Eight Roads to Wellness: Detoxing at Amatara, Phuket
2018 was quite the year for me. From October to December, I was working really hard on setting up and getting the Eight Roads Travel Co. ready for launch. On January 1st, I pressed the button and made my new website, and all of my attendant travel dreams and ambitions, live. It was a scary but super exciting moment for me in my professional career to date.
So when my partner Seb mentioned his long-held desire to “do a detox”, something in my mind clicked, and the idea became more and more appealing as we mulled it over.
We were both on the start of a new health and wellness journey, having found a brilliant personal trainer, and we were really working hard to improve our diets and levels of fitness. I’d launched my new travel business, and it really felt like a fresh start for us both as we moved into 2019. So what better way to begin the new year then than with a full wellness and detoxification journey at one of the best wellness resorts in Asia; Amatara, on Phuket, Thailand? As a newly launched travel company, I also saw this as a real opportunity to fully embrace a true wellness holiday and journey, so that I can talk about it with real authority to my clients.
The term “wellness travel” is synonymous now with these types of properties and experiences, and it is a rapidly growing area within the luxury travel world. More and more of us are feeling burnt out and in need of a reset and a reboot, and these types of hotels and resorts offer just that, and offer it brilliantly. This was the perfect chance for me to personally experience this type of holiday first hand.
The beautiful, beachfront idyll that is Amatara. Formerly the Regent Phuket, located in the peaceful south of the island.
Now, like most of you perhaps, I had certain notions in mind when I thought about the term “detox”. Unappealing drinks I’d have to swill, headaches for days, hideous hunger pangs, bland food, sleep deprivation. Would I want to tear my hair out from boredom? Would Seb and I kill one another in a fit of starvation induced rage? Would I feel exhausted the whole time? There were definitely quite a few doubts and worries running through my mind as we started to plan the trip
Let me put all of these fears immediately to rest straight away. None of these things were true, or happened. The experience that I had with Amatara was nothing short of brilliant. Transformational, inspiring, energising. Let me tell you all about it. First however, let’s take a closer look at exactly what this stunning island property has to offer…
Our detox journey with Amatara
The wellness journey with Amatara started in a freezing cold December, back in the UK. Quite a world away from the balmy Thai days that beckoned over in Phuket! After having arranged and confirmed the trip with Adrian Croft, the UK sales representative for the property, and lovely Khun Wipa, the General Manager of the property, preparations for our 7 night detox began in earnest.
The whole process from start to finish with Amatara was flawlessly choreographed and managed. First, Seb and I completed detailed and lengthy wellness consultation forms, and presented these to Phoebe, the Wellness Director at Amatara. She then digested all of the information that we’d presented in those, and shared her thoughts and recommendations with her team on property. Those reports formed and shaped our experience, so it is always important to be honest and truthful on them. You get such a better experience that way. I told Phoebe for example about having lost my Dad to bowel cancer a few years before, and about my struggles with asthma and the recent bout of headaches I’d been getting. Seb did likewise, with his personal experiences.
Arriving to Thailand and beginning our wellness programme
After a long flight over to Phuket, we arrived just after breakfast. We were greeted immediately by a lovely guide and driver, who whisked us off quickly to the resort in a comfortable transfer complete with cold towels and beetroot smoothies - the detox had officially begun!
Amatara is located right in the south of Phuket, at Cape Panwa. The property was formerly the Regent Phuket Cape Panwa, before being bought out by its current owners a few years back. It is a stunning site, and as you drive towards the hotel, you see that it is positioned on the crest of the cape, and then tumbles down the hill to the sea, and the peaceful little cove below. This is authentic Thailand; there are no bars or neon here, just swaying palms and a calm, jade green sea lapping at the shore. It’s definitely blissful and relaxing.
We were met by the wonderful Eddy (the Assistant Manager) and Khun Fin, who sorted all of our check in out with ease. The lobby gives you a feel for what’s to come, all bright and breezy, with the pool and sea distracting you in the distance. Before long we were escorted the short distance to our home for the next week. We were staying in a beautiful Bay Suite (158 to be precise), which we both immediately fell in love with. It was such a lovely bright room, with windows all along, a pretty little balcony facing the sea and sunset, and a fabulous big soaking tub and rain shower. We could tell straight away that we were going to be very happy here!
