Urban Thai

A midnight closing time is the detail that matters most here. If you've spent the day on a boat or a motorbike and your back is telling you about it, a place that will still take you at ten at night is worth more than any amount of marble and orchid petals. Doors open at nine in the morning, seven days a week, so it works as a slow start to the day too.

The focus is traditional Thai therapeutic work rather than the perfumed resort-spa treatment, which is the right way round if you actually want to feel different afterwards. Bo Put sits on the northeastern side of Samui, away from the heaviest tourist traffic on the central beaches, and a taxi or hotel transfer gets you there without fuss. It's a straightforward pick for a single session or a run of them across a longer stay.