editorial

Words by Christopher P. Hill Photographs by Christopher P. Hill April 30, 2024
Smack in the middle of Thailand’s Phang Nga Bay, a secluded new beachfront resort beckons you to leave the world behind.
<figure id="attachment_137961" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-137961" style="width: 1200px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-137961 size-full" src="https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/28B5582.jpg" alt="Stepping stones lead from the Anantara Koh Yao Yai’s hydrotherapy pool; the rooftop pool deck of one of the resort's Penthouse suites." width="1200" height="894" srcset="https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/28B5582.jpg 1200w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/28B5582-300x224.jpg 300w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/28B5582-1024x763.jpg 1024w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/28B5582-768x572.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-137961" class="wp-caption-text">Left to right: Stepping stones lead from the Anantara Koh Yao Yai’s hydrotherapy pool; the rooftop pool deck of one of the resort’s Penthouse suites.</figcaption></figure>
So, monkeys can swim. Did I know this? Not sure. But it’s a fact that becomes alarmingly clear when I spot a troop of crab-eating macaques dive into the water from the shores of a rocky islet and paddle furiously out to sea. Their objective is another longtail boat that has dropped anchor not far from ours. It’s crowded with day-trippers from Krabi who have come armed with bananas to coax the monkeys into this display of aquatic athleticism. While most of the troop is content to bob at the boat’s bow to await their reward, its more piratical members try to climb aboard. They are shooed away by the boatman, clearly no stranger to their antics.
The allure of southern Thailand’s Phang Nga Bay is hardly a secret. A seascape of emerald waters and towering limestone karsts, the bay is framed by the resort-studded shores of Phuket to the west and Krabi to the east, ensuring a steady flow of tourist boats that hop between busy coves and beaches throughout the day. At popular Hong Island, the floating jetty seems ready to buckle under the weight of visitors; later, at a “secret” snorkeling spot, I can barely swim for all the boats in the water. No wonder the monkeys are so feisty. How nice, then, to have a more secluded shore to retreat to once our excursion is done.
Low-key and a little rugged, the bay’s largest island, Koh Yao Yai, sits midway between Phuket and Krabi, yet has somehow remained aloof from the throngs that surround it. It’s a long sliver of wooded hills quilted in rubber farms and coconut groves, with quiet concrete roads linking a handful of villages where most of the island’s 8,000 predominantly Muslim inhabitants live. There are a few independent resorts scattered around the island’s perimeter, but not enough to impart much of a touristy vibe. And I wouldn’t expect that to change even with the addition of the 148-room Anantara Koh Yao Yai Resort &amp; Villas, which opened on an eastern corner of the island last October.
<figure id="attachment_137959" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-137959" style="width: 1200px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-137959 size-full" src="https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/28B5539.jpg" alt="One of the guest wings at Anantara Koh Yao Yai; Thaistyle roasted sea bass in banana leaves at Pakarang restaurant." width="1200" height="894" srcset="https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/28B5539.jpg 1200w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/28B5539-300x224.jpg 300w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/28B5539-1024x763.jpg 1024w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/28B5539-768x572.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-137959" class="wp-caption-text">Left to right: One of the guest wings at Anantara Koh Yao Yai; Thai-style roasted sea bass in banana leaves at Pakarang restaurant.</figcaption></figure>
Resort? This 11-hectare property is more like its own little world, with a thick swath of palm trees (a remnant of the site’s original coconut plantation) on one side and a forested hill on the other that leads down to a private pier, where a small fleet of speedboats transports guests to and from Phuket or Krabi. You could spend a few days here without even stepping out onto Koh Yao Yai proper, though there are plenty of opportunities to do that too.
The Anantara is really three resorts in one. Tucked away from the beachfront, there’s a clutch of standalone pool villas (still under construction during my December visit) arranged around an artificial lagoon — ideal for those willing to forego sea views in favor of seclusion. Then there’s a trio of low-rise buildings that form a sort of family zone, complete with waterslides, an impressive kids club, and family-friendly suites with built-in bunk beds, play areas, and, for those on the ground floor, direct pool access. Finally, overlooking a kilometer-long stretch of golden sand, is the main part of the resort, a half-moon of terraced lawns, lush tropical gardens, grassy hummocks, and more pools. Those hummocks are in fact the roofs of eight beachfront villas, a concept inspired by the grass-roofed hobbit holes that so enamored the owner on an earlier trip to New Zealand’s Hobbiton Movie Set. You’d hardly know they were there, which is exactly the point. Tucked away from prying eyes, they’re well suited for romance-seekers, though a two-bedroom unit gives families another option as well.
