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It’s twilight when I arrive at RAKxa Integrative Wellness, a curiously-named health retreat found 45 minutes outside of Bangkok. The sky is streaked with painterly strokes of lilac and gold. It may be early evening in Thailand, but I’m wide awake due to the fact that it is six hours ahead of the UK. I’m here to try out a brand-new sleep programme, and I am wondering if flying half way around the world was the best idea to improve my sleep hygiene. Yet — just a few minutes in, following a ceremonial welcome of ringing singing-bowls echoing around me, RAKxa already feels like a peaceful antidote to modern life, instantly calming after the high-adrenalin arrival into Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport — the busiest airport in the world. It’s slow progress through the city’s heavy traffic, but eventually the glaring tail-lights are left behind and I arrive in Bang Krachao, a protected conservation island, known as the ‘green lung’ of Bangkok. Skyscrapers may pierce the skyline in the distance, but here, on the banks of the Chao Phraya river, where RAKxa is located, you can no longer hear car horns and the putter of tuk tuks. Instead, your soundtrack is the song of Olive-Backed Sunbirds and the fantastically-named Asian Fairy Bluebirds. It’s a slower rhythm of life that unfurls like a fern leaf around you. RAKxa’s name, it turns out, is a twist on the Sanskrit word ‘raksha’, meaning ‘prevent, care and cherish’. It is a nod to the fact that the award-winning clinic, voted Thailand’s Best Wellness Retreat at the World Spa Awards 2024, is known for its 360 degree approach to preventative care. On offer is a wide choice of wellness programmes to tackle a variety of health issues, from stress to weight management. At its heart is an East-meets-West concept of integrative medicine, with programmes encompassing both science-led wellness and age-old, traditional therapies. Following an in-depth questionnaire sent to you at home, an itinerary is drawn up for a five or seven-night stay, which each guest can make bespoke, by mix-matching a host of different treatments to suit their needs. Launching next month are four new offerings, looking at sleep optimisation, longevity, women's health and energy restoration. These have been introduced, Tal Friedman, director of Wellness Operations, tells me, in response to the changing wellness landscape. “In recent years, wellness has shifted from being something people sought out as a treatment, to becoming part of how they want to live day-to-day. Guests aren’t just coming for individual therapies anymore, they’re looking for environments that nurture the physical, emotional and mental. Our aim is for each guest to leave not only feeling rested, but also with practical knowledge and small changes they can carry into their own routines.” When it comes to my own sleep wellness, while I am not an insomniac, I find dozing off at night doesn’t come as easy any more — with fits of wakefulness disturbing my REM — so I’m looking forward to understanding more about how to improve things when back at home. But first, it’s time to check into my villa — a light-drenched home, which comes with its own pool and interiors that are inspired by traditional Thai design. Before long, I am picked up in a zippy golf buggy to go my first treatment, the Thai Deep Sleep Therapy. It takes place in the RAKxa Jai, one of three hubs that guests access for treatments. The rustic décor of antique medicine chests, cream linen sofas and large-scale wooden art pieces are the perfect backdrop to the holistic therapies, such as crystal healing and traditional Chinese acupuncture, that are its focus. The 90-minute experience focuses on age-old Thai massage techniques used on pressure points. The scent of an earthy CBD oil fills the air. Herbal compresses are also incorporated to release stress, while breathwork and vibrational healing, with singing bowls placed on and around me, act to induce a deeply calm state. I might have been buzzing from the long journey beforehand, but I’m more than ready for slumber afterwards. The next morning, it’s time for diagnostics, in the form of blood tests for body composition analysis and a metabolic age count. A doctor’s consultation later that day reveals the results and I’m pleased to discover that I have a high muscle mass and that I have scored six years younger than my actual age. I shall sleep happy tonight, I think. Days unfold slowly here. You can potter around the resort’s winding lanes, which are verdant with jacaranda trees, lofty palms and scented hibiscus, or whizz around the lake on your bike, watching out for the resident otters and monitor lizards. All meals are served at the property’s sole restaurant UNAM (although there are plans afoot to open a second, fine-dining outpost next year). Unlike many other health clinics, nourishing food here is a real focus, with wholesome, organic meals (all dairy-free and gluten-free) served for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Ingredients are sourced from RAKxa’s own farm as well as local, artisan suppliers. For breakfast, it’s a veritable feast, and you can order from a wide menu of dishes, such as omelettes, homemade yoghurt and granola and avocado on gluten-free sourdough, plus — essential for caffeine addicts — the only coffee of the day. Lunch is Thai-themed, with three courses including delicious som tum salads and red curries. Dinner, meanwhile, is Mediterranean in style. So you might enjoy a hearty cauliflower soup, prawn risotto and apple pastilla. At each meal, you are greeted with a chilled kombucha, served in a cocktail class (a neat trick you to lull you into almost thinking that it’s a Martini) and a warm herbal tea to round off the meal. As the days unfold, I bed in (pun intended) to the Sleep Programme. There’s an incredible Ayurvedic Shirodhara therapy, which sees warm oil poured continuously on my ‘third eye’ and sends me into an almost comatose state; and a nourishing Marma Healing session, an ancient massage practice which focuses on the stomach and helps with detoxification. Everything has been designed to recalibrate the body’s circadian rhythm to encourage restorative sleep. A highlight is the lymph drainage treatment by visiting practitioner Preeyanan Wongkrasant, which gets rid of leg puffiness and bloating from the long flight. She tells me how, by clearing toxins and stimulating the circulation, it calms the nervous system, allowing for deeper slumber. At the more cutting-edge end of the scale, I also tap into the science-led VitaLife clinic, the second of the clinic’s hub, which is operated in partnership with the Bumrungrad International Hospital. Here, I brave the cryotherapy tank, for a heart-thumping three minutes of -140° temperatures, freezing air billowing around me to the sounds of, somewhat surreally, Ariana Grande singing her heart out. At VitaLife, you can also access a whole collection of medical-style treatments, such as IV vitamin drips, infrared saunas and hyperbaric oxygen therapy, as well as aesthetics, such as Botox and fillers. I leave the latter well alone, given that the sub-zero temperature of cryo was more than enough to freeze a rictus smile across my face. Physical assessment and bespoke classes, such as yoga and Reformer Pilates, are also included in the sleep programme, and these take place at the third hub, the medical gym, RAKxa Gai. Every night, sleep comes quickly, aided no doubt by the fact that the rooms are doctor-designed with ergonomic beds, circadian-informed lighting and blackout curtains (and even small linen covers for the AC lights). There’s also an extensive pillow menu to choose from, with memory foam, buckwheat and contour options on offer. “Sleep has become a real focus for us at RAKxa,” says Tal, who checks in with me as I am snoozing by the infinity pool. “Consistently good sleep supports long-term health by reducing the risk of chronic conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes, and obesity, while also improving mood, focus and energy levels. “People are increasingly aware of the importance of sleep and are beginning to prioritise it as a core element of their health. Yet, modern lifestyle poses challenges, with many of us finding it difficult to achieve true restful sleep every night.” The wealth of treatments that you can try at RAKxa are wonderfully indulgent, and you’d be hard-pressed not to be horizontal after days of being focused on like this. But it’s not just the massages, the crystal healing or the stretching that help. The Thai approach to wellness is one that is rooted in kindness and care. Whether you are being served a cup of blue butterfly-pea tea under a casuarina tree or having your scalp gently massaged on a warm bed, time spent here feels good for the soul. I think rest will come easier once I’m home again. A stay at RAKxa costs from £1,012 per night. rakxawellness.com
