A massage to restore balance among the elements. A herbal sauna to cleanse and rejuvenate the body. A herbal pack to calm nerves and redirect the energy. All this may sound very New Agey in the West, but it has been part of daily life here for centuries.
Traditional Thai massage is a proven physical therapy that dates back to ancient India sometime before the lifetime of Buddha. It has been practiced here for centuries, and many swear by it as effective cure for common ailments such as aches and pains, fevers and nervous strains.
Most hotels rated three stars and above offer traditional massage as part of their health and fitness services. All the spa resorts include it in their therapy programs. Despite common misconceptions, clothes stay on the whole time.
Tourist may also try this ancient therapy in its original form at the Temple of the Reclining Buddha (Wat Pho).
Thai-Style Herbal Therapies
Herbs have dominated Thai women’s beauty and skincare regimens. Sour tamarind worked wonders as a body scrub, for example, while crushed turmeric would be rubbed onto the skin to keep it soft and smooth. With the recent revival in holistic therapies, indigenous herbs are being discovered anew for their health and beauty benefits.
Discover Thai-style herbal experience at the following facilities:
- The Regent Resort Mae Rim
Old Mae Rim-Samoeng Road, Amphoe Maerim, Chiang Mai
This luxury resort in Chiang Mai’s Mae Rim Valley deftly blends Thai cultural heritage and hospitality with the modern luxury and comfor. Its spa would fulfill any and all herbal therapy needs. In addition to the steam room and massage facilities, you can enjoy herbal facials and body scrubs, herbal foot massages, aromatherapy using essential oils from local as well as exotic plants, and Thai and oriental massages.
- Tamarind Springs
Lamai Beach, Koh Samui
This wonderful new herbal-steam facility is very Thai in its construction. Its unique steam room is built between two huge boulders surrounded by coconut palms and leafy trees. Its roster of herbal treatments include facials, massage (full body, shoulder, or back), and traditional Thai massage.
Modern Spa Experience
Spa treatments are now such a rage that it’s easy to forget that as recently as six years ago there was no spa facility here. Soon after the opening of Banyan Tree Spa Phuket in 1993, Thailand started to gain a reputation as a new spa destination. The country now has five spas that are attracting new groups of visitors, some of whom planning their trips as pure spa vacation. All five spas have integrated traditional healing into their programs.
- Chiva-Som International Health Resort, Hua Hin
This exclusive beachside health resort, whose name aptly translates as “Heaven of Life” offers a complete spa experience. Guests receive a private consultation on arrival, before starting on their treatments and activities. Its treatment range is certainly one of the most extensive anywhere: face and body massages, scrubs and wraps, electrical face and body toning and reshaping, aromatherapy and reflexology.
Its state-of-the-art hydrotherapy suite features computerized massage baths, a jet shower room and a flotation chamber. For fitness buffs there’s a fully-equipped gym. You can also opt for an aerobic class, power-walking along the beach, yoga, Tai Chi or any exercise your heart–and your body–desire.
Chiva-Som’s packages, ranging from three to eight days, include spa meals planned by its staff doctors and dietitians. The resort provides complimentary transfers to and from hotels in Hua Hin area for guests not staying on the compounds. No guests under 16 are allowed at the resort.
Accommodation details / Online booking
- Banyan Tree Spa Phuket
The first luxury, non-clinical garden spa in Southeast Asia, the Banyan Tree Spa attracts spa aficionados from Asia and all over the world with its quality service and wonderful setting on one of the most beautiful corners of Phuket.
It offers extensive therapy and treatment programs, most of them unique to the Banyan Tree brand. Its talented team of specialist created a line of aromatherapy essential oils from local plants and herbs, and these are now used at all Banyan Tree spas—in Indonesia, the Maldives and Bangkok. Its spa cuisine is also very innovative and should banish the notion of “fat farms” from spa land forever.
Accommodation details / Online booking
- Banyan Tree Spa Bangkok
Thai Wah Building, 51th-54th Floors, South Sathorn Road, Bangkok Like its sister on the island of Phuket, this Bangkok spa offers the ultimate pampering experience that promises a fitter, better-toned body and rejuvenated mind. Located in a skyscraper in the business district, this garden spa has treatment rooms with panoramic views of the city. Spa services include a long list of massages—Swedish, Lomi Lomi, Thai, Indonesian, Asian Blend, Sports, and Tension Release, among others— as well as facials, body rubs and wraps, and heat treatments.
Many of these incorporate herbs and plant extracts used in Thai traditional medicine for centuries. Beauty and hair care is also available. The spa is part of the Westin Banyan Tree, and you can arrange a stay in the hotel if you don’t want to travel in Bangkok traffic.
Accommodation details / Online booking
- The Oriental Spa Thai Health and Beauty Center
Billed as a “temple of wellbeing,” the Oriental Spa Thai Health and Beauty Center offers half-day and full-day programs as well as three-day retreats. The Center, located across the river from the hotel proper, offers a combination of Thai herbal treatments, European traditions and American innovations.
Its spa therapies and treatments include body polish, herbal wraps, jet lag and sunburn treatments, body toning and contouring treatments, massages, and facials. For a complete spa experience, try the Spa Cuisine from the Oriental’s kitchen. This recent addition to The Oriental franchise is very popular and reservations should be made two weeks in advance.
Accommodation details / Online booking
- Grande Spa & Fitness Club, Bangkok
The Grande Spa and Fitness Club is a haven for total-body fitness and pampering in downtown Bangkok. Its spa treatments include Thai, Swedish and aromatherapy masages, reflex-zone foot massage, facials and body wraps and water thalassotherapy.
Its face- and body-toning treatments employ state-of-the-art non-surgical cosmetology equipment using microcurrents similar to those used by physiotherapists. Steam, sauna and fitness facilities are all housed on the third floor of the Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit. Reservations for spa treatments are highly recommended