Is This the Most Luxurious Wellness Festival in Asia?

Spanning an entire month, Sol Festival, Thailand’s first luxury wellness extravaganza, gathered holistic healers, shamans, artisans, musicians and other specialists from all over the country to totally bring the Zen to Devasom Khao Lak. We laughed, we cried, we danced with bushes on the beach, and we are already counting the days until we can go back next year.

WITH THE YEAR FLYING by and my low-key anxiety quietly hounding me about the passage of time, a couple of days in solitude have been much needed. Lucky for me, Devasom Khao Lak resort, known for its beautiful beachfront location along a stream, transportive and nearly Art-Deco decor, and holistic wellness chose this year to launch their inaugural Sol Festival. What we think is the only luxury wellness festival in Thailand, and certainly the only one that’s a month long, offered over the course of four consecutive weekends a multitude of unique and unforgettable experiences for all those seeking relaxation, self-care, and a bit of rejuvenation… just what I needed!

After about an hour’s drive from Phuket International Airport, I stepped out of the car, was instantly enveloped in a sense of tranquility and luxury, and immediately knew I was in for an unforgettable experience. 

Though Devasom is already known for its high-end wellness treatments year round, the heart of Sol Festival was built around a strong emphasis on holistic wellness, offering guests an array of options to explore and nurture their physical, mental, and spiritual well-being led by gurus and teachers hailing from across Thailand. Each weekend, themed to the phase of the moon, saw a wide range of activities and workshops. On my visit, I opted to try a slew of experiences wholly new to me, including Reiki healing, somatic innerdance, Yin yoga, macrame crystal necklace-making, and forest bathing. 

Since we arrived late in the day, I decided to call it an easy night with a delicious barbecue dinner by the pool followed by a luminous beachside fire show performed, we learned later, by a few of the multitalented pool staff, and a good night’s rest in my gorgeous Seaside Pool Paradise suite. 

The next morning was a packed day so I made my way to the canopy-covered outdoor yoga deck, purpose-built for this event and laden with floral decor and Tibetan singing bowls, that was semi-hidden among lush greenery in the heart of the property. Our Yin yoga instructor, Ebe, a Hong Kong native based in Koh Phangan, Thailand, led us through 90 minutes of lengthy poses, deep stretches and meditative breathing where only the sound of her voice and of the surrounding nature played wistfully around us. The session ended with a sudden (but seasonal) downpour beating down on the canopy above, which somehow left me in a deep meditative state, slowly allowing me to find a warm source of inner peace. 

The sun decided to peek through just in time for another first, Reiki healing, an experience I still think about daily, despite it being nearly two months ago as I write this. The 45-minute session was held in a private room in the spa where I met with Asazak, a young healer from Chiang Mai. I went into the room with no expectations and was instructed to relax and breathe deeply. For some, Reiki is a way to meditate and release. For myself, I ended up discovering I hold in a lot of fear, which made it more difficult to relax – but as Asazak helped me become aware of my emotions, I ended up reflecting on the complexity of all the feelings inside, saw how tense they made me, and only after accepting them, was I able to relax. It took the entire session to understand this but I found it curious and worthwhile and left me doing a lot of research after. 

With so much self-discovery, I kept the momentum going with my next session, a somatic inner dance sound meditation. I was hesitant with this choice as dancing in public is not really my thing(!) but luckily, there was no dancing involved in the 2.5-hour session. This type of mediation is completely intuitive where one finds a comfortable pose, ideally lying down, and listens through a range of music, sounds and live instruments. Our session felt majestic, set in the hotel’s turret, where the natural light of the late afternoon added to the warm ambiance. As the sounds changed, so did our emotions, and at times, people surrounding me laughed or cried. It was a very enriching period of time that felt real and raw, and the connection felt among everyone in the room was quite beautiful and not at all what I was expecting. 

Another highlight of my Sol Wellness Festival experience was the forest bathing x kayaking adventure, where we paddled along the resort’s semi-private inlet learning about the local herbs and plants growing along the brackish water while also getting a bit of exercise. I got a true taste of serenity when we started racing home to beat the incoming downpour, then just stopped and embraced the cooling showers instead. What turned out to be a more literal definition of “forest bathing” than we had bargained for felt so natural, and after we docked, my friend immediately jumped in the resort pool to stay in the water-water-everywhere embrace.

Sol Wellness Festival went beyond just physical relaxation. Its organizers recognized the importance of nourishing the mind and soul as well and it was the perfect opportunity to escape from the stresses of my everyday life. I left with valuable knowledge and the tools to cultivate a deeper connection of my own self. I even was persuaded to participate in a little “ecstatic dancing” on the beach with some people dressed as bushes (yes, you read that right) until another downpour let me retreat for cover and to my comfort zone. Imagine the woo-woo surprises next year’s event has in store.

BOOK YOUR STAY AT DEVESOM KHAO LAK VIA AGODA.COM

Devasom Khao Lak doubles from THB 7,262; Sol Wellness Festival will be back in May 2024.

Images courtesy of Devasom Khao Lak Resort.

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