Banyan Tree Samui

This Small Thai Island Is a Global Wellness Destination

"A peninsula resort composed of 88 villas whose spa offerings include the 150-minute Sukhothai Heritage experience — a stretch-focused Thai massage, coconut facial, and an invigorating brown-rice-and-barley scrub during which the therapist drenched the guest’s limbs in so much honey that it “felt like she was making baklava.” The spa’s elaborate hydrotherapy circuit, called the Rainforest, begins with the Rainwalk, a curving stone-and-bamboo passage that simulates a monsoon with a whoosh—rendered in the narrative as “whooshissssss”—and culminates in a 66-foot long “vitality pool,” glowing winter-blue “like an Icelandic lagoon,” a feature the author felt compelled to photograph. Accommodations include eight Wellbeing Sanctuary villas stocked with yoga mats and resistance bands tucked under the TVs; service details include housekeeping turning nightstands into altars to sleep with sandalwood incense, an essential-oil burner radiating eucalyptus, and a “somnific hymn” playing from a speaker. Dining highlight referenced: Saffron restaurant’s “punchy pomelo-and-crab salad” and “soulful massaman curry.”" - Adam Erace Adam Erace Adam Erace is an award-winning food and travel writer, restaurant critic, and cookbook author. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife and three maniacal rescue dogs. His favorite country is Mexico and his favorite airline is whichever offers an upgrade. Travel + Leisure Editorial Guidelines