Review: AMAZING Soneva Kiri (Thailand)

Wednesday newsletters at all times function a lodge or flight assessment.

I not too long ago loved an outstanding vacation in Singapore & Thailand. You’ll be able to learn my journey reviews right here:

At present: Evaluate of Soneva Kiri (Thailand).

Distant but accessible by a 60 minute flight from Bangkok on the resort’s non-public airplane, phenomenal Soneva Kiri sits on Thailand’s 4th largest however least populated island, Koh Kood, within the Gulf of Siam. Soneva Kiri will not be solely the very best lodge in Thailand but additionally one of the unique resorts on this planet, providing an unrivalled mixture of luxurious, environmentally pleasant design and unforgettable, genuine Thai experiences. The 36 resort villas (together with 11 non-public residences) are amongst the most important on this planet. Positioned on the idyllic seashore or sunny slopes within the rainforest, all have gorgeous infinity swimming pools, impossibly stylish furnishings, private electrical buggies, and impeccable service courtesy of personal butlers. Highlights embody the open air cinema Paradiso, Benz’ mangrove restaurant, the chocolate & ice cream parlor, the kids’s den and the spectacular Treetop eating pod.

Soneva Kiri options in my prime 10 lists of the most insanely stunning resorts in Thailand, the world’s most wonderful seashore resorts, the world’s most outrageous lodge experiences, the world’s finest non-public plunge swimming pools, the world’s most stunning lodge seashores, the world’s finest luxurious resorts, the world’s finest household resorts, the world’s most distant resorts, the most astonishing seashore retreats in Asia, and luxurious resorts with non-public airports.

Have you ever ever stayed at Soneva Kiri? In that case, what was your expertise? Go away a remark.

On this assessment of Soneva Kiri (extra data and pictures under my YouTube clip & slideshow):

REVIEW OF SONEVA KIRI: PROS & THINGS I LIKE

The switch from Bangkok to Soneva Kiri is finished by airplane and easily coordinated: from the second you disembark at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Worldwide Airport, a Soneva consultant assists and escorts you till you board the resort’s non-public airplane. Sure, you learn that proper: a non-public airplane! Company are transferred from the Thai capital to Soneva Kiri in type aboard the resort’s luxurious custom-fitted eight-seater non-public airplane (a Cessna Grand Caravan). The airplane departs from Bangkok’s primary airport based on a hard and fast time schedule. Click on right here to look at my (older) Youtube clip onboard the resort’s non-public airplane.

The flight from Bangkok to Soneva Kiri takes about 70 minutes and is a scenic sightseeing journey over Japanese Thailand: about half of it takes place over land, and the remaining half of over the Gulf of Thailand’s turquoise waters. The airplane lands at Soneva’s Kiri non-public airstrip on the neighboring island Koh Mai Si , and from there, it’s solely one other 5 minutes by speedboat to the arrival jetty, the place the resort workers will welcome you to paradise, with a refreshing chilly towel and a welcome drink. With that, the ambiance is successfully set for one of many world’s most romantic escapes.

From the second you contact down (barefoot) on Soneva Kiri’s shores, your private butler – known as a Mr or Ms Friday – is available with a smile and assists you all through your keep.

The award-winning luxurious resort is situated in Thailand’s fourth largest however least populated island, Koh Kood. Koh Kood is Thailand because it was years in the past, with untamed jungle, pristine seashores, and fishermen going about their enterprise. Surprisingly, Koh Kood is considered one of Thailand’s finest stored secrets and techniques because the island stays an ‘off the radar’ vacation spot. Soneva Kiri presents a number of excursions to discover the great thing about Koh Kood, which has a definite native really feel and is an actual step again in time to the Thailand of outdated.

Soneva Kiri’s pure panorama is stunningly stunning. The resort is situated on a large, 41-hectare (102-acre) website in a distant nook of Koh Kood, overlooking the turquoise, calm waters of an impressive non-public bay. With hills coated by lush tropical rainforest and sugar-white seashores lapped by crystal clear waters, these are Thailand’s – even Asia’s – most pristine and glamorous resort grounds. It merely does’t get any higher than this.

