Chiva-Som: The perfect weight-loss retreat in Thailand

Healing Holidays Sales Director, Chris Wain, visits one of, if not the, best Spas in the world - Chiva-Som. With an extensive list of activities, treatments, and three delicious meals a day, you can find your time quickly disappearing. Here is what Chris had to say about Chiva Som.

Beyond paying to have a massage or a treatment a couple of times a day, people often wonder what there actually is to do whilst staying at a Wellness Retreat or Spa. At most properties sunbathing, attending the occasional class, taking a leisurely dip in the pool or visiting the gym would be the answers, but not at Chiva Som, the original and, still the best, Health Resort.

Chiva Som leads where others sometimes struggle to follow and offer a comprehensive and exhausting (literally) programme of daily activities, the majority of which are free for guests to join. The day starts at 07h00 with a calming class of Tai Chi or an intensive Boot Camp work out before a more relaxing session of Meditation or Yoga (or breakfast) follows. The ever-popular daily Stretch Class at 09h00 is next, perfect for limbering up for the day ahead, and this is followed by an active hour, whether it be Fitball & Free Weight, Pilates or Balancing Ball.

Aqua Aerobics, (with noodle or hand buoys), is always at 11h00 with Zumba, Cardio Kick, or Aerobics then squeezed in before lunch.

"It is easy to lose weight at Chiva Som whilst still enjoying super delicious food"

Downtime, if there is such a thing at Chiva Som, then lasts until 15h00 after which the afternoon classes come thick and fast – everything from Thai Boxing and Toning Ball to Gyrokinesis & Free-form Power Balance – before the last action of the day is normally another bout of Stretching or an Abs Express workout.

Dinner is low key, with the day rounded off with an interesting talk or the weekly movie night. In addition to this smorgasbord of free activities, Chiva Som also offers a number of classes at which they levy a small charge – examples being the Art of Detox cooking and Group Pilates on the Reformer.

The only stressful part of a stay here is deciding which classes to attend, and how to plan your day so that you have time to take in your three delicious meals and any treatments which you may have booked. If the phrase, not enough hours in the day, was created for anywhere, it was created for Chiva Som. Finding the time to sunbathe or take a dip in the pool would be a luxury. However, it is worth stressing of course that nothing is compulsory, so should you be looking for a more relaxed and calming stay, with nothing more energetic than a programme of nurturing massages and treatments, then Chiva Som still remains one of the best in the business.

A final shout should also go out to the incredible food on offer. It is easy to lose weight at Chiva Som whilst still enjoying super delicious food. A typical meal may consist of pomelo salad dressed with soy and lime juice with a scattering of toasted nuts to start, miso-crusted cod on a bed of vegetable spaghetti for main, and a desert of Moorish coconut sorbet with pistachio sprinklings to finish. And of course, if you want wine, you can have a glass from the organic cellar.

The Bottom Line

Shuttling around the resort between classes, treatments or meals, guests at Chiva Som have the feeling of belonging to an exclusive private members club, but this is one club where anyone is free to join.