Reformer Pilates and Beach Days on Koh Samui's Quiet North Coast

The shape of each day is simple. Breakfast at the resort, then a transfer to the Chaweng studio for a reformer class. The teaching team includes a Balanced Body–certified teacher with more than 2,000 hours of group-class teaching behind her, and with a maximum of ten on the reformers they can watch how each person moves and adjust the exercise to their level. Beginners and people who have trained for years are in the same room, and the teacher scales the work for both.

Lunch follows at Isla Café, downstairs from the studio, with ฿700 of the menu included daily. The café does vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free options and can handle nut allergies. After that you're driven back to Maenam and the rest of the day is free. Dinners aren't included — Chaweng, Bophut's Fisherman's Village and the beach roads have plenty of places to eat.

What separates this from other Pilates retreats is that the classes aren't laid on for guests. They're the studio's own regular classes, on its own ten wooden reformers, with the same teachers who teach there week in, week out. You're joining a working studio in Chaweng, then going home to a beachfront resort 20 minutes away on the north coast.

The resort sits on Maenam beach and has a pool with its own bar and a restaurant built out over the sea. Rooms range from a Thai-style Garden Villa with a balcony, full-length bath and walk-in shower up to a Pool Villa with its own pool and a Thai sala in a private garden. The Sunset Suite has twin beds and a sea view, which suits two friends sharing.

May, the founder, is the person who answers your message and arranges your stay, and she checks your room before confirming the booking. Airport pick-up and drop-off at Samui International Airport are included, as is the daily ride to and from the studio and use of the studio between classes. A welcome kit is waiting when you arrive.

Koh Samui is warm all year. The driest months are usually December to April; the wettest weeks tend to fall from late October to early December, and the rain comes in bursts rather than settling in all day.

What's included

- Airport pick-up and drop-off at Samui International Airport - 5 nights at a beachfront resort in Maenam, Koh Samui - Breakfast every day at the resort - A small-group reformer Pilates class every day at the Chaweng studio (max 10 people) - Lunch every day at Isla Café, ฿700 of the menu included - Daily transfer to and from the studio - Use of the studio between classes - An Isla welcome kit on arrival

What's not included

- Flights, travel insurance and visa fees - Dinners - Private one-to-one reformer sessions - Extra group reformer classes - Massages and sound baths - Scooter hire - Alcoholic drinks, personal expenses and tips - Compulsory New Year's Eve gala dinner at the resort, ฿7,500 per adult, on any stay over 31 December