As a result of the resort grounds are so unfold out, non-public electrical buggies are offered to friends (one per villa) at some stage in their keep. It’s a lot enjoyable to drive round with the one you love via the plush tropical foliage, though you’ll quickly uncover that the resort supply extra jungle, seashore, and extra leisure actions than your buggy will be capable to hit in in the future. Along with golf carts, bicycles are offered are nicely (one per visitor) which is an much more enjoyable (and decidedly extra wholesome) approach to discover the resort, though the hilly nature of the area might symbolize a problem for some friends.

From the arrival jetty, an elevated wooden walkway leads up the hill to Soneva Kiri’s primary amenities and resort heart. Perched atop rocky cliffs and sheltered amidst the jungle’s verdant cover, the resort’s coronary heart is a tremendous latticework of pathways and wooden pavilions that appear to return straight out of a fairytale. Right here, you discover the reception, library, bar (with pool), primary restaurant, jewellery gallery, boutique store, and a fabulous chocolate & ice cream parlor. All ice lotions and candies are complimentary (24/7). You’ll be able to select from over sixty consistently altering flavors of home made ice lotions and sorbets on the ice cream parlor, which is named ‘So Chilled’. Contained in the adjoining ‘So Chocoholic’ room, you possibly can take pleasure in each little one’s dream of endless chocolate: freshly made ardour fruit, honey and salted caramel infused truffles line up alongside heat pots of creamy mousse and luscious fondue.

Personal seashores in Asia are a rarity, however you discover one at Soneva Kiri. The resort’s magnificent South Seashore is accessible by a brief buggy experience from the resort. The white, sandy seashore is fringed with palm timber, and presents sunbeds and umbrellas for friends to lounge on. Mild snacks and drinks are served on the seashore, and a barbecue might be organized. The ocean water is crystal clear, heat, and calm.

Soneva Kiri has 25 resort villas and 11 non-public residences. The elegant and refined villas are large in scale and amongst the world’s largest lodge lodging. Positioned alongside the idyllic bay or on the sunny slopes within the rainforest, all villas have gorgeous infinity swimming pools, impossibly stylish furnishings, and impeccable service courtesy of Mr/Ms Friday non-public butlers. In Soneva’s trademark rustic-chic eco-design, the villas function giant outside residing areas and indoor, air-conditioned bedrooms, and fantastically designed semi-outdoor, en-suite loos. In all my travels, I’ve by no means been extra impressed and ‘wowed’ by a lodge lodging than right here (even on my repeat visits).

Eating at Soneva Kiri is a stellar culinary expertise, due to the extravagant restaurant settings, the wonderful meals, and top-quality service. There are 3 eating places that cater to totally different tastes. The View restaurant takes its identify from its unparalleled outlook on a cliff over the Gulf of Siam and presents worldwide delicacies with an Asian twist. The Eating Room‘s rustic-chic design serves as a pure complement to the great thing about the views; it presents fabulous themed buffets on chosen night. After which there’s Benz, an open-air lantern-lit eatery on stilts amidst the mangroves which presents probably the most beautiful, spicy Thai meals I’ve ever had.

The resort’s most memorable eating expertise is the Treepod, which is impressed by the childhood’s need to climb right into a leafy cover and discover shelter amidst a easy picket development. Taking nice eating actually to new heights, you possibly can gaze out throughout the boulder-covered shoreline dancing with light waves from a bamboo pod excessive up into the traditional rainforest, as you savor gourmand delights and your chosen wines, delivered through the zip-line acrobatics of your private waiter.

All Soneva resorts function by far probably the most lavish breakfast buffets of any lodge on this planet. The wonderful breakfast at Soneva Kiri encompasses a devoted ham and cheese room, with luxurious home made cheeses, charcuterie and own-smoked salmon, along with a menu of inventive Thai and Mediterranean fare from the Cooking Hut. It’s also possible to take your decide of extra luscious delicacies straight from the wood-fired rock oven, cold and warm smoke oven and the earthen tandoor.

The resort presents an abundance of actions that cater all ages and even probably the most discerning of tastes: a wide array of water sports activities (together with catamaran crusing, sea kayaking, windsurfing, water-skiing, wake boarding and snorkeling) and a wide range of excursions (together with a go to to the island’s native villages, cooking lessons and a sightseeing journey to Angkor Wat) can be found to friends, along with tennis, mountain biking, astronomy and gardening lessons.

