A cave and a calling at Kamalaya Wellness Retreat in tropical Koh Samui

Kamalaya's story begins with a cave and culminated, at least for me, in a life-altering experience.

Nestled into the hillsides of southern Koh Samui and overlooking the serene Gulf of Thailand, Kamalaya wellness retreat was founded in 2005 around the Arjan cave, a centuries-old natural cavern revered by Buddhist monks as a place of meditation and spiritual retreat, named after the sage Arjan Daeng.

Using a place of spirituality and enlightenment as the foundation on which to build a sanctuary that focuses on holistic wellness, Kamalaya is a must-visit for anyone on a journey of wellness and reflection – something that many of us are thinking about at this time of year, when a new year dawns.

Admittedly, I didn't go to Kamalaya looking for a life-changing experience. As a wellness retreat newbie, my expectations were simply to experience an array of lush treatments in a tropical setting. And while I certainly achieved that, I came away having explored and nurtured my spiritual and emotional side just as much, if not more than the physical.

A sanctuary of tranquillity

Getting to Koh Samui involves a six-hour flight from Dubai to Bangkok, followed by a short flight of about an hour to the island, which is located in the Chumphon Archipelago. Checking in at Kamalaya, I'm told the retreat has pre-curated and tailor-made programmes available for guests with an aim of “helping people reconnect to life's potential and achieve optimal well-being.”

With 19 diverse programmes available, ranging from foundational optimal fitness and personalised yoga synergy to in-depth detox and sleep enhancement, there's a comprehensive spectrum of wellness on offer. These programmes encompass key areas such as healthy lifestyle, detox and reset, stress and burnout management, cultivating mind-body-spirit harmony and longevity and regeneration.

Given the island's tropical climate, many of the retreat's communal spaces are open to the warm breeze of the elements, including the yoga pavilions, restaurant, relaxation areas and some treatment rooms. The wellness centre, where most treatments and sessions take place, is the beating heart of the resort. This is where guests, armed with detailed itineraries, move seamlessly from reception to rooms with a concise efficiency.

Every aspect of Kamalaya is designed to enhance and encourage reflection and a peaceful mindset. While there is Wi-Fi in the rooms (although there's no televisions), the resort embraces several mobile phone-free zones, most notably in the restaurant, where notices on the tables request guests to refrain from texting, making calls, or even reading on their phones. At the start of the stay, guests are given notebooks and encouraged to note down thoughts and reflections during their stay, in place of mindless scrolling.

The crowd is mixed, with as many solo travellers as there were parties of two or more during my visit, making it the ideal destination for anyone travelling alone. In the restaurant, there's a communal table at which any guest can sit, and it was always full.

Guests following certain programmes will have bespoke menus, but for everyone else, the food on offer – buffet and a la carte for breakfast, a la carte for lunch and dinner – caters to a wide range of preferences, taking into account allergies and intolerances. With an ethos centred around low sugar, low salt, low fat, and low dairy, there are also gluten-free offerings, a vast selection of seeds, juices and shots spanning butterfly pea to turmeric, and every milk option you can think of – including sunflower seed, pumpkin seed, and goat.

Transformation through connection

Before arriving at Kamalaya, I'd made my mind up that I'd try the five-day Asian Bliss programme, which comprises a wealth of treatments aimed at cultivating a relaxed body and mind. This was to change, however, when I met with senior naturopath Kate Upton for my initial consultation. She suggested instead a programme called Embracing Change and Emotional Harmony, which pairs treatments with sessions with a wellness consultant, traditional Chinese medicine practitioner and life enhancement mentor.

As to my life-changing experience, it's not hyperbole on my part to say that I had no idea what to expect when I visited Kamalaya, but I came away feeling like I had been given exactly what I needed.

The programme I picked included treatments such as traditional Asian foot and Thai massages, Indian head massages and a traditional Chinese medicine session that included cupping. There was even the delightful Mindfulness in a Cup of Tea, an afternoon tea in the panoramic Alchemy Tea Lounge, during which I was invited to indulge in self-reflection along with mini sandwiches, cakes and treats.

But it was the trio of embracing change sessions with the mentor that I found particularly game-changing. If there is anything more liberating than travelling across the world to tell a complete stranger your innermost secrets, thoughts, desires and wishes, I would like to know about it. From the three sessions I attended, I managed to not only unlock, but also visualise an array of ideas and ambitions that I have long been wanting to accomplish, but didn't quite know where to begin.

Rather fortuitously, Kamalaya was the place that gave me my starting point.