Absolute Sanctuary Koh Samui: Pressing the reset button

Looking for a detox retreat in Thailand? We have become kind of experts in the field and will tell you about Absolute Koh Samui. We live in an ultra-fast paced world where so many of us stop after look after ourselves. Thuymi and I are also very guilty of this. As we travel so much, our nutrition, sleep and exercise are completely out of normal routine. We needed to go somewhere where we can reset our bodies and our minds, to help us get back to square one and be ready for the next 6 months of full-on work and travel. Absolute Sanctuary provided us with the greatest way to allow us to focus on our health and wellbeing. As you enter the grounds of Absolute, you are welcome with Moroccan influenced hotel rooms cascading around the infinity lap pool, the heartbeat of the resort. The first set of colourful stairs you take lead you to the welcoming smiling staff who awaits you to take you to your very own villa after check-in.

How it works at Absolute Sanctuary

People come to Absolute Sanctuary to get healthy again or reset completely. There are several options they offer for you to do this. You can stay there just like a normal hotel visit and then pick and choose what you want, the activities to do all at your own speed and convenience. However, we felt the best way to get the fastest and most effective results was by going on one of their Wellness programs. The programs are incredibly comprehensive as the schedule is made for your day full of health-related activities such as Yoga, Pilates, Gym sessions, massages, nutrition and stress consultations. And we haven’t even begun to tell you about the food and drinks program! The team is very hands on and always there to make changes on the schedules to fit everyone perfectly and avoid double bookings. There were a few times our schedules have changed but it was never an inconvenience.

Where is Absolute Sanctuary located

Absolute Sanctuary is located on the magical island of Koh Samui, a one-hour plane ride from Thailand’s sprawling and chaotic capital city, Bangkok. Once you leave the airport (which requires 200m walking FYI…) you will be greeted by Absolute Sanctuary’s very own driver, ready to come and collect you back home. If you have not arranged a driver, the accommodation is only 15 minutes short taxi away and very well-known by all the drivers. Absolute is in the north part of the island, so there is plenty to do around the area, as it is quite touristy there.

How to get around Absolute Sanctuary

When here at Absolute, everything is on site is a 1-minute walk. There is one restaurant which cooks a whole variety of food and the pool bar is the home of all drinks, from detox shots, coconuts and healthy juices. The gym and pilates room are next to the pool and on the parallel side, all the health-related activities are ready to use. There are some shuttles to go see the main street, markets and temples if you want to do some sightseeing.

Dining at Absolute Sanctuary

With the program we were on, we were extremely limited with our food choices, but of course, this was all to our benefit. We were on the Detox menu for 5 days. This is not the place if you want buffets, steaks and heavy unhealthy food. Every day, our program consisted of two detox juices (we could choose from a menu of 12 different drinks), Good Green Shots which get out all the body toxins and a coconut. For the actual food, you can have 2 meals a day at the restaurant from a specially designed menu to assist you with your detoxing goals. These meals are light but extremely healthy and clean, allowing you to help lose weight and become more mentally alert.

Absolute Sanctuary Facilities

Absolute Sanctuary has everything you need to help you with your physical and mental health journey. The staff is extremely supportive of the changes you are going through and do everything they can to make you feel as comfortable as possible. The Wellness centre is your one-stop shop to design your schedule and book appointments. We highly recommend the coaching sessions that are provided, make sure to book what suits you.

There is everything you need here to help you with your health goals. There is a fitness room, reformers Pilates classes, yoga classes, morning walks, a lap pool, massage rooms and a pool bar to keep you occupied.

Rooms at Absolute Sanctuary

Our room is large enough for 2 people to spread out all their things and be comfortable. The bed is very comfortable and exactly what we needed as we were going through lots of changes with our body. It is a standard room and includes air conditioning, a fridge and all other basic essentials you would come to expect.

We think that the bathroom is the best feature here. In that Moroccan style we mentioned before, the room has a huge bathtub that fits two, magnesium salts and natural soaps for you to use.

Sustainability at Absolute Sanctuary

We were very impressed with how environmentally conscious the property was. All the bottles around the resort are glass and there are not any plastics used anywhere around. Even the straws are from non-plastic materials. The soaps and oils used are all environmentally friendly. We are really liking this trend of resorts making large efforts to go more and more biodegradable and environmentally conscious with products used. Straws are not plastic for everyone to use. It was the little things that impressed us in terms of sustainability.

Our Absolute Sanctuary experience

There are several things that I feel you must do as an adult. Looking after your physical and emotional health is something that we regularly neglect so having a 5-day block where we can do this is very refreshing.

We thought that the program was full on but we also agreed that it was a good thing. You are on a strict schedule because it is YOUR HEALTH. You have made the choice to come here so they want you to get the absolute most out of your experience.

So here are the programs that we were both on and what they exactly entailed:

We will be posting a day by day experience blog about our journey. For now, hopefully, this review is comprehensive enough for you to decide whether it is made for you or not.