During my stay at Amatara, I did have a proper look around the various room categories, and my personal preference was definitely for the Pool Villas with Ocean View (villas 31 - 29). These were all gorgeous and totally private and not overlooked, with small but really nice plunge pools overlooking the cove and beach below. In my experience, during your detox you will often want to return to your villa and just relax and be quiet, and these rooms offer the best possible way to do that. The main pool at Amatara was often busy, and whilst the pool at The Retreat was generally often nice and quiet, for me nothing beats the privacy of your own room.
One of the Pool Villas with Ocean View
The inside of one of the Pool Villas
After having settled into our room, the first thing that we did was head the short distance to the huge Spa building at the heart of the resort. This is another benefit of the Bay Suites - a lot of these are close by to the spa, so it’s easy to get there when sometimes your energy is a little depleted!
Upon arrival at the Spa, we were met by Phoebe, the Wellness Director, and also the lovely Chelsea, who is the Naturopathic Wellness Consultant. The welcome was so warm and friendly from both ladies, and all of the girls in the reception were so smiley and sweet. It was the perfect way to start.
Both Seb and I were then taken off to each have our independent 2 hour wellness, physical analysis (nothing invasive or too rigourous!) and naturopathic consultations, before our detox programme properly commenced.
The whole process with Amatara for our detox programme was brilliantly arranged and choreographed. I really liked the way in which the resort took total control and mapped everything out for us, as you can see from my itinerary below! (forgive my hand scribbles!)
As you can see from the above schedule, everything above is included within your 7 night detox. The price therefore of the package that I arranged for us, and of those I would arrange for my clients, is exceptional value for money. It really does include so much. Of course, if there are additional treatments that you’d like to have, then these are chargeable, but in reality when you have an itinerary like this above, what more would you want to do?!
There are, in addition to what’s mapped out for you, a wealth of other wonderful activities. These include meditation, time with visiting practitioners, every spa treatment you can possibly imagine, and external activities such as boat trips and island explorations. You will definitely never be bored here!
The only element where we did have to make a choice from the start was regarding our food & drink package. Amatara offers 3 options for those on the detox programme; a full juice diet, a soup diet, or a combination diet called the Nutri Cleanse (which is juices + salads + soups). We plumped for 3 nights of juicing, followed by 4 nights of the Nutri Cleanse programme (as you can see below), which, upon discussion with Phoebe and Chelsea, was felt to be the right fit for us both.
In hindsight, I wish that we’d actually gone for the full 7 night juice plan. Not only were the elixirs, shots, juices, shakes and smoothies provided delicious and filling, but I really liked the way that this option really does strip things back and simplify. You know that 3 times a day you’ll get a juice, and that’s it, as well as some tasty additional shots and waters.
Let the detox begin…
After having decided upon our plans with the team at the Spa, our 7 night detox programme officially commenced!
Throughout the whole process, we both felt completely supported. Either Phoebe or Chelsea, or one of the spa ladies, were always there for a chat, or a word, or some excellent advice.
For example, by day 4, both of us felt slightly lethargic and sluggish, and we were struggling to get our energy levels back. Most clients on a detox will experience this slump during the process; it’s the body’s final last way of capitulating before you enter full on ketosis (where you really start to flush the fats and toxins). Chelsea noted this and immediately arranged for the kitchen to add some extra proteins into our smoothies, soups and salads, to help pick us up. This worked like a charm for us both. By day 5, we really started to notice the difference and were feeling better than ever.
The detox was, as I alluded to above, actually nowhere near as scary as I thought it was going to be. I only had one headache at the start (apparently these can be worse if you are a coffee / tea drinker, which I’m not), and I never felt short-tempered or stressed. I think that was down in large part to Amatara, who really are professionals at this, and the continual support that they offer with any questions or uncertainty is superb.
All of the people that you meet during the week, from the amazing Khun Aor, who arranges all of your colonics, to the spa ladies (special mention to Khun Kook - we loved her!), to the management team, are super lovely and helpful. If something isn’t feeling right, or you think you’d like to change something, it’s done with no fuss or drama.