<figure id="attachment_138178" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-138178" style="width: 1200px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-138178 size-full" src="https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Anantara-Koh-Yao-Yai-Jetty-and-Penthouse-Suite-Bedroom.jpg" alt="A longtail boat arriving at the resort’s jetty; the bedroom of a Penthouse suite." width="1200" height="894" srcset="https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Anantara-Koh-Yao-Yai-Jetty-and-Penthouse-Suite-Bedroom.jpg 1200w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Anantara-Koh-Yao-Yai-Jetty-and-Penthouse-Suite-Bedroom-300x224.jpg 300w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Anantara-Koh-Yao-Yai-Jetty-and-Penthouse-Suite-Bedroom-1024x763.jpg 1024w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/Anantara-Koh-Yao-Yai-Jetty-and-Penthouse-Suite-Bedroom-768x572.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-138178" class="wp-caption-text">Left to right: A longtail boat arriving at the resort’s jetty; the bedroom of a Penthouse suite.</figcaption></figure>
But if it’s views you want, consider one of the Penthouses that crown the top floors of the four main guest wings. Done up in the same crisp, contemporary design as the rest of the rooms, these two-level accommodations come with a breezy rooftop cabana and infinity pool from which you can take in a great sweep of Phang Nga Bay and the Krabi coast, not to mention Bird’s Nest Island, a sheer-sided outcrop that juts from the shallow channel just offshore. They also, like the villas, include the services of a butler. Attending to me is a young woman named Summer, whose sunny disposition neatly epitomizes the air of friendly ease conveyed by the rest of the staff. One dark and stormy night, when the swim trunks I left out to dry are blown away, Summer somehow manages to find them in the garden and return them to my room before I’m back from dinner. “Soaked but safe now,” she messages me. I’m not sure if she’s referring to herself or the trunks, but I’m grateful either way.
Nor does the food at the Anantara fail to impress. Glass-encased Thai restaurant Pakarang, which hosts bounteous breakfast buffets each morning serves dishes from across Thailand come lunch and dinner: Isan-style grilled pork neck, say, or gaeng poo, a creamy yellow crab curry with rice vermicelli and betel leaf. Down at the thatch-roofed Beach Restaurant, a more globe-trotting menu features everything from poke bowls and amêijoas à bulhão pato (clams in white wine sauce) to grilled seafood, dry-aged steaks, and wood-fired pizzas, all ably executed. There’s also a Japanese chef’s table for more intimate evening meals.
<figure id="attachment_137960" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-137960" style="width: 1200px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-137960 size-full" src="https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/28B5162.jpg" alt="Catch of the day in Phru Nai village; exploring the island by sidecar." width="1200" height="894" srcset="https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/28B5162.jpg 1200w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/28B5162-300x224.jpg 300w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/28B5162-1024x763.jpg 1024w, https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/28B5162-768x572.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-137960" class="wp-caption-text">Left to right: Catch of the day in Phru Nai village; exploring the island by sidecar.</figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_137958" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-137958" style="width: 1200px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="wp-image-137958 size-full" src="https://staging.destinasian.com/wp-content/uploads/28B5846.jpg" alt="Walking the resort’s beach at sunset; a local fisherwoman." width="1200" height="894" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-137958" class="wp-caption-text">Left to right: Walking the resort’s beach at sunset; a local fisherwoman.</figcaption></figure>
Activities here run the gamut from deep-sea fishing to cycling trips, hiking, and sunset cruises. The day after my island-hopping boat excursion, I sign up for a sidecar tour. The ride takes in pretty much the entire length of the 30-kilometer-long island, from the curling sand spit of Laem Had Beach in the north to the stilted fishing village of Phru Nai in the south. Along the way, we stop to watch farmers collect sap from their rubber trees, trek a forest trail, visit a batik studio, and tour a roadside rubber workshop where sheets of latex are hung in the sun to dry like so much laundry. Another morning, I go kayaking in a stretch of mangroves on the island’s west coast. The boats are owned by a village cooperative, and my local guide knows these wetlands like the back of his hand. Good thing, too, as we’re soon deep into a labyrinth of jungly channels, ears alert for the call of the hornbills that nest in the area.
If this sounds like too much exertion for an island holiday, fear not: the Anantara is equally adept at lulling guests into utter relaxation. The spa, for one, is a knockout, with a sexy outdoor hydrotherapy pool and a Moroccan-style hammam. I opt for an unfussy Thai acupressure massage and feel my muscles slacken almost immediately. Later, as the evening sky turns pink, I head up to my Penthouse’s rooftop terrace once again to admire the views over a gin and tonic. Unable to resist the siren call of my infinity pool a moment longer, I do what the monkeys do and dive right in.
<a href="https://www.anantara.com/en/koh-yao-yai-phuket" target="_blank" rel="noopener">anantara.com</a>; from US$350 a night
This article originally appeared in the <a href="https://www.destinasian.com/magazine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">March/May 2024</a> print issue of DestinAsian magazine (“Ode to An Island”).

Island Bliss at Anantara Koh Yao Yai