A celebration of music, arts, and wellness, Wonderfruit is back for the fifth year. Taking place on December 12th to 16th 2019 at The Fields at Siam Country Club, Pattaya, Thailand, the four-day festival incorporates alternative music and performance arts with a quest for holistic health: mental and physical wellness, as well as sustainability. With 20,000 attendees last year, there are accommodation options from basic camping to the luxe Camp Kerala which offers festival-goers an elevated glamping experience like no other. A stream separates Camp Kerala from the main festival ground; encircled by palm trees, it’s a secure haven to call home while you expand your mind, body and soul with Wonderfruit’s exciting programme. Check out some of the top reasons to head Wonderfruit in 2019, and why Camp Kerala is the only place you should be staying.
Luxury accommodation
If the gritty camping experience of most festivals is your biggest turn-off, then the Camp Kerala luxury ‘Shikar tents’ are the answer. These starry-blue tents offer next-level five-star style and comfort with an elevated glamping experience: a dressing room complete with bathroom amenities and body cream goodies, white fluffy dressing gowns and towels, Egyptian cotton bedding, in-tent air conditioning, WiFi and electricity, 24-hour ‘tent service’, and access to the Camp Kerala concierge service.
Spa-tastic
To complement your indulgent accommodation, you’ll have access to luxury loos, showers, pamper room and the Camp Kerala Spa—that’s right, no Porta Potty’s here. Masseuses at the Camp Kerala Spa offer rejuvenating and relaxing treatments, for all your bodily aches and pains throughout the festival, while the pamper room is kitted out with beauty and body products, hairdryers, and body painters to assist with body glitter, face paint and makeup artistry to help you dress up in your festival finery.
An all-inclusive experience
Guests at Camp Kerala will have their every need looked after, which includes all your food and drink. Private Chef Ian Alexander will be whipping up healthy culinary delights for breakfast, lunch and dinner with his expert team. Dishes can be customised to meet dietary requirements, and the menu offers a selection of vegan, vegetarian, meat and fish dishes to choose from.
The bar will be mixing up a range of cocktails and classy mocktails using alcohol-free distilled spirits like Seedlip, as well as juices and smoothies designed to hydrate and boost energy. Guests of Camp Kerala can also get their smoothies, juices, or bespoke ‘picnic boxes’ to go, to keep them energised all day and night at Wonderfruit Festival.
The Kerala community
As well as your own private tent, you’ll have access to the Camp Kerala Bar, Restaurant and Chill-Out area, which are open day and night. Meet fellow festival-goers, and luxuriate in the fact that you can unwind in style. Internationally renowned DJs will also be playing exclusive sets for the Camp Kerala crowd over the weekend, so you’ll be entertained beyond the festival ground.
Top festival tickets
Of course, the reason you’re visiting Camp Kerala at all is to experience Wonderfruit, one of Asia’s and the world’s top music and wellness festivals. Booking a stay at Camp Kerala comes with a four-night, full access pass to Wonderfruit, and all the music, arts and wellness that entails. Most wellness activities will be hosted in the Wonderness space, where yoga, meditation, sound baths, qigong, sensory art, cacao ceremonies and Amazonian medicine experiences are just some of the wellness activities you can indulge in. Six Senses will host an Alchemy Experience, a practical workshop on herb and plant remedies, while for something unique to Thailand, check out the Yam Khang ‘Thai Fire Therapy’ experience.
See also: The Leading Luxury Wellness Retreats In Thailand
For something a little different, ‘Scratch Talks’ — a series of debates and discussions led by experts and inspiring people from around the globe — will take place under the shade of the Eco Pavilion’s 124 hand-painted cotton umbrellas. The Bath House boasts a twist on a traditional Japanese Onsen with space to unwind between music and performances set across Wonderfruits many stages: from DJ sets to live performances, the dedicated LGBTQ+ ‘Forbidden Fruit’ stage to international artists and performers, the inclusive acts and spaces welcome all to revel in sustainable hedonism.
Acknowledging that festivals can be a hugely wasteful event, Wonderfruit has taken bold steps over the past few years to transform itself into a sustainable ‘popup city’ and since 2017 has been carbon neutral. Working with the Thailand Greenhouse Organisation and incorporating five of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals into its ethos and infrastructure, Wondefruit has creatively come up with solutions to traditional environmental problems. All of the festival’s structures are made from sustainable materials like recycled trash or reclaimed timber, food is focused on farm-to-table philosophies using local produce, and energy is managed responsibly from renewable sources like solar panels where possible—along with a hundred other little infrastructure tweaks: filtered water, no single-use plastic, tree-planting, and biodegradable plate-ware, to name a few.
Don’t forget to pick up a reusable tumbler for your drinks at the festival—Wonderfruit is operating a strict, ‘no cup, no drink’ policy this year. Bring your own, or buy one of the Wonderfruit-branded steel or biodegradable rice husk ones.
Find out more about Wonderfruit here
Contact bookings@compareretreats.com to book your luxury wellness retreat
