By the time you reach 50, organising a girls' weekend can feel like a military operation. There are work schedules to negotiate, teenagers who still need lifts, ageing parents to consider and an endless stream of domestic admin that makes finding a free date almost impossible.
My closest friends and I are always saying we must get away together. We send each other messages, suggest weekends and optimistically start group chats, only for the idea to disappear beneath deadlines, family commitments and the everyday demands of midlife.
© Getty ImagesThis time, however, we actually did it. There were no flights to book, no elaborate itinerary and no pressure to squeeze an entire city into 48 hours. Instead, we checked into a hotel, just minutes from the city, for a simple overnight stay.
It was close enough to home to make it easy, yet far enough removed from our normal routines to feel like a genuine escape. And somewhere between the slow breakfast, the uninterrupted conversations and the novelty of getting dressed up to go out together, I realised that girls' weekends in midlife aren't frivolous at all, they are crucial for our sanity.
Why friendship can slip down the list in midlife
Our 50s can be one of the busiest and most emotionally demanding decades of our lives. Many women are navigating menopause at the same time as caring for children, supporting ageing parents, managing career changes and reassessing what they want the next chapter to look like.
Friendship often becomes something we fit around everything else. We might exchange messages every day or react to each other's news online, but that isn't quite the same as sitting together for hours without one eye on the clock.
When we arrived at One Global Resorts Green Square, the first luxury was space. The contemporary apartment-style suites have fully equipped kitchens, generous living areas and private balconies, which meant we could settle in properly rather than perch on the edge of hotel beds.
Almost immediately, everyone relaxed. Bags were dropped, shoes came off and conversation began to flow. There was no hurried one-hour lunch reservation and nobody had to rush away to collect a child or finish a piece of work and for once, we had time.
The science behind a night with the girls
There is a reason time spent with close friends can feel so restorative. Psychologists have proposed that women may respond to stress through what is known as the "tend-and-befriend" response, seeking connection and social support alongside the more familiar "fight-or-flight" reaction.
Oxytocin is believed to play a role in this affiliative response, although the relationship between hormones, friendship and stress is far more complex than the idea that one weekend away can simply produce a rush of bonding chemicals.
© Getty ImagesWhat the wider evidence does show is that strong social relationships matter enormously to our health. A major meta-analysis involving more than 300,000 people found that those with stronger social connections had a 50 per cent greater likelihood of survival over the study periods than those with weaker relationships.
That figure applies to social connection broadly, rather than female friendship alone, but it is a powerful reminder that nurturing the people who make us feel known, supported and safe is not time wasted. It is part of looking after ourselves.
Research into "girlfriend getaways" has also found that women value these trips because they offer freedom from everyday roles and expectations. They create a temporary space in which we can reconnect with parts of ourselves that have nothing to do with being a mother, partner, employee or carer.
That was certainly how it felt to me. Nobody needed anything from us. We weren't solving problems, managing schedules or being useful. We were simply friends again.
Rediscovering the joy of doing very little
The most surprising part of our weekend was how little we needed to make it feel special. In my younger years, a girls' trip might have involved flights, sightseeing and a packed itinerary. Now, my idea of luxury is a slow morning and a conversation that reaches its natural conclusion.
We started with breakfast at Social Society, a colourful neighbourhood cafe serving everything from coffee and brunch favourites to more substantial dishes. From there, we wandered around The Grounds of Alexandria and Carriageworks Farmers Market, both nearby, but the beauty of this weekend was that nothing felt compulsory.
Back at the resort, we made the most of the heated infinity pool, spa and sauna. High above the city, the pool gave us the sense of being properly away without the time, expense or exhaustion of travelling.
There is something particularly restorative about spending an afternoon in a robe, moving between the water and the sauna, with nowhere else you need to be. We talked about our children, our work, our bodies, our relationships and the strange emotional terrain of this stage of life.
Some conversations were serious, while others were gloriously silly. We laughed at stories we had all heard before and spoke honestly about the things we rarely have time to unpack. That combination of intimacy and laughter felt like a reset.
A night out without the logistical headache
By evening, we were ready to get dressed up and venture out. Green Square has quietly become a brilliant base for a night in Sydney, with plenty of places within easy reach.
For sushi, sashimi and cocktails, nearby By Sang offers Japanese small plates and a polished but relaxed atmosphere. Groups wanting something livelier can head to 789 Korean BBQ, while Archie Brothers Cirque Electriq in Alexandria delivers the kind of playful night involving cocktails, bowling and arcade games that makes everyone forget their age.
The Sydney CBD is also only a short train ride away, with the resort directly connected to Green Square station. It creates the ideal "check in, go out" weekend, where everything feels effortless and nobody has to worry about a long journey home.
What struck me most was how quickly we slipped back into the women we had been before life became quite so busy. We stayed out later than usual, laughed more loudly than we probably should have and returned to our suite knowing there would be no alarm, school run or list of jobs waiting for us in the morning.
© Getty ImagesWhy I'll no longer call it an indulgence
The next morning, over coffee, we all said the same thing: "Why don't we do this more often?"
It is easy to assume that maintaining a friendship means keeping in touch through messages or meeting for the occasional coffee. Those things matter, but uninterrupted time creates a different kind of connection. It allows conversations to deepen and reminds us of the history we share.
Research has consistently linked good-quality social relationships with greater life satisfaction and better emotional wellbeing. Studies of women's leisure travel have also found that these getaways can provide support during life transitions and create a sense of freedom, authenticity and empowerment.
A girls' weekend cannot fix burnout, resolve the challenges of menopause or remove the pressures of caring for everyone around us. What it can do is give us enough distance to breathe, laugh and remember that we exist beyond our responsibilities.
At 50, I no longer need a girls' trip packed with expensive activities or meticulously planned months in advance. I want a beautiful place close to home, a slow morning, a few hours by the pool, a good meal and enough time to talk properly.
Most importantly, I want the women who have known me through different stages of my life sitting beside me.
By the time I checked out, I didn't feel as though I had escaped my life. I felt more able to return to it. And that, more than any elaborate itinerary or far-flung destination, is what makes a girls' weekend in midlife so worthwhile.
