While away at the seafront swimming pool, set away within seven acres of stunning landscaped gardens (All photos: Chiva-Som)
Evangelising the benefits of taking a break or going on holiday is a pleonasm. Nobody needs analytics to espouse how a vacation benefits one’s health in a multitude of ways, from enjoying respite, however brief, from the daily grind of life to days spent soaking up Vitamin D or even just doing nothing while ensconced by nature. Holidays completely devoted to health are making a comeback — and in a big way. Spa getaways, detox and yoga retreats, or a week at a resort devoted to Pilates, tennis or all manner of outdoor activities have never been more popular. One of the top names in the luxury wellness hospitality index, however, is closer to home than you think.
Chiva-Som, just across the border in the royal seaside town of Hua Hin (“royal” due to the favour it enjoys historically, with Thai royalty, particularly the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej or Rama IX), is considered one of the forerunners. More than a luxury wellness resort, it is a transformative one as well, as those who have experienced the award-winning property know. One does not return merely sun-kissed and glowing from a few days of activity and healthy eating but also recalibrated — balanced and mentally rejuvenated, ready to face life again but this time, armed with more tips and techniques to ensure best practices may be sustained for the long run. The longer one stays at Chiva-Som, the better. After all, science and data have given us the estimate that it takes about three weeks to adopt a new habit (or break an old one). Depending on the quality of our individual mental and physical health, and aided by Chiva-Som’s elite team, becoming the best version of ourselves could take even less time. Founded in 1995 by visionary wellness figure Boonchu Rojanastien, Chiva-Som, which aptly means “haven of life” in Thai, has since expanded to the Middle East with the Zulal Wellness Resort by Chiva-Som, its first outside of Thailand. The primary differences between the two are size (Zulal is more expansive) and family-friendliness (Hua Hin only welcomes adult guests), but the resort’s ethos remains the same: transform and enrich lives via holistic wellness and life patterns.
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Beyond the feel-good massages and physical activity, where Chiva-Som stands out is its complete and total dedication to ensuring each guest leaves feeling better than when they arrived. This is done via a multi-prong approach. It may be as simple as an invitation to feed the ornamental nishikigoi (there are hundreds upon hundreds of colourful carp, the traditional Asian symbol of good luck and fortune, teeming in the on-site lake) after checking in to adhering to the resort’s no-device rule in most areas, partly due to privacy issues (Chiva-Som is a magnet for the rich and famous) as much as the increasingly pertinent need to digitally detox ourselves from time to time. There is a secondary motive for asking guests to feed the koi, subtly referencing a famous legend on how the gods changed them from mere fish into dragons after being impressed by their tenacity in tirelessly swimming upstream. This perhaps signals the mental planting of a seed as the ace team of on-site experts and consultants begin their gentle guidance, helping everyone who walks through their doors take the steps — both big and small — on a total transformative journey.
There are no room-only stays here, but retreats — which makes sense as there is no point in exercising the body, rubbing it down with healing, aromatic elixirs and rebalancing the mind via meditation only to head to a noisy, smoky restaurant after to order pizza and a cold beer. All retreats are based on six key wellness modalities: Spa, Holistic Health, Fitness, Physiotherapy, Aesthetic Beauty and Nutrition. Every night of your stay here is a full Chiva-Som experience, encompassing everything that only promises betterment for body, mind and soul, and tailor-made to your specific needs or current goals. And lest you fantasise staying at a wellness retreat is all about being pampered by massages and sipping on a freshly split coconut at the poolside, think again. Your daily schedule can be so chock-a-block (in a good way) that come night-time, you would be hard-pressed to enjoy a better night’s sleep.
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The award-winning property also offers some of the most extensive wellness facilities in the world. You could spend days just whiling time away languorously in the multi-storey Health and Wellness Centre, with its maze of treatment rooms and core of bathing pools ringed by daybeds. Retreats also come with a full range of inclusive treatments and activities, many of which sound so inviting you would not mind waking up that extra hour earlier just to squeeze them in. You could try morning yoga held al fresco in a beautiful Thai sala, specific exercise classes that target problematic zones such as the arms or tummy (banish batwings or muffin tops forever, anyone?), unlimited use of the amenities, namely the beautiful seafront swimming pool, state-of-the-art gym, cold plunge pools, infrared sauna and steam room, and much, much more — all set within seven acres of stunning landscaped gardens. Those with unbridled energy can jump from class to class, including high-energy boot camps, HIIT and TRX, while those with kinks to fix or niggling injuries to treat may seek solace and rehabilitation in the nonpareil physiotherapy facilities, complete with refunctional Neurac and Isokinetic studios.
Food-obsessed Malaysians can exhale by taking comfort in the fact that Chiva-Som is not a sadistic fat farm whose sole goal is to starve or deprive. Everything served is delicious and made with care and mindfulness, while striving to attain the perfect balance between high flavour with maximum nutrition value and low calorie count. Sounds too good to be true? A personal experience will assuredly prove us right. Unless a guest has insisted on strict rules or booked a specific dietary plan like, say, for curative gut health, you will find meal times as filling as they are fulfilling.
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There is always a buffet of fruit, nuts and salad at the Gulf of Thailand-facing Taste of Siam restaurant, but nothing is ever ho-hum. Even the simplest cucumber salad is enriched with, say, probiotic qualities and capped at just 40kcals a serving. Feel free to gorge on a main course of seared spiced duck with mashed chestnuts and orange gravy for under 200kcals. No one is limited to a basic appetiser, entrée and dessert either. Those addicted to hotpot can also rest easy, knowing that Chiva-Som’s version will be infinitely kinder to the waistline. The gorgeous Emerald Room offers Siamese-style steamboat for dinner but with a light and healthy twist, using pure coconut water as a soup base and served only with the freshest vegetables from the hotel’s own organic gardens, accompanied by carefully selected premium proteins.
Generally, you are free to enjoy as many portions as you like (within reason, of course) and — joy of joys — a drink (by which we mean an alcoholic one) is also permissible with dinner, with a most acceptable list that ranges from Bordeaux bigwigs such as Chateaux Ausone, Lafite and Mouton-Rothschild to sparkling beauties like Dom Pérignon, Louis Roederer and Delamotte. Even coffee and tea are allowed, with the assurance that beans and tea leaves are ethically farmed, fairly traded and of the highest organic quality.
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Although lively Hua Hin offers much to tempt the traveller, most Chiva-Som guests never even dream of leaving the sanctuary of the resort. For those who cannot resist a bit of culture, there is the nearby Klai Kangwon Palace, which dates back to the 1920s when King Prajadhipok (Rama VII), son to the legendary Chulalongkorn and the last absolute King of Siam, commissioned its design and construction by the chief of Silpakorn Sathan, the government agency responsible for Thai arts and culture. The revered King Bhumibol, in particular, became exceedingly fond of the palace built by his uncle and used it as his primary summer royal residence. Interestingly, Klai Kangwon means “far from worry”. And although a night at the palace is but an impossible dream, you can distance yourself equally from stress, anxiety and worry by ensconcing yourself in the sanctuary that is Chiva-Som.
Despite the plethora of plus points, there is, as with all things in life, a fly in this proverbial ointment — accessibility. AirAsia used to operate a direct flight to Hua Hin, which the pandemic, sadly, put paid to. So, unless you have access to a private jet, a three-hour trudge by road from Bangkok is still worth your while for a stay that, for want of a better phrase, adds infinite quality to your life.
This article first appeared on Apr 14, 2025 in The Edge Malaysia.
