$$$ One Thousand Dollars Per Day $$$

One Thousand Dollars a day. One, zero, zero, zero, point zero, zero. What would your vacation look like if that’s how much you spent each day? Well that’s what the guests here on average spend in a day. So let me tell you what their day is like…

First of all, let me tell you that there are only 57 rooms in the 7 acres of the resort….which means the maximum amount of guests at any one time is 114. The spa has over 50 massage rooms with a smorgasbord of options of things to be done to your body. There are 2 fitness studios for all sorts of exercise classes. A gym with the standard equipment. The yoga pavilion. The Thai Chi pavilion. The outdoor private massage pavillions. The outdoor pool. The indoor pool/Jacuzzi/steam room/cold plunge. The physical therapy rooms. The ocean view restaurant. The poolside/beachside restaurant…..so with all of this decadence, you can imagine that wherever you are, you feel as if you have the place to yourself.

Coming here is not like coming to any other hotel in the world. First of all, there is a security guard at every entrance and only people staying at the resort are allowed on the property. No kids under 16 allowed. It would upset the calm and relaxing environment, of course. People don’t come here to see the surrounding town (most don’t even set foot on the beach). They don’t come here to see Thailand either (unless they do so before or after their stay). People come here, to be HERE, at the resort. These people get the most personalized treatment you could ever imagine. If your mattress is too hard, we’ll bring you a softer one. If you want a foam pillow instead of a feather one, we’ll bring you that too. If you have dry skin or hair, there will be bathroom products in your room for dry skin and dry hair, and the contrary if you have oily skin or hair. Guests are sent a preference form before their stay to mark all of these details so this is already in place upon arrival.

Upon arrival, they are set up to see me (or one of my 5 colleagues). I go over their health history, ask them about their diet, their bowel movements, the amount of alcohol and water they drink, their emotional health….Needless to say, many cultures that walk into my office are not used to such questions and gee, it seems that by their answers, they are the poster child of perfect health…with skyrocketing blood pressure and a clear regular overindulgence in food. On the other hand, some of them immediately open up and start spilling their life story to me, as if they’ve been dying to tell SOMEONE for years, and they are now overjoyed at the opportunity to have found a listening ear. My job is to find out what their goals are whilst at the resort…relaxation, weight loss, decrease blood pressure, reduce pain and stiffness…. And then direct them to the best use of their time during their stay. This is when I encourage them to come and see me so I can analyze their health from a naturopathic perspective and do what I love.

The shortest amount of time anyone can stay is 3 nights. Most stay 7 or 10 days. A few stay for a month or two. (Can you say “Uber rich?”…do the math!) My job is to direct them to have an appointment with me, to get acupuncture, see the personal trainers, have an appointment with the physical therapists… whatever I deem appropriate given their present health condition. Included in their stay is 3 mostly organic, super healthy meals, a daily massage (10 different types to choose from), and then the grouping of treatments that fall under whatever ‘retreat’ they signed up for….weight loss, fitness, detox, physical renewal… If they want to do anything outside of that, its time to dig deeper into the ole pockets…and of course all of these extras show up on their bill at the end of their stay.

Most choose to just wear their bathrobes all day, which is perfectly acceptable anytime and anywhere at the resort, except at dinner when the attire is stated as ‘elegantly casual.’ Of course, if becoming ‘elegantly casual’ after a day of fitness, holistic health treatments, massages and the like is just too much work, they are ‘free’ to have their meal delivered to their room. (Of course, it’s not really ‘free’ in the true sense of the word.)

The list of awards that this resort has won is endless… from the #1 Spa in Asia multiple years in a row, to countless other “Best of’s” and “Top Ten” lists. From a business perspective it’s a brilliant idea to build an elegant spa that caters to the Uber rich from all over the world, yet in a third world country….Charge obscene prices (that most guests probably don’t even look at because its like pocket change to them) and pay a third world wage. There are 400 employees and 99.9% of them are Thai. The owner is a wealthy Thai (an oxymoron to the majority in this country) businessman. The General manager is French. My boss is American, and there are 5 other of us Yankees (who are paid a wage that would probably seem like winning the lottery to our local counterparts). There are two naturopaths from Australia, the acupuncturist from New York, 2 guys from England and the other 388 are pretty much all Thai.

So there you have it. For $1000 a day, you could wear your bathrobe all day, get a daily massage, improve your heart health with a personal trainer for an hour, get stretched by someone else for an hour, fix your stiff back with the physical therapists, learn about your health from me (well actually, that’s extra $$), and eat three organic meals a day…all within the confines of this pristine little secret hideaway unbeknownst to all the passer-byers on the street and on the beach. But! if you sign up today! You could have all of this for the super low price of $999! Special price, just for you!