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Atmosphere and feature ratings above are based on Best Retreats research (October 2026). They will be updated if Escuela FloreSiendo submits its own information.

Escuela FloreSiendo: An In-Depth Review for Ayahuasca Retreats in Sant Pol de Mar, Spain

Escuela FloreSiendo is a large Spanish ayahuasca organization based in a house in Sant Pol de Mar, on the coast about 40 minutes from Barcelona, with a second base near Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay, and weekend retreats in other Spanish cities, Portugal, Romania, Chile and Mexico. It was founded by psychologist Sergio Sanz Navarro and Flor Soeiro and trains its own facilitators. Guests book one to five nights, each with an ayahuasca ceremony for up to 30 people, plus optional bufo (5-MeO-DMT), kambó, yopo and psilocybin, from €235 to €1,145. In March 2023 police raided the Sant Pol de Mar house during a ceremony and arrested two people; the company says the case was provisionally dismissed in December 2025. Its original company was dissolved in 2025, its Trustpilot profile was removed, its website makes unsupported medical claims, and refund terms conflict. No deaths or sexual misconduct allegations were found.

🎯 At a Glance

• Locations: A house at the edge of the Can Balmanya area of Sant Pol de Mar, Barcelona province, about ten minutes’ walk from the beach, according to its Retreat Guru listing; a house 15 minutes from Colonia port in Uruguay; and rented venues elsewhere.
• Approach: Nightly group ayahuasca ceremonies in a self-described psychotherapeutic, non-traditional format, with daily integration circles, optional daytime bufo and kambó, yopo with Syrian rue, and psilocybin on some nights.
• Suitable For: Adults comfortable with large groups, a multi-substance menu and a non-indigenous, psychology-led format who accept that no physician is named. Not suitable for people taking SSRIs or MAOIs, or with psychosis or bipolar I disorder, by the company’s own list.
• Costs: €235 for one night to €595 for three on its Barcelona page; €345 to €1,145 plus a separate €200 medicine fee on Retreat Guru. Bufo, kambó and yopo cost €95 to €165 extra. Private “luxury” sessions cost €1,000 a night. Uruguay and Chile are cheaper.
• Overall Assessment: A professionally organized operation with integration support and published prices, offset by a 2023 police raid and a case closed only provisionally, large groups, several potent substances, unsupported medical claims, minimal facilitator requirements, a removed Trustpilot profile and conflicting terms. Directory evaluation: C-.

💬 What Guests Are Saying

The positive picture. Reviewers praise caring, professional staff, long integration circles, the food, a sense of community and life-changing experiences.

The negative feedback. A February 2025 Retreat Guru review titled “CULT!” says the reviewer was “energetically and physically attacked,” without further detail. A three-star review describes a single shared cup for ayahuasca, poor support during bufo sessions with people standing over participants, and no traditional songs. BookRetreats category scores are low for accommodation, value and teachers.

Who is writing the reviews. Trustpilot says the company’s profile breached its guidelines and no longer appears, without giving a reason. The two BookRetreats listings show nearly identical rating distributions and reviews about Barcelona and Málaga, and their overall scores of about 4.5 sit well above category scores of 2.8 to 3.8. If you have attended, we encourage you to share your experience through our submission form.

🚩 Incident Report

We searched review platforms, court-related reporting and English, Spanish, Catalan and Portuguese-language news for reports involving Escuela FloreSiendo, Sergio Sanz Navarro and Flor Soeiro.

• Deaths and serious injuries: None found.
• Sexual misconduct: No allegations found. One review alleges a physical attack without detail; it is unverified.
• Theft and fraud: No complaints found.
• Legal action: In late March 2023, Customs Surveillance and the National Police raided a house in Sant Pol de Mar as a ceremony began before 23 people and arrested two people, according to the Agencia Tributaria. Officers seized ayahuasca, bufo, kambó and mescaline, intercepted a parcel of almost a kilo of mescaline sent by one detainee, and found €4,000 and $2,000 in cash. The charges listed were membership of a criminal group, smuggling, drug trafficking, professional intrusion and immigration offenses involving workers without contracts. El Salto and the advocacy group Plantaforma identified Sanz as one of those arrested. The company’s official statement says the Arenys de Mar court provisionally dismissed the case on December 8, 2025, at the prosecutor’s request. A provisional dismissal can be reopened if new evidence appears; no independent report or court document of the outcome was found.

Our earlier profile reported the raid, the two-day detention and the dismissal, and found no theft or sexual misconduct.

If you have experienced or witnessed an incident with this center, please report it confidentially.

🔍 Critical Notes

What the dismissal says. By the company’s account, the court accepted that ayahuasca is not internationally controlled, and for the other substances the forensic reports did not establish active-ingredient concentrations. That is a gap in evidence, not a finding that bufo, kambó or mescaline are legal.

