16 of the best hotels in Thailand

Find rethought teak mansions, high-end beach resorts and rural escapes ringed by rice fields and elephants in the Land of Smiles

B angkok has a dizzying array of accommodation covering every style and budget imaginable. First-timers should aim to stay near the Chao Phraya River for a gentler introduction to the city and easy access to major attractions such as Wat Po Temple and the Grand Palace. Thailand’s second city, Chiang Mai, lies to the north and is famed for its artistic heritage. Hotels here tend to be smaller, prettier and more budget-friendly — you should try to spend at least one night in the surrounding countryside.

When it comes to the islands, Phuket and Koh Samui are on the A-list, often with hotel rates to match, but there are dozens more to choose from — Koh Phi Phi, Koh Lanta, Koh Phangan, Koh Lipe — if you want an adventure and don’t mind riding a ferry or two. Check the weather before booking; on the westerly Andaman Sea coast the monsoon season runs from early May until late October. The Gulf of Thailand has a shorter rainy season from October until December, potentially washing out Christmas. Here’s our pick of the best hotels in Thailand.

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1. Pimalai Resort & Spa, Koh Lanta

£ | SPA | POOL | Best for serenity

Looking for the serene side of the country? The island of Koh Lanta feels like Thailand 30 years ago, before the chain resorts arrived. It’s here that you’ll find quiet roads, cheap beach restaurants and Thai-owned, family run hotels — Pimalai being the loveliest and most lux. It’s located on a long, golden sweep of sand on the west coast; behind the beach, pool villas and rooms are discreetly cut into the jungly hillside. There’s a suitably peaceful spa, two large pools with views, plus two excellent restaurants, from beachside seafood to fancier steaks and wine. The best bit? The warmest and most welcoming team in Thailand. The hotel runs boat trips to neighbouring islands: don’t miss snorkelling and sunsets at Koh Haa, and a chance to stroll on talc-soft sands with a visit to Koh Rok.

2. Cape Fahn, Koh Samui

££ | SPA | POOL | Best for private island living

It’s not every day you get to stay on a private island — particularly at an affordable (by comparison) price point. Pool villas at Cape Fahn, a small private island off the coast of Samui, start from around £300 a night. You’ll reach it by speedboat or a short truck transfer, depending on the tide, and immediately soak up the serenity. There’s a maximum of 50 guests at any one time, so the feeling here is peaceful, be it by the pool, with its pinstripe lounges, or in the breakfast room, where you’ll feast on some of Thailand’s best pastries while admiring the daffodil-yellow cushions and chic bamboo furniture. Long Dtai is the hotel’s main restaurant, with incredible views and an unforgettable southern egg curry.

3. Mandarin Oriental Bangkok, Bangkok

£££ | POOL | SPA | Best for heritage

History is everywhere in this hotel — but especially in the Authors’ Wing, where pictures of visiting royals and literary giants (Noël Coward, Somerset Maugham, Graham Greene, Barbara Cartland) recall the illustrious history of the 145-year-old Mandarin Oriental Bangkok. All of the rooms were refurbished in 2020, in cerulean and cream, with elegant teak floors and rustling silk curtains; the best have balconies and Chao Phraya River views. The breakfast is one of the most charming in Asia, served on the waterfront with long-tail boats and rice barges floating past, and the spa is sensational — try the Muay Thai massage.

4. Four Seasons Koh Samui, Koh Samui

£££| SPA | POOL | Best for romance

This world-class resort cascades down the hillside onto a palm-fringed private beach in the rugged, quiet northwest of the island. Everything feels like it’s been designed to help you unwind — breezy open-air terraces, vases of white orchids and lanterns glowing softly in the evening. You’ll find multiple places to relax, too — at the beach bar, by the infinity pool, in the garden spa. All of the peaked-roof villas, ranging from one-bedroom to four-bedroom, have private pools and panoramic views of the Gulf of Thailand.

5. Amanpuri, Phuket

The first resort in the Aman hotel empire feels as unique today as it did when it opened over 30 years ago. The location on Phuket’s swanky west coast is dazzling, spilling through thick jungle onto a patch of boulder-strewn beach lapped by the luminous green Andaman Sea. The architecture takes inspiration from Thai Buddhist temples and wows with grand pavilions, wide stone staircases and a striking, black-tiled swimming pool. Like its list of famous guests, the list of glam things to do is long: stand-up paddleboard yoga, yacht charters, private temple tours, wellness programmes, tasting menus and so on.

6. Six Senses Yao Noi, Koh Yao Noi

£££ | SPA | POOL | Best for watching the sunrise

Hornbills squawking in the palm trees, the Andaman Sea glowing jade, the ubiquitous scent of jasmine in the air, glitterbomb night skies — Koh Yao Noi, just off the coast of Phuket, is easily one of the most alluring islands in Thailand. In keeping with the surroundings, the hotel offers back-to-nature villas, with split-level decks, private plunge pools, sunken sofas and beds strung with driftwood canopies. Set your alarm for 6am at least once to watch the cherry-red sun rise over the toothy limestone sea stacks scattered around Phang Nga Bay — you’ll never forget it.

7. Trisara, Phuket

££ | SPA | POOL | Best for fancy food

The designers behind the opulent pool villas at Trisara made sure that each was spaced far enough apart that guests could run around naked without ever being seen — a snippet that reflects the hotel’s thoughtfulness and its mischievous streak. The dining experiences include Pru — Thailand’s first Michelin Green star restaurant — plus in-villa barbecues and a Sunday jazz brunch that parties until the sun goes down. Recuperate at the excellent spa with a tok sen massage, a traditional northern Thai technique that uses a wooden hammer and chisels to knock out tension (it’s a lot more relaxing than it sounds).