At Soneva Kiri, you possibly can watch traditional motion pictures underneath the celebrities in a return to the outdated traditions of Hollywood enjoyment. The magnificent resort’s Cinema Paradiso marries three passions near the founder’s – Sonu Shivdasani and Eva Malstrom – coronary heart: classical magnificence and class, immersion in nature and relaxed indulgence … a luxurious that lets its hair down and kicks off its footwear. Movie screenings are scheduled on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday & Friday within the resort’s open-air theatre, a jungle-enshrouded auditorium of cascading cushions over the waters of the reservoir lagoon. Whereas watching the film, you possibly can nibble on a playful menu of gourmand consolation meals, accompanied together with your private fancy of inventive cocktails.

On the distant island of Koh Kood, you stare into the open sky, removed from the obscuring lights of civilization. That’s why Soneva Kiri constructed a state-of-the-art observatory, situated subsequent to the DIning Room. With the infectious ardour of visiting astronomers, you possibly can determine constellations, depend the moons of Jupiter and peer on the swish halo of Saturn’s translucent ring.

A large molded bamboo playground formed like a manta ray, The Den – the resort’s model of a little one’s membership – is devoted to studying, to pleasure, to significant experiences. Skilled little one minders pique your youngsters’s imaginations, instructing them to play Thai devices, unleashing their inventive abilities with portray and the visible arts, and thoroughly watching them at play within the wonderous world of molded bamboo areas up, down and round. Soneva Kiri additionally supply a particular program aimed particularly at one to 5 year-olds, and is the one resort that provides such complete, age-specific amenities. Right here, the kids get to play with toys and participate in actions, that meet Soneva’s stringent requirements of social and environmental accountability.

Hidden among the many island’s wild jungle foliage, the resort’s Six Senses spa supplies lasting wellness and rejuvenation therapies. From soothing scrubs and oils of native coconuts to Tibetan sizzling stones, the spa will invite you to embark on sensory journeys of genuine therapies from close to and much, together with mud massages, Thai natural baths, silk facials, and a wealthy choice of wellness rituals. The spa is operated by Six Senses, a model that’s world-famous for its wellness applications & amenities. Sonu Shivdasani – the CEO of Soneva – can be the founder and former CEO of the Six Senses Resorts & Spas, throughout South East Asia and Europe, which he bought in 2012.

The resort is managed by Soneva, my absolute favourite lodge model on this planet. The acronym SLOW LIFE (Sustainable-Native-Natural-Wellness Studying-Inspiring-Enjoyable-Experiences) explains the Soneva philosophy: it goals to create unforgettable, innovating, and enlightening experiences that illuminate their visitor’s lives while treading calmly on the earth. The ethos and values it’s run by are what units Soneva on totally different footing as in comparison with different high-end lodge manufacturers. As well as, there’s additionally a whole lot of love and romance within the story of Soneva, which was based in 1995 by Sonu Shivdasani, an Indian-British hotelier, and his spouse Eva Malmstrom, a Swedish trend mannequin. Soneva’s 3 different properties are situated within the Maldives, Soneva Fushi, Soneva In Aqua, and Soneva Jani.

Essentially the most stand-out function of Soneva Kiri is the wonderful workers. Everybody, from administration to your private butler, is superfriendly and service is impeccable.

REVIEW OF SONEVA KIRI: CONS & THINGS TO KNOW

Soneva Kiri is among the most unique resorts of the world. IMHO, it doesn’t get any higher than this. The journey expertise is mind-blowing from begin to finish and can final for a lifetime. The unbelievable resort has no actual cons, but there are some factor chances are you’ll wish to know when contemplating a keep right here:

Whereas most friends will love the spectacular switch within the resort’s non-public airplane, the considered flying (overwater) on one engine in a small airplane (albeit with 2 pilots) for 70 minutes could make some vacationers – together with myself – nervous. Nevertheless, you don’t should fly to get to Soneva Kiri as you too can get there from Bangkok by automotive (4 to five hours, relying upon visitors), adopted by a 50 min boat switch. So, your flying phobia shouldn’t be an excuse to skip this distinctive, extremely beneficial resort.

