MEET our Team
We’re a collective of leaders, healers and professionals, facilitating the journey to unlock the potential for self-control, contentment, and peace through the mind-body-heart connection.
We are friends, family and business colleagues that seek inspiration, insights and restoration through retreats and travel to venues and experiences that are designed to change our heart, mind and body…. and we want everyone in our life to experience this same.
Welcome to our space.
The Story of Cerro Verde
Casa Cerro Verde was built by our founder’s father, “Dr. Tom” Odom as his paradise after a lifetime of medical service in Colorado delivering babies, caring for families, detoxing addicts at his free clinic, and treating AIDS patients.
The location was chosen for its breathtaking panoramic views,
close proximity to San José and major attractions including volcanoes, waterfalls and coffee plantations; and a desire to co-exist with la verdadera Costa Rica (the real Costa Rica).
Our friends and family have spent many days and nights enjoying all the magic that is la verdadera Costa Rica while visiting Casa Cerro Verde. Over the years, we often contemplated allowing others to share this special place as a retreat location.
In 2022, that intention is now our reality.
We are honored to invite you to experience
la verdadera Costa Rica“The Real Costa Rica”
Inspiration From Our Founder
Dr. Stephen Odom, PhD
“Come with intention and leave with a plan”
This has been the plan whenever we retreat to Cerro Verde, and now with our extended properties in Costa Rica and Southern California and wherever we go on location to provide retreat experiences.
As a passionate believer in the power of healing, I have created these services and spaces to cultivate relaxation, reflection, connection, and introspection (and adventure for good measure!).
My team (some of whom have been with my family for decades) and I are committed to providing you with the highest level of care and attention, personalized to meet your unique needs and goals. We are here to support you every step of the way on your journey to wellness and restoration – or just to simplify a connective and fun friends and family vacation.
With Concierge Retreat Pro, you will find peaceful and serene settings and experiences that encourage self-reflection and introspection. We also invite you to a range of healing services and therapies, including yoga, meditation, art therapy, and more, all designed to help you connect with your inner self and find the healing you need.
Please, make space for this in your life sooner, rather than later. No one regrets booking their experiences.
Here’s to all of our connectedness, restoration and inspiration!
Stephen
About Our Founder
Dr. Stephen Odom is a distinguished healthcare professional with more than 30 years of expertise as a C-Suite executive, owner, consultant, speaker, and therapist. Within the vast scope of his professional career, Stephen has remained grounded by the guiding principle that people can, and do, attain wellness and stay that way.
Stephen has long included wellness and mindfulness practices for his patients. He was trained in Mindful Stress Management practices by Mindfulness pioneer John Cabat-Zin. He has worked with thousands of people in diverse settings, and knows with certainty that looking within, looking ahead, and connecting our bodies with our hearts and minds is the path to self-control, contentment and peace.
As both a practitioner of and participant in wellness activities including breath & sound, bikram yoga, trail running, cycling, transcendental meditation, acupuncture, and reiki (to name a few), Stephen truly understands the mental, physical, energetic, and spiritual benefits of taking time to care for the body, clear the mind, and breathe. And with the creation of CRPro/Sanando, Stephen has manifested his vision of a community of seekers who want to, rather than have to… and that makes all the difference.
About Our Property Manager
Luis Felipe Daell Soto, Property Manager and Concierge
“Great Food, Adventures, and Relaxation. Pura Vida!”
Felipe is a native Costa Rican and serves as our property manager, activities coordinator, and all-things-Costa-Rica expert. He receives 5-star reviews guest after guest for his kindness, problem-solving, and attention to providing the best experience.
Felipe served as a light and sound engineer in the theater and television industry in Costa Rica for 10 years. Five years ago, he made a life and career change and began working for Cerro Verde Retreats.
As Felipe notes, he is privileged to live in a country so beautiful and rich in nature and adventure, and he is always looking for new and more beautiful places to visit with guests.
“Our retreats have made me grateful for the many beautiful things in life, and three things are guaranteed on our retreats: Great Food, Adventures, and Relaxation. Pura Vida!”
