Where it started
Original Thai House opened its doors in the village of Porches -- a small studio built around one idea: real Thai massage technique, not a spa-menu version of it.
Our Story
Real Thai massage technique, from professionally trained hands.
Original Thai House was founded by Wilaiwan Khamdee to bring genuine, traditional Thai massage to the Algarve — not a spa-menu version of it, but the real practice, carried out by therapists trained at professional massage institutes.
Every therapist at Original Thai House arrives already professionally trained at a recognised massage institute — acupressure, assisted stretching, and deep tissue work along the body's energy lines, the same practice that has been used in Thailand for over 2,500 years. Many have also worked internationally before joining us, bringing real experience from studios and spas around the world, not just one village in the Algarve.
Today that same standard is applied across two studios — our original location in Porches, and a second inside the Carvoeiro Clube de Ténis — so wherever you're staying on this stretch of the Algarve, the same professional standard and the same care are close by.
Professionally trained, experienced worldwide
Our Story
A few moments along the way
Professionally trained, globally experienced
Every therapist here arrives professionally trained at a recognised massage institute, many with real international experience -- acupressure, assisted stretching, deep tissue work along the body's energy lines, learned to a real professional standard before they ever join us.
The annual blessing ceremony
Each year, monks visit Original Thai House to lead a blessing ceremony for the studio and everyone who works there -- a tradition the founder brought with her from Thailand, not one added for show.
A UNESCO-recognised tradition
In 2019, UNESCO inscribed Nuad Thai -- traditional Thai massage -- on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, on Thailand's own proposal. It's the same practice we bring to the Algarve: a recognised cultural heritage, not a spa-menu invention.
On stage at Thai no Algarve
The founder has personally sponsored traditional Thai dance performances at Thai no Algarve and other regional events, inviting performers directly from Thailand -- not a commercial booking, just a genuine love of sharing Thai culture with the Algarve.
A second studio, in Carvoeiro
The same standard, extended to the Carvoeiro Clube de Ténis, alongside The Bungalow's other treatment rooms -- so guests staying near the cliffs don't have to travel to Porches for it.