Thailand’s Three Great Wellness Retreats, and How to Choose

Thailand has been the centre of wellness travel in Asia for thirty years. The reasons are easy to list: a tradition of massage and herbal medicine, hospitals of international standard, a hospitality culture that few countries match, and a climate that suits doing very little. The country now has dozens of resorts that describe themselves as wellness retreats. Three of them set the standard, and they are quite different from one another.

Chiva-Som, Hua Hin: the original

Chiva-Som opened in 1995 on the beach at Hua Hin, a royal seaside town about three hours from Bangkok, and it created the model that others followed. Every guest has a consultation on arrival and a programme built around a goal, with treatments, exercise, physiotherapy and a cuisine designed by its own nutritionists. It is small, family-owned and disciplined: phones are discouraged in public areas, and the staff have often been there for decades. A five-year renovation completed in 2019 renewed the rooms and the medical and spa facilities. Choose it for structure, and for a place that has been doing this longer than anyone.

Kamalaya, Koh Samui: the spiritual one

Kamalaya was founded in November 2005 on a steep hillside on the quiet southern coast of Koh Samui, around a cave once used by Buddhist monks for meditation, which remains at the heart of the property. Its founders, John and Karina Stewart, brought together his years in a yogic community in the Himalayas and her training in Chinese medicine and Asian healing traditions. The result is a retreat that gives as much attention to the mind as to the body. Alongside detox, fitness and sleep programmes, it is known for its work on stress, burnout and emotional balance, with life mentors, some of them former monks, available for private sessions. The buildings are open to the air and made of local materials, with rooms on the hill and villas near the beach. Choose it when what needs attention is not only physical.

RAKxa, Bangkok: the medical one

RAKxa opened at the end of 2020 on Bang Krachao, the green peninsula across the river from central Bangkok. It was created with VitalLife, a subsidiary of Bumrungrad International Hospital, and it places doctors, diagnostics and a medical gym alongside Thai, Chinese and Ayurvedic practitioners. Programmes run from three to fourteen days. Choose it for data and a plan, and for the convenience of staying within an hour of the airport. OKYTO’s page on RAKxa has the details.

And in the city

Bangkok’s newest hotels have brought some of this into town. Aman Nai Lert Bangkok has a medical wellness clinic on its spa floors, and the rebuilt Dusit Thani was designed around what it calls urban wellness. These are useful for a day or two, but they are not retreats.

How to choose

All three retreats ask for a minimum stay, usually of three nights and preferably of a week. All three are expensive by the standards of Thai hotels and reasonable by those of European clinics. The difference lies in temperament. Chiva-Som is a classic health resort, Kamalaya a place of reflection, RAKxa a clinic in a garden. For the wider region, see OKYTO’s guide to serious wellness in Asia.