Medical claims. The website says kambó makes cancer cells self-destruct, that ayahuasca does not alter heart rate, that no cases of chronic psychosis have been reported, and that 90 percent of participants benefit, citing an unpublished study. We found no evidence for these claims.

Facilitator training. Its training program costs €3,600 for six three-night cycles, requires no degree or prior experience with entheogens, and lets trainees act as the responsible ayahuasca facilitator from the fourth cycle.

Corporate changes. Escuela Floresiendo SL was formed in 2022 and dissolved in July 2025 while the criminal case was open, according to Iberinform. The company says it now trades through El Abrazo del Atardecer SLP, a professional company registered for the practice of psychology. Sanz is described as a clinical psychologist; his registration number is not published.

Refund terms. The company keeps reservation money unless there is documented cause; Retreat Guru promises refunds until a day before; BookRetreats says deposits are non-refundable. Claims of “more than 12 years” and “almost a decade” of experience also conflict with a company formed in 2022.

Spain’s legal picture. Ayahuasca is not named in Spanish drug law, and in July 2025 the High Court of Justice of Madrid upheld an acquittal finding that ayahuasca “is not a controlled substance,” as Plantaforma reported. DMT itself is internationally controlled, and Spain records more ayahuasca legal cases than most countries, according to ICEERS. Raids on other groups continued, including in Tenerife in August 2024 and Alicante in August 2025.

Corrections to our earlier profile. The raid took place in Sant Pol de Mar, not Barcelona city, and the dismissal was provisional. The company’s own account does not say the prosecutor confirmed bufo and kambó are legal. Prices are published. Retreat Guru now shows 4.14 from seven reviews. The company lists Chile, not Paraguay, and its own page describes the house as four floors with 50 beds, not three floors with seven bedrooms. We found no source for a link to Alberto Varela’s Ayahuasca International, Dr. Mauricio Albanés as its medical adviser (he advises a separate Barcelona organization), rapé, 80 percent of the team being women, the “therapeutic without formal therapy” motto, the founder’s criticism of police, a large kitchen or mountain views; those remain unverified.

🆘 Screening & Mental Health Risks

The company says guests complete a questionnaire on motives, heart conditions, psychiatric history, medications and drug use, reviewed by an unnamed medical adviser, followed by a short phone interview, and it lists psychosis, bipolar I, SSRIs, MAOIs and some stimulants as contraindications. Its Madrid page, however, says “almost everyone” can take the medicines at a personalized dose, and booking pages list no contraindications. No physician is named on site; the company cites “staff with health training.” ICEERS notes that ayahuasca’s MAOI component makes it dangerous with SSRIs and other serotonergic drugs. Never stop a psychiatric medication to qualify for a ceremony without your prescriber’s guidance.

🧪 Brew Substance

The brew’s recipe and source are not published. Ayahuasca usually combines the Banisteriopsis caapi vine with chacruna leaves, which supply the DMT, as Erowid explains. Bufo alvarius (5-MeO-DMT), kambó frog secretion, yopo with Syrian rue and psilocybin mushrooms are also offered.

📍 Location, Setting & Style

• Setting: A large house by a forest on the Maresme coast, with a garden pool, reachable by train from Barcelona.
• Rooms: Mostly shared bunk-bed rooms with en-suite bathrooms; two single rooms cost extra.
• Style: Thursday-to-Sunday group retreats for up to 30 guests, with constellation-style integration work and live English and French translation in Barcelona.

Practical guidance: Take the train from Barcelona or public transport from Barcelona or Girona airports; transfers are not included. Meals are mainly vegetarian, with breakfast, lunch and a snack.

Should You Book?

Only with care. Ask who will facilitate your ceremony and what training they have, how large the group will be, who reviews your health form and whether a doctor is on site, how bufo and kambó are screened, which refund terms apply, and which company takes your payment, and get the answers in writing. Read our guide to verifying retreat facilitators.

The Team & Story

Sergio Sanz Navarro directs the Spanish base and Flor Soeiro the South American base; both were joint administrators of the original company. The company says it has more than 40 staff, including facilitators, psychologists and doctors, and calls itself the largest organization of its kind; we found no independent source for those claims. Portugal events are led by facilitator Antonio Alves Gomes. We did not independently verify anyone’s training.

Prep & Integration Tips

Before you go: Disclose every medication and condition in writing and plan any change with your own doctor. After you return: Use the integration circles if helpful, and arrange support from a qualified therapist at home. Our guide on how to research ayahuasca incidents can help you check any center.

Pros & Cons

Book Your Ceremony

Retreats are booked through the company’s website, Retreat Guru or BookRetreats, with dates into 2027. Before paying, confirm the facilitator, screening, emergency plan and refund terms in writing. Best Retreats does not take bookings; learn more about our mission.

Last reviewed October 2026.

This article is for informational purposes only and is not medical advice. Consult a qualified medical professional.