About Our Business Leader
Lori Mercer, Transformational Host and Outdoor Enthusiast
“If it doesn’t feel good, we are going to adjust so it’s win-win-win for everyone.”
Lori has hosted life-transforming retreats and experiences for over a decade and specializes in connecting the vision of the experience in marketing that represents the true spirit of the event.
She’s a mom of 4, outdoors enthusiast and determined to live her best life at every age.
“Feel Good Work” is her digital agency team that delivers websites, email and social media marketing and funnels and all things tech and marketing. But more importantly, designs the right imagery and words to connect with audiences and bring the right people to the transformational moment.
If it doesn’t feel good, we are going to adjust so it’s win-win-win for everyone.
With 2 decades of experience in international business development, technology and marketing, then building her own platform and retreat programming and now her digital agency for the last 10 years, Lori brings end to end business experience.
As a partner with Concierge Retreat Pro, her vision is:
- TRANSFORM PEOPLE: Connect people with in person experiences for the most memorable life milestones
- TRANSFORMATIONAL EXPERIENCES: Design venues and retreat experiences that leave a lasting positive change
- SIMPLE BUSINESS STEPS: Provide an easy experience for coaches, healers and business owners to do all the business and marketing steps so their focus is on their clients and their unique healing journey
About Our Food Guru
Gabriel Piedra, Chef & Culinary Arts Professional
A chef & owner with more than 10 years of experience and a demonstrated history of working in the leisure, travel & tourism industry, including renowned places such as Hotel Four Seasons in Costa Rica and Cunard Cruises.
All of our events and retreats – whether they are spiritual experiences or business wellness and training – are designed with the goal of healing.
Sanando is the spanish word for “healing”
It’s not one specific thing, not a quick fix solution, but a practice of various elements designed specifically for that experience – that venue – that event – that moment – the person or group of people.
Our experiences have an intentional design and flow to include the mind and the heart:
Connect • Discover • Explore • Cultivate
Our retreat design is a sanctuary with structure.
Our team consists of a variety of vetted wellness practitioners on location across North and Central America.
We believe a healing practice should never be about any one individual but about facilitating a healing experience that participants can take with them.
Our concierge services match the right practitioner to the right experience and includes all of the following:
Breathwork
Yoga
Reiki
Sound Therapy
Massage Therapy
Meditation
How We Do This
Simply said…. We create and host memorable, connective, transformational experiences around the world:
COSTA RICA ~ SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ~ ON LOCATION
Here’s a little more on what transformation means to us:
The discovery of your true self is one of the most challenging, yet paramount transformations that can occur during your life journey.
Doing so with a trusted guide can lead to an emotional freedom from fear and pain; granting relief from the past and confidence in the present and future.
Our process goes beyond just discovery.
At Concierge Retreat Pro, we believe in the inherent value of connection. True kinship with the world around us is established through three key points of connection:
These points of connection include:
- Connection with oneself. Creating an honest relationship with yourself, examining your strengths and weaknesses and lovingly accepting all that you are.
- Connection with others. Being truly authentic and vulnerable with another person. This connection withstands the human condition. You accept and appreciate someone exactly as they are, and they do the same for you.
- Connection with something outside of ourselves. When we are aware of the grandeur, infinite wonder and implications of a connection on this universal level, we’re left with a sense of gratitude and humility that inspires happier and healthier decision making.
We dedicate our retreats to helping you create these three connections through our healing expertise and compassion.
Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all. -Artistotle
Ready to Retreat?
Concierge service means your event, your way. All events can include not only the life-transforming retreat experience but these premium services:
- A deluxe, fully-equipped house and local Costa Rican caretaker that caters to your every need
- Personalized itinerary planning to ensure that your vacation runs smoothly, including airport and activity transport.
- An array of activities and outings, from adventure sports to cultural experiences and spa retreats.
- Delicious gourmet meals prepared by a private chef using fresh, locally-sourced ingredients