Many of the resort’s villa are situated within the jungle, the place wildlife is current. It’s only a unbelievable addition to an already distinctive resort, and it’s best to really feel fortunate whenever you get to identify one of many extra elusive wildlife creatures. Nevertheless, some might discover the presence of wildlife uncomfortable or the noise it makes at evening annoying. Extra troublesome are the mosquitos and sand flies that are for actual in the wet season (Could to October).

The resort has 25 one-bedroom villas, starting from the ‘seashore pool villa suite’ (lowest room class) and the ‘bayview pool villa suite’ to the ‘sundown ocean view pool villa suites’ (highest room class). I stayed in all 3 villa varieties throughout my earlier visits to Soneva Kiri and they’re all terrific. Simply remember that the seashore pool villa suites are probably not ocean entrance however are constructed round an inlet of the ocean (extra like a lagoon) with a tidal seashore (which is nearly non-existing at excessive tide). The resort’s primary seashore – North Seashore – doesn’t function any villas.

All of your different journeys will pale compared to the reminiscence of a Soneva Kiri trip.

REVIEW OF SONEVA KIRI: MY VERDICT

Location: 10/10
Design: 10/10
Pool: 10/10
Rooms: 10/10
Meals: 10/10
Breakfast: 10/10
Spa: 10/10
Service: 10/10
Worth for cash: 10/10
General expertise: distinctive: 10/10

REVIEW OF SONEVA KIRI: TIPS FOR FUTURE GUESTS & SAVE MONEY

Lower your expenses: contact me to get complimentary Soneva ambassador advantages at Soneva Kiri (e.g. resort credit score, two customized Soneva expertise, and extra).

Lower your expenses: get complimentary VIP perks at Soneva Kiri when reserving through Virtuoso (e.g. villa improve, breakfast, early check-in , late check-out, and $ 100 USD meals & beverage credit score).

Lower your expenses: learn my suggestions for getting the very best deal at a luxurious lodge like Soneva Kiri (and/or obtain many free perks).

Room tip: When selecting a villa, it’s best to primarily think about whether or not you wish to be within the jungle and shade (bayview pool villa suite or sundown ocean view pool villa suites), or in full sunshine (seashore pool villa suite). Needless to say the seashore pool villa suites are usually not actually ocean entrance (see above) and are usually not situated on Soneva Kiri’s idyllic seashore. In actual fact, I favor the bayview pool villa suite over the seashore pool villa suite, primarily due to the shade (which is usually a welcome respite from the warmth) and tropical foliage, however that’s a matter of private choice.

Journey tip: In case you journey within the wet season, remember to put together for bugs (the lodge does present insect repellent although). I didn’t encounter any drawback with bugs throughout my keep within the dry season.

Learn my suggestions for making ready your journey in time.

REVIEW OF SONEVA KIRI: BEST TIME TO VISIT

The climate in Southeast Thailand is dominated by a tropical monsoon local weather which suggests there are three primary seasons: a cool, dry season between November and February (which is the very best interval to go to this a part of Thailand); a sizzling, dry season from March to June, and a wet season from July to October. Count on daytime temperatures to be in extra of 30 levels centigrade all year long (with the potential exception of late December and early January). The 2 durations April to Could and September to October are characterised by very excessive humidity. The southwest monsoons arrive between Could and October bringing unsettled, cloudy circumstances, in addition to decrease room charges.

REVIEW OF SONEVA KIRI: HOW TO GET THERE

Soneva Kiri is reached by a 60 minute flight from Bangkok’s primary worldwide airport on the resort’s non-public airplane (or, if you end up affected by flying phobia, a 4 hours automotive journey adopted by a forty five min boat switch). Bangkok itself is served by 2 airports:

Suvarnabhumi Worldwide Airport is situated 25 kilometres (16 mi) east of downtown Bangkok and is a significant hub in Asia. Verify the Wikipedia web page of Suvarnabhumi Worldwide Airport for an up to date record with airways that supply direct flights to Bangkok.

Don Mueang Airport is Bangkok’s regional commuter flight hub and the de facto low-cost airline hub. Verify the Wikipedia web page of Don Mueang Airport for an up to date record with airways that supply direct flights to Bangkok.