In 1995, eminent banker and Thailand's ex-finance minister Boonchu Rojanastien decided to tear down his holiday home in Hua Hin and turn it into Chiva-Som, one of the world's first wellness and destination spa retreats.
It was then an eccentric idea that even his son Krip couldn't understand.
Today Chiva-Som International Health Resort is the culmination of a forward-thinking vision that has put the country at the top of the world's hospitality industry.
Almost from the first moment the luxury resort was launched 20 years ago, Chiva-Som, meaning "Haven of Life", has been recognised globally as the best destination spa on the planet, collecting countless awards for its excellence.
Recently the resort, under the helm of Krip, has been awarded Best Destination Spa by Conde Nast Traveler for the fourth time.
To celebrate two decades of international success, Chiva-Som's chairman Krip Rojanastien, who rarely gives interviews, talked about his late father's vision, the resort's philosophy and why he thinks achieving "wellness" is pivotal for future generations.
Krip Rojanastien.
The vision
"When my father decided to turn the family land into a wellness facility, I didn't understand his reasoning," said Krip, recalling the days when he, as a successful financier at Bangkok Bank, had no clue about health resorts.
"It took me a year to visit Chiva-Som for the first time. My father said I could better understand what he was doing by having a talk with one of the resort's wellness advisers."
The first question Krip was asked by the specialist was what he looked for in terms of health.
"At that time I wanted to lose weight and had tried several methods but often failed. After the conversation, I got to know what was lacking in my lifestyle and why I needed to change," he said. "It was absolutely the beginning of a new learning process.
"And the advice didn't stop there. They also gave me a comprehensive way to return to my normal life and still stay healthy."
Based on a specialised diet and exercise, Krip lost 15kg within six months.
"I was leaner and felt healthier, with more endurance," he said. "That's when I began to have strong trust in the concept."
Krip believes his father's idea for a wellness retreat came at least 30 years prior to the opening of Chiva-Som.
"My dad was always on long business trips to Europe," he said. "Surprisingly, instead of being exhausted and fatigued, he usually came back fresh and fit.
"I found out that during the trips he often spent some time visiting health farms in Switzerland, Romania or England to get revitalised. I guess he obtained his cutting-edge idea from these luxurious places."
Krip pointed out that at that time, his father loved to invite friends to his holiday home at weekends. They would basically wake up early in the morning, jog on the beach, play outdoor sport, eat good food and rest.
The idea was to go to Hua Hin to recharge the batteries and return to work on Mondays full of energy.
"I once asked him whether Chiva-Som was the extension of what he usually did in the past — trying to get his loved ones into healthy habits and lifestyle transformation. His answer was 'yes'," said Krip.
The Rojanastien's seaside vacation home before being torn down to make way for one of the world's first luxury wellness resorts.
On wellness
"Wellness is about balancing work and rest. A well-balanced lifestyle is always important to our lives no matter what your age is," explained 64-year-old Krip.
He noted that worldwide demographics are changing. In 2050 a fifth of the world's population (about 2 billion people) will be over 60, according to the World Economic Forum.
"People tend to live longer whereas birth rates in many countries constantly decline," he said. "It's a crisis situation. We have to consider how we can best handle a society full of old people.
"Certainly to just cure illness is not a sustainable way to go. Do you know how much governments will have to spend for people's healthcare? In the US and Japan, it's now 10% of GDP. Imagine how much that will increase in the next 30-40 years.
"We have to be prepared to prevent illness so that people can age happily and gracefully. And wellness lifestyles are the key."
Achieving wellness is important for the younger generation too, he said.
"The ageing process starts at 25. Yet there's no harm in starting to understand the wellness concept and taking good care of your health at the age of 20," said Krip. "It's always beneficial for perfectly healthy people to be conscious of their possible health risks so they can prevent problems."
The approach
Krip insisted that to achieve wellness doesn't mean you have to live a strict lifestyle. You can still enjoy life but with moderation in all things.
"Wellness is a very personalised process. Genetically speaking, people are not the same so there's no such thing as one-size-fits-all," he said.
"For example, different people have differing appropriate calorie intakes and metabolisms. Thus, they don't need to follow the same diet regimes. Diets should be tailor-made by chefs who works closely with nutritionists." Forget the dated perception that diet and nutrition equates to uninspiring food.
Chiva-Som's award-winning cuisine is pleasing on the palate as well as boosting guests' health and fitness programmes.
"Wellness should be quantifiable with clear results," he said. "Clients today are more and more sophisticated, knowledgeable and demanding. They find satisfaction in measurable proof, not just feelings. They also question and look for viable alternatives and lasting solutions.
"What we do is we anticipate guests' needs and help them reach their wellness goals by incorporating holistic treatments with state-of-the-art technology. It's something that Chiva-Som never stops improving."
From a small team of experts, today the resort employs 360 people, more than 120 of which are specialists in different fields.
The resort's core work revolves around nutrition, fitness, physiotherapy, the spa, holistic remedies and aesthetic beauty. Interestingly, Chiva-Som has been registered as a hospital with full-time medical staff.
Right now the resort is building a new facility on an adjacent plot of land to provide more concentrated care for guests with intensive medical needs.
Going forward
Holding the title of the world's best wellness destination, Krip said his major challenge is never competing with copycats in the industry.
"The pressure comes from high expectations for our clients to reach their fast-evolving goals," said Krip.
"Even for the same client, in order to achieve wellness you cannot treat him at the age of 70 the same way you did when he was 50. His preferences and needs have changed.
"At Chiva-Som, we don't believe in advertising our business because it should be about credibility. Most of our clients are return guests and friends and family of guests, and 90% are from Europe and the Middle East."
Krip noted that it would not be difficult for a deep-pocketed investor to copy the concept and facility (though he was sure there's no spa resort in the world with 50 guest rooms and more than 70 spa treatment rooms).
But he said it's other factors — the knowledge, expertise and gracious Thai touch — that can never be replicated.
"We've been approached by international investors asking us to develop the same establishment outside Thailand," he said. "Yet a great difficulty is ensuring each place gets the same standard."
The veteran former banker said there's a great similarity between leading a wellness resort and working in the financial world.
"They both are risk management," he said. "Bankers manage funds and assets, while as Chiva-Som's chairman, I manage life and longevity. Helping people to achieve wellness requires a totally different mindset and is a lot more satisfying. I am very proud to see my clients enjoying their well-being and therefore being the ultimate risk manager."
