Kamalaya spoilt me for life. Best place I ever went in my life. Truly wonderful and kind staff. Gorgeous surroundings. Lovely guests. Great massages. Wonderful yoga in beautiful outside setting. Amazing life coaches. And extraorinary food. It just does not get any better.
I will most definitely go back.
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After contemplating much I decided to spend 5 days here and wow. It was amazing. A true wellness place with excellent food.
This place offers good classes, top notch healthy food and a quiet relaxing atmosphere.
No partying or loud things. Just tranquility.
For travelers looking to get away, get inspired, read, maybe write, exercise, and get some fantastic pampering, this is the place.
I have just enjoyed the 7 Day Asian Bliss program with my partner, a "yogamoon" of sorts. Kamalaya founders Karina Stewart & John Stewart are true visionaries to create a private paradise compound for wellness, rest, reflection and retreat from the ipad, noisy, rush rush madness of modern life. Rooms are super luxe and private - exquisite stone, perfect sea and garden vistas, teas, fruits and divans are made for deep sleep and rest. Food is served in two beautiful settings, a pool side cafe and a more dramatic restaurant that overlooks the beautiful compound and coastline. Tood is a la carte for lunch and dinner (it's not boarding school!) and mindboggling good. Their "detox" menu is so delicious, you won't believe the broths, salads, juicy fish mains and desserts can possibly be "detoxy" but they are. The scales will tell you so at the end of the week. Vegetarians will think they have found nirvana with exotic salads, mung bean pastas and every kind of smoothie, wheatgrass shot and activated seed you can imagine but there is also high quality seafood/meat options for those inclined. We chose organic wine with some meals without being treated like heretics! The wellness retreat is the best I've encountered with a roster of talented therapists and a range of "special guest" therapists that specialise in everything from Deep Tissue and Feldenkrais through to Reiki, Bach Flowers and Chinese Medicine. Special mention to the Chi Nei Tsang stomach massage; epic Thai massages and signature hand massages that will made you feel brand new. Add to that are steam rooms, meditation caves, two expansive swimming pools, a private beach, state-of-the-art gym and trainers who work with world champions and you are starting to get the picture. Everywhere you venture are gorgeous little retreat nooks, with divans, chairs, views and little icy jugs of ginger or mulberry teas. (And the whole place runs on strict Swiss standards of hygeine!)
Come here to do as little or as much as you like. Folks tend to embrace the programs and upsize as they go, adding fabulous extra treatments to their daily regimes that depend on the program they choose. Morning pranayama, chakra meditations, slow or vinyasa yogas; pilates, fitball, aqua robics, muay thai training, personal training/yoga tuition too. There are evening talks, classes, boat trips and temple tours if you like. Some just come here to rest - one recent guest stayed for four months I heard! The care and attention to detail, the shrines, the abundance of tropical foliage, the Hang drum player whose sounds waft up the beautiful steep hills down to the beach, it just goes on. The utterly gorgeous warm and friendly staff are the cornerstone of the place - many of whom have come here as guests and decided to be a part of the Kamalaya culture. My week was truly transformative, an utter joy and I cannot wait to return next year. I am staying at Koh Samui at another luxury resort for three more nights and I'm pining for the food and the Kamalaya magic! A truly wonderful place. Come alone or with someone you love and invest in wellness - health is wealth after all! I'm saving for next year.
We picked Kamalaya for a tranquil and yoga filled retreat in a five star resort. The place definitely fell short on its yoga / fitness offerings but delivered on facility / rooms. It also felt very commercial, e.g. extra small portion food to encourage purchase of meal plans rather than a la carte; you have to pay for internet but each extra device have to pay !
recommend this place to people who are looking to detox in a nice environment; yes, their menu is better than eating raw veggies for a week. If you are looking for a yoga retreat, stay at the Intercontinental or another five star hotel for better value and take yoga classes at a real yoga studio.
Rooms: we got a beach villa. The space was nice but the outdoor bathroom almost ruined the experience for us as we bot bitten by mosquitoes badly every time we use the bathroom. Definitely request a room with indoor bathroom. Hot water only runs 5-10min at a time which is disappointing for a hotel of this category. We reported the hot water issue to front desk and it was ignored.
Food: in general the food menu lacks variety. Breakfast was good, lunch and dinner are essentially the same menu. Most disappointing is the regular menu. Thai food tasted so bland and lacks local flavor. Portion size is tiny.
Yoga: not sure why this place was rated as one of Asia' best yoga retreat. They offer 1 yoga class a day and it's geared towards beginners. The teacher quality is so-so. I was very disappointed at yoga offering.
Service: staff seems robotic - a big smile but don't really seem to care about what they are doing. I definitely had better service in other Thai resorts.
other highlight: boat trip was fun. Nice boat, food and service.
Wellness center: therapist quality varies greatly and almost assembly line like. For the price they charge (USD$100+ on average) I definitely expected more.
I kept my expectations low as I didn't enjoy my last stay in another wellness resort but Kamalaya took me by surprise. For me the best was the lush tropical forest the Kamalaya was "embedded" in, on a Clift with great seaviews. Very tranquil and peaceful. Was there only 4 days but already I feel much calmer. The no WiFi was excellent for me and I was quite disgusted when I saw a guest using his handphone at the massage waiting area (he was prob not using WiFi for his calls!!!). Anyway, that bad experience aside, everything else was good. I preferred the Thai food on the normal menu, loved the juices, the treatments were competent and service was great. Overall an excellent experience and I will be going back!
I am not one of those people that gravitates to the concept of these kinds of resorts of wellness. I would never go if my wife had not pushed me to go and get my batteries recharged. She was so sure I would change my mind that she drove me to the airport to make sure. However I must say the week I had there was one of the best weeks of my life. Kamalaya is very well run, and that is very important in these kinds of resorts. My first room was very simple and in the end I changed rooms as the difference in price between room levels is not much. However the rooms were much different and twice the size at least, and in the new building versus the old.
The food is spectacular, I went on a one week package which I recommend, as you can eat as much as you want and the choice is huge.
As time passes you will notice things slowing down and a change in the way you approach the day. The choice of spa packages is great, as well as the extra activities you can participate in. You can do as much or as little as you want. I think overall there is very good value for dollar here, when you figure out the price on a daily basis, which includes the 17% tax. No TV's, no distractions, just relaxation. My big takeaway was learning how to meditate, which has helped me a lot.
My only complaint is the contruction next door, which is really annoying when you are lying there getting a massage and there is a lot of banging and noise. Get a sala that is indoors versus outside, you will have to walk up more stairs but it is worth it. Overall, a very good break and something I will do every year for a week.
