Downing another sip of my delicious Thai Dragon cocktail, I pick a cosy spot on a sunken couch floating on a pond. There’s a DJ playing some crazy funk mixes. A few people are chatting and laughing at the bar while they wait for their tipple, while others are starting to groove to the beats, and chefs are busy serving hot plates of beef sliders, crudités, and fried prawns to the revellers—I wonder if the night can get any better. Just then, a series of fireworks light up the sky. The night does get better.
Though I am having a ball at the welcome cocktail party at W Koh Samui, located on a 78-square-kilometre tropical island in the middle of the Gulf of Thailand where I am to spend a weekend, this beach vacation will go beyond just drinking margaritas and parties that blend into dawn. The brand is hosting its much celebrated FUEL Weekend for the first time at its breathtaking address on the island of Koh Samui. The four-day-long boot camp for a fitness-focussed crowd, however, is a spin on the usual wellness retreat, and runs on the motto of ‘DETOX. RETOX. REPEAT.’
Before the night of abundant cocktails, groovy tracks, and vibrant fireworks, there was a powerpacked day of ‘detox’ that had started with a 50-minute-long heart-pumping session with Bec Donlan. The Australian lifestyle fitness coach used booty band cardio workout in low-impact HIIT style during her ‘Sweat with Bec’ session to help us all burn fat. This was followed by an F45 session (‘F’ for Functional and ‘45’ for the number of minutes it lasted) of fast and fun high-intensity group workout. Hence, the cocktail party comes as a much-needed ‘retox’ break from the exhausting workout sessions.
This story is from the October 2019 edition of Travel+Leisure India.
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This story is from the October 2019 edition of Travel+Leisure India.
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