Meet the Family Behind Amity Wellness Detox Retreat Phuket, Thailand
Family Run. Expertly Led. Caring for Guests Since 2012.
Amity Wellness was founded in Phuket in 2012 with a simple vision: to create an intimate wellness retreat where guests could step away from the stresses of everyday life and focus completely on their health and wellbeing.
More than a decade later, Amity remains proudly family run, bringing together complementary backgrounds in health science, nutritional therapy, detoxification, wellness coaching, hospitality and business management.
At the heart of Amity are Michelle Cooper, Robert Cooper, Palida Pimarn and Supa Pimarn (aka Mama), supported by a long-standing team of wellness professionals, therapists, coordinators, raw food chefs and retreat staff who have become part of our extended family and that help make Amity what it is today.
MICHELLE
COOPER
Wellness Director | Nutritional Therapy & Detox Specialist
Michelle has worked in the wellness industry for over 20 years, with a wellness background spanning nutritional therapy, anatomy and physiology, wellness coaching and holistic health. Her continued professional development has included advanced studies in nutrition, functional health and detox, alongside a post graduate in Health and Social Care Management and further training across movement and holistic wellness practices.
Michelle and Palida’s professional relationship began in 2010, before Amity was founded. They went on to work side by side at Amity for well over a decade, combining their experience and complementary skills to develop and continually evolve the retreat, its wellness programs and the guest experience.
Michelle relocated to Europe in 2019 when she had her son but she continues to support the Amity management team remotely, sharing her experience and input as the retreat evolves, while returning to visit the team and retreat during the peak season.
Palida
Pimarn
Wellness Retreat Manager | Health Science & Detox Specialist
Palida has been at the heart of Amity’s day-to-day wellness operations for more than a decade and has played an integral role in shaping the guest experience and wellness programs.
She holds a degree in Health Science, is a qualified detox specialist, physiotherapist, and Lymphatic drainage specialist, and has undertaken postgraduate studies in hospitality management, combining her understanding of health and wellness with extensive hands-on experience caring for guests at the retreat.
Palida and Robert married in 2024 and recently welcomed their first child, adding another generation to the family behind Amity.
Robert Cooper
Business Management & Operations
Robert brings a different skill set to the family team, with a degree in Computer Science and postgraduate studies in hospitality management.
His role spans the business, technology, systems, and operational side of Amity, working behind the scenes alongside Palida, and the wider management team to continually develop the retreat while protecting the personal approach that has defined Amity since its beginnings.
Supa
Pimarn
The Family Behind the Home of Amity
Mama Pimarn completes the family story as the owner of The Venus, the beautiful property where Amity Wellness retreats are located.
The retreat sits on Soi Pimarn, in the very community where Palida and her family grew up, giving the location strong sentimental value for the family.
This connection gives Amity something that is difficult to recreate: a genuine sense of Thai family and community. Guests are welcomed not simply into a wellness retreat, but into a place shaped by generations of local connections, authentic Thai culture and the warmth and hospitality of the people who call this neighbourhood home.
Together, the Cooper and Pimarn families combine international wellness experience with Thai hospitality and a shared commitment to continually evolving the Amity experience.
Small by Choice. Personal by Nature.
Amity has deliberately remained intimate, with just 12 private guest rooms and a team and retreat dedicated entirely to wellness programs (we don’t share our wellness facility with non detoxers or offer any accommodation only options).
Many of our wonderful team have been with us for years, and it is not unusual for returning guests to arrive and be welcomed by familiar faces.
That continuity is important to us.
Growing & Evolving Since 2012
The wellness industry has changed enormously since Amity first opened its doors, and Amity has continued to grow and evolve with it.
New therapies have been introduced, programs have evolved, facilities have improved and our understanding of wellness continues to develop.
Along the way, Amity has been recognised for the experience it provides its guests, receiving the Tripadvisor Certificate of Excellence for five consecutive years, an achievement that places the retreat among the top 10% of properties worldwide based on traveller reviews.
Yet despite the recognition and evolution, the heart of Amity has remained the same: a small, family-run retreat where people genuinely care about the experience of every guest who walks through our doors.