8. 137 Pillars House, Chiang Mai

££ | SPA | POOL | Best for old-world charm

Back in the 19th century this teak mansion was the Borneo Company’s headquarters. Now, it’s a ravishing heritage hotel with atmospheric restaurants, a “serenity centre” and an outdoor swimming pool shaded by frangipani trees. All of the rooms are suites, with separate parlours, clawfoot bathtubs and pretty verandas cooled by swirling fans. While 137 Pillars feels hushed and secluded, venture through the gate and you’ll happily find Chiang Mai’s riverside restaurants, cool cafés and raucous street markets right on your doorstep.

9. Phulay Bay: A Ritz-Carlton Reserve, Krabi

££ | SPA | POOL | Best for wannabe movie stars

Recognise this one? The Ritz-Carlton Phulay Bay’s seaside location in Krabi is so ridiculously perfect it’s featured in a number of movies — one being the wedding scene backdrop in The Hangover. The island sea-spires it overlooks, in Phang Nga Bay, were made famous as Scaramanga’s lair in the James Bond movie The Man with the Golden Gun. Other star attractions include palatial Moroccan-style villas (a nod to the area’s Thai-Muslim heritage), a swimming pool as big as a lake and a wealth of tempting dining options.

10. Capella Bangkok, Bangkok

£££ | SPA | POOL | Best for fashionable types

Capella Bangkok opened during the pandemic and still quickly managed to become one of the hottest spots in town. Sporting a contemporary Thai design, it takes full advantage of its location on the banks of the Chao Phraya River, with chic waterfront restaurants, energy flow massages at the spa, outdoor pools and private long-tail boat tours of the Thonburi klongs (canals). Every one of the 101 rooms has floor-to-ceiling windows with mesmerising views of the Bangkok riverscapes, while seven villas are set at ground level with outdoor whirlpools and gardens rolling to the water’s edge.

11. Sala Ayutthaya, Ayutthaya

£ | POOL | Best for a cultural hit

Posted on the confluence of the Chao Phraya, Lop Buri and Pa Sak rivers, Thailand’s former capital, Ayutthaya, makes an ideal side trip from Bangkok. The town is basically one big archaeological dig, peppered with the ruins of ancient palaces, Buddhist temples, sculptures, murals and prang towers. Take it all in at gorgeous boutique resort Sala Ayutthaya, which sits on the bank opposite Phutthaisawan temple. There’s a glorious rooftop lounge, a riverside restaurant (order the local freshwater prawns) and 26 monochromatic rooms to choose from, including some with decks and others with private pools.

12. COMO Point Yamu, Phuket

£ | SPA | POOL | Best for design lovers

This pad sprawls across a rocky promontory on Phuket’s dramatic east coast and supplies stirring views of Phang Nga Bay’s parakeet-green waters and prehistoric limestone karsts. Modernist architecture plays with the southern Thai light to dramatic effect, the dining experiences are sublime and the spacious rooms, with their tactile surfaces, spa-worthy bathrooms and private plunge pools, are calming in the extreme. There’s a fabulous 100m-long swimming pool, but no beach. To make up for it, guests are shuttled across the bay by long-tail boat to the hotel’s private island beach club.

13. Lisu Lodge, Mae Taeng

£ | Best for rural living

If you’re looking for a real sense of rural Thailand, head for 90 minutes by car north of Chiang Mai to the pastoral environs of Mae Taeng, a patchwork of rice fields and tea plantations rippling into the mountainous distance. At its heart is Lisu Lodge: a community-based project that helps to conserve local hill tribe communities, while offering visitors the chance to stay in comfortable traditional stilted homes. While you’re there, take to nature trails, try bamboo rafting and visit local villages where the animist people believe there are supernatural spirits living in the trees, rivers and rocks.

14. Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp and Resort, Chiang Rai

££ | SPA | POOL | Best for elephants

Cloaked in misty rainforest with views across northern Thailand, Laos and Myanmar, and elephants wandering in the backyard, this luxury hotel is a nature lover’s dream. Supporting an ethically run elephant sanctuary within the grounds, you can walk with the gentle giants in the morning light and even spend the night with them encased in a transparent bubble room set in the jungle. When you’re not admiring the Dumbos, sip cocktails from coconut shells by the infinity pool, have a milk bath at the spa or lose yourself in the near-mystical views.

15. Chiva Som, Hua Hin

£££ | SPA | POOL | Best for a reset

Located in the royal holiday enclave of Hua Hin, a three-hour drive south of Bangkok, Chiva Som is where celebrities such as Madonna, Kate Moss and David and Victoria Beckham come for a physical and emotional reboot. It has all the holistic bases covered — full medical work-ups, a physiotherapy studio, nutritionists, numerous gyms, swimming pools, therapy pools and yoga pavilions, as well as a vast spa offering quantum crystal massages and mindfulness-based stress relief. Even golfers are catered for, with specific training programmes to improve their swing.

16. Kamalaya, Koh Samui

££ | SPA | POOL | Best for spiritual enlightenment

It’s not every spa retreat that has its own centuries-old meditation cave but Kamalaya has just that — and so much more. Surrounded by white sand and luscious jungle on Koh Samui’s rugged, peaceful southeast coast, the environment practically hums with positive energy, as do the unflappable, always smiling staff. While you can come here to be pampered or to lose weight or to practise yoga, most guests are in search of something more meaningful, following wellness programmes that include cognitive behavioural therapy with former monks and acupuncture to release negative pent-up emotions.