We did start out saying we’d do yoga every day but truth be told, we did find it slightly hard to muster the energy and concentration. Maybe it’s easier for some, but for us we just really enjoyed being calm and quiet, lazing by the pools and reading our books. We used the gym a couple of times (open 24 hours) and the amazing infra-red sauna, which we loved.
The one major thing that we experienced that we totally did not expect was the complete lack of hunger. We honestly thought that we’d be ravenous by day 2, and positively rabid by the end. In actual fact, by the end of day 2 hunger had waved its goodbyes to us, leaving us in a really welcome calm space, with flat(ter) tummies (!) and zen minds. When combined with the colonics (which take place on days 2, 3 and 4), you feel so refreshed and focused. It was really quite a shock to experience that. Upon discussion with Chelsea, we learned that fasting is actually a very healthy thing for our bodies, and that we can easily go for days and weeks even without food, without much detriment. This really is a reboot.
I can’t fib and say it’s all easy. We both experienced changes in our sleep patterns, and I’d say that was the biggest impact during our stay. I woke up hungry on days 1 and 2. After that, I started waking at 4am. Maybe it was a combination of jet lag, I’m not sure, but it took me a good few days to acclimatise in my post-detox world. Sometimes the daily shakes and supplement drinks (especially the spirulina and wheatgrass drinks) do get challenging, but it’s bearable as you know how much good they are doing for you.
Your meals, when you are on the soup or Nutri-Cleanse programmes, are taken down at the Retreat. This space is reserved only for guests on wellness programmes, or staying in the bigger villas. It’s a real little sanctuary, complete with a gorgeous infinity pool overlooking the bay, and rooms where you can just chill out and read and relax. We spent alot of time there and really enjoyed it. We did go to the main pool a few times (pictured below), which was lovely, but guests there are not always on a detox for example, and it can get busy, so we preferred the Retreat or our own Suite.
The Retreat
The main pool area
Snacks and juices are otherwise provided for you either at the Spa, or by hand delivery to your Suite or Villa. It’s so easy, and the team always turned up with a smile.
Each day, you are provided with a little purse with all of your tablets, supplements, pro and pre-biotics, special teas and tinctures to take, in the privacy of your Suite. It’s all scheduled and clear, and whilst you do sometimes feel like you rattle with all of the tablets you’ve taken, you know they are all really good for you!
The brave new post-detox world
It’s now two weeks on from our detox with Amatara. How did we do?
Well. We both lost nearly 7kgs each. A phenomenal drop, which surprised us both. Sure, some of that will be water, but as Chelsea said to us at the resort, there will be a good few kilograms of fat also gone there too. We learnt a huge amount about nutrition, diets and what we should and should not be eating. Our stomachs definitely feel flatter and firmer, and our bodies more toned, lean and healthy. My skin feels clearer than it has done for a long time, and I am sleeping more soundly than ever.
A detox does leave you feeling different. I understand that now. Refreshed, changed, rebalanced. We have both changed our feelings to certain foods, and our appetites have definitely dropped. We don’t feel hungry in the same way that we did before (which makes a pleasant change!). I have cut out red meat, gluten and dairy, and am feeling so much better for that. I learnt that doing this could really lower my risk of bowel cancer (when combined with annual colonics), and my asthma has pretty much cleared entirely. The latter is down largely due as well to having stopped smoking in December 2018, but still, the complete lack of wheeziness is such a welcome change, and long may it continue.
We do both now, a couple of weeks on, feel rejuvenated. It makes you see things differently a detox. It’s pressing the reset button in every sense of the word. It does take patience and dedication, but it is worth it. I am so glad that we did ours with Amatara. It was like staying with friends, and being cared for for a week. I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. The team across the entire property were just so lovely and kind, and that is the best thing of all really.
If you are considering a wellness journey, a detox or any type of wellness holiday (for stress management, weight loss or a cleanse) then do get in touch with me. I would love to help. At Amatara particularly, I can obtain extra special rates, discounts and benefits for you with my friends and colleagues at this superb wellness resort.