It is safe to say that I have been a little spoilt this year in terms of experiencing amazing luxury accommodations. The Philippines, the Maldives and Bali have provided some pretty cool digs and certainly would have sufficed for the year, but I am not one to turn down an opportunity! So when I was lucky enough to score a visit to the luxurious Soneva Kiri on the Thai island of Koh Kood, there was no way I was going to turn it down.
When people think of the well beaten tourist track in Thailand – cities like Bangkok, Phuket, Chang Mai, Khao Soak and the Phi Phi islands come to mind – many will have never even heard of Koh Kood, which is actually the fourth largest island in Thailand. However, the locals on this island do not want it to become the next Phuket, so they have blocked efforts to commercialise the island, with rather good success.
The island becomes very hard to access during the monsoonal wet season due to high tides and rough seas, meaning that the local boats are unable to get to the island. There is also no commercial airport, so flight options are restricted. Many of the guesthouses on the island will close during this wet season.
However, Soneva Kiri resort is pretty much exempt from these restrictions.
Soneve Kiri is arguably the most luxurious island in Thailand, and it really shows. As soon as you land into Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport, you are met with an airport representative, who assists you to navigate through the airport terminal, provides you with an express customs pass to minimise your waiting time and then checks you into your ‘Slow Life’ flight before settling you into the Grand Miracle lounge where you can rest and relax.
When your Soneva ‘Slow Life’ 8-seater flight is ready, you board the extremely comfortable aircraft and set yourself up to enjoy the 70 minute scenic flight which even on a cloudy day is completely gorgeous.
The flight seems to fly by (no pun intended) and before you know it, it is time to land on the private tarmac and transfer to a speedboat for a further 5 minute trip to beautiful Soneva Kiri.
Though the Soneva Kiri flights are designed to service the resort only, if the flights have available seats non-guests can negotiate to book onto the flights.
The water is an absolutely stunning shade of dark turquoise, and all of the surrounding islands look like tiny jungle paradises.
Soon, I got my first glance at the resort, and it certainly did not disappoint. Which one of these stunning ocean-front villas would be mine?!
After a quick tour of the resort and meeting with my Mr Friday, it was time to check out my digs for the next few days.
If you read that and found yourself thinking ‘what on earth is a Mr Friday?’ believe me when I say that I thought the exact same thing! Turns out, the resort offers all guests 24/7 private butler service! You can refer to your butler by their name, or by Mr/Mrs Friday. You are given a cell phone with their number programmed in for the duration of your stay, and can contact them at any time for assistance or with special requests. It is a pretty amazing service!
I checked into the stunning ocean view pool villa (villa #5) and honestly cannot even begin to describe how stunning the place was. It is going to need its own dedicated post to do it justice! So, for now, I will just leave you with a picture of this happy little vegemite before she went for a dip. Stay tuned!
T H E L O W D O W N
Getting to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi: The busiest airport in Bangkok, you can fly to Bangkok from any major airport hub
Getting to Soneva Kiri: Click here to learn more about Soneva Kiri’s Slow Life Flights
Soneva Kiri: One of Thailand’s best resorts, click here for more info
Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M1 with M.Zuiko 12-40mm f2.8 lens
Threads: Tigerlily ‘Kira’ maxi dress – available here
Remember: Koh Kood is an amazing spot if you want to get off Thailand’s very well beaten tourist track
Don’t forget to add me on Snapchat and Instagram – @wwellend – for more foolishness and travel adventures!
Disclosure: My stay at Soneva Kiri was provided FOC by the Soneva Resorts group, however, all thoughts and opinions expressed on this blog are unbiased and in no way influenced by the Soneva Group.