters of St. Benedict live in a domed monastery on a hill above Ferdinand, and their renovated Benedictine Hospitality Center hosts retreatants in air-conditioned rooms with twin beds and private bathrooms. Rates from January 2025 are $80 plus tax a night single for one to three nights, falling to $70 for four or more, and $45 per person for doubles. Meals are $5 for breakfast and $10 each for lunch and supper, and spiritual direction is $60 a session.

The sisters' own retreat program is the reason to come: 5-day quiet retreats cost $375, 8-day quiet retreats $575, and 8-day directed silent retreats $800, with a few scholarships available. The 2027 calendar includes a Lenten guided retreat from 15 to 19 February, a "Come to the Quiet" retreat from 19 to 23 April and a silent directed retreat from 4 to 11 June. Register at least a week ahead on 812-367-1411, ext. 2842. Two practical points: the center is for retreatants rather than tourists and cannot take children, and it will be closed for overnight stays in December 2026 and January 2027 while the heating and cooling system is replaced.

4. Oldenburg Franciscan Center, Oldenburg

22143 Main Street, Oldenburg, IN 47036. In a small village of church spires about an hour west of Cincinnati, the Sisters of St. Francis run a retreat ministry rooted in Franciscan values of peacemaking and care for the earth. Its easiest entry point is a Quiet Day of Renewal: a full day, 9am to 4pm, to rest, read, journal, pray and walk the grounds for $20, or $80 with a spiritual direction session. The center also runs talks and contemplative prayer sessions, and builds personal retreats around what each guest needs, from solitude to discernment.

Retreat pricing and overnight rooms are arranged by phone or email only, subject to the sisters' schedule; call (812) 933-6437. It suits someone within reach of Cincinnati or Indianapolis who wants a short, unprogrammed reset rather than a destination trip.

How to choose

• You want pampering: French Lick, and book the Pluto mineral bath.
• You want silence on a budget: Saint Meinrad for a self-directed stay, or Ferdinand for a structured quiet retreat with a director.
• You only have a day: an Oldenburg Quiet Day.
• You want both: the three southern picks are within about an hour of each other, so a night at a monastery followed by a spa day at French Lick is an easy weekend.

Not sure which kind of retreat suits you? Read types of wellness retreats and how much a wellness retreat costs, compare neighbouring states in our Midwest retreats guide and Kentucky picks, or start from the Retreat Central homepage.