Is THIS one of the world’s best wellness hotels? Inside the award-winning retreat where guests fight burnout and practice ‘monk level’ meditation

I’m experiencing ‘monkey mind’, the meditation teacher says.

It is my first introduction to this ancient Buddhist concept, which describes a distracted mind that jumps from thought to thought.

Enlightening meditation classes like this one are a staple of Aleenta Retreat Chiang Mai, the Northern Thai retreat named the world’s best new wellness hotel in National Geographic Traveller’s latest hotel awards. 

This accolade is a big deal in a world where wellness is a fiercely competitive industry – it’s now worth an estimated £4.4trillion ($5.6trillion), according to the Global Wellness Institute. 

The 44-room retreat opened last year and is within close range of Chiang Mai’s night markets, handicraft boutiques and 100-plus gilded temples. But despite its urban postcode, Aleenta is quiet – it’s located on the edge of the city, closer to the forested foothills of Doi Suthep mountain than the traffic of the centre.

Ailbhe MacMahon checks in to Aleenta Retreat Chiang Mai, the Northern Thai retreat named the world’s best new wellness hotel in National Geographic Traveller’s latest hotel awards. Above – the pool and the Ayurah Spa in the background

LEFT: Heavy wooden doors at the entrance open to a ‘silent courtyard’. RIGHT: The hotel is within close range of Chiang Mai’s night markets, handicraft boutiques and 100-plus gilded temples, reveals Ailbhe

‘A feng shui master curated the “flow” of the retreat, the peaceful atmosphere bolstered by an abundance of plant life’, says Ailbhe. Pictured above is a hatha yoga class at the resort

Heavy wooden doors at the entrance open to a silent courtyard. Laid out like a small village, the retreat is largely made up of traditional teak buildings that date back 200 years. These honey-coloured structures were part of the package when the Akaryn Hotel Group – which owns two more Aleenta Retreats in southern Thailand – acquired the land.

Now, the site is a communion of old and new. The period buildings were remodelled with cool terrazzo floors and geometric tiling, becoming a bar, restaurant and tranquil spa. A newly designed guesthouse features stonework inspired by Chiang Mai’s ornate temples.

A feng shui master curated the ‘flow’ of the retreat, the peaceful atmosphere bolstered by an abundance of plant life.

Ailbhe stays in a one-bedroom pool residence (above), priced from £309 ($387) per night

Ailbhe describes how coral vines climb the walls of her bedroom’s plunge pool and drop petals into it (left). On the right is the interior of her quarters, where she finds ‘the trappings of healthy living’ 

Seen here is the master bedroom of the ‘four-bedroom golden teak villa’. Hotel Manager Thomas Singenberger says guests can ‘prioritise wellness without forgoing luxury’

Coral vines climb the walls of my One Bedroom Pool Residence, dropping petals into its private plunge pool. Stepping inside the villa, I find the trappings of healthy living; mini-bar snacks are homemade trail mix and cacao balls, a yoga mat is propped in the corner and the wardrobe holds a ‘zen set’ – a cream shirt-and-trouser combo to wear while exercising, sleeping or floating around the grounds.

I can see why Hotel Manager Thomas Singenberger compares the experience of a stay here to ‘glamping’ – guests can prioritise wellness without forgoing luxury.

He tells me Aleenta has welcomed ‘quite a few guests that suffered from burnout and just want to find themselves again’. Such soul-searching can be facilitated by the intensive Ayurah Retreat programs, with mindfulness-focused walks along jungle trails and wellbeing assessments by the resident ‘wellness master’.

Left, a traditional ‘lanna massage tok sen’, or hammer massage. Right – the Ayurah Spa 

‘One hour I’m taking a lesson in pranayama, an ancient technique for controlling your breathing, and the next I’m signed up for a session of Tibetan singing bowl therapy (above),’ Ailbhe reveals

One experience proving especially popular with European and American guests is doing ‘monk level’ meditation with the Vipassana Deep Meditation package (from THB17,000/£372/$467 per night); a ‘rigorous training of the mind’ that involves days spent meditating with saffron-robed monks in local temples.

Guests who shy from the rigours of these programs can test the waters with complimentary wellness classes in the light-filled Higher Purpose room – a category of guest that I fall into.

My days are shaped by a diverse curriculum. One hour I’m taking a lesson in pranayama, an ancient technique for controlling your breathing, and the next I’m signed up for a session of Tibetan singing bowl therapy. Wellness instructors gently offer advice on how I can keep up everything I have learnt after I check out.

 

The Garden restaurant (above two images) is where guests will find a ‘virtuous wellness menu’, which glows with ‘quinoa salads, cold-pressed elixirs and egg white frittatas’ 

‘Por pia sot’ rolls – vegetables wrapped in rice paper – and a ‘wellness bowl’ with beetroot, quinoa and goji berries at The Garden restaurant

Pictured above is the set-up for a cookery class at the Thai retreat

The feel-good factor is compounded by The Garden restaurant’s virtuous ‘wellness menu’, which glows with quinoa salads, cold-pressed elixirs and egg white frittatas.

Though a spotlight is placed on healthy eating, alcohol and comfort foods are not off the table. Far from it. The restaurant’s trump card is its Northern Thai fare – creamy khao soi curry ladled into bowls and coconut-dusted sweets served on golden cake stands.

At dusk, I climb the teak steps to 1892 Bar. The lighting is velvety and a 19th-century Swiss piano stands in the corner. A dapper bartender throws ingredients in the air as he makes me a lychee cocktail with local vodka. ‘Perfect,’ he says, finishing it off with a shard of edible gold. It has just the right amount of sweetness, my first sip reveals.

‘I climb the teak steps to 1892 Bar (pictured),’ Ailbhe writes. ‘The lighting is velvety and a 19th-century Swiss piano stands in the corner’

Ailbhe had a lychee and vodka ‘Touch of Lanna’ cocktail (left) at 1892 Bar (right), where a dapper bartender throws ingredients in the air 

‘Some arrive at Aleenta to battle burnout, others use it as a base from which to explore Chiang Mai,’ says Ailbhe

When I turn in for the night, I find a Thai bedtime story placed on my 400 thread-count sheets – a thoughtful turndown ritual at Aleenta.

In the morning, I get talking to another guest at an exercise class. She tells me she feels ‘restored’ after a few days here, adding: ‘I’m glad I found this place.’ I second that.

Some arrive at Aleenta to battle burnout, others use it as a base from which to explore Chiang Mai. Whatever the reason behind your visit, this is somewhere to step off the treadmill of life and take a moment to unwind.