If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (including tax) available in the next 60 days.
Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (THB11,775.70), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.
Thailand retreat TreeHouse Villas is a compact, luxury beach resort made up of individual treehouse-style dwellings looking out over Phang Nga Bay. Treading the suspended wood-and-rope walkways to access your meticulously outfitted, thatch-crowned hideaway brings to mind a sort of five-star Ewok village – albeit one with an achingly cool jungle spa. There’s a natural elevation to the site, meaning that each villa has its share of that bay view, whether it’s on the beach front or nested in the treeline. It’s grown-ups only too, so when it comes to peace, privacy and pampering, the force is strong with this one…
Smith Extra
Get this when you book through us:
A guided nature walk and a locally made welcome gift (and garland) for each guest
32 private treehouse villas, designed to blend with the natural surroundings.
Check–Out
Noon. Earliest check-in, 2pm.
Prices
Double rooms from £272.44 (THB12,600), including tax at 7 per cent.
More details
Rates include a daily buffet breakfast served at the tranquil Roots Restaurant and Lounge.
Also
Note that because of the terrain and access to the elevated villas, the hotel is not suited to wheelchair users.
At the hotel
Paid water activities and laundry service on request, beach volleyball and table-tennis equipment, beach chair, and free WiFi. In rooms: air-conditioning, smart TV, DVD player, smart door-lock system, Bluetooth sound-system, free bottled water, minibar, coffee machine with Boncafé pods, tea-making kit, bathrobes, slippers, and Lemongrass House bath products.
Our favourite rooms
While the beachfront pool villas have their undeniable charms, we won’t be persuaded away from our first choice: the TreeHouse Villa. With two floors (one outdoor and one indoor) stacked on top of each other and cradled in sprouting tropical plant life, these villas combine the best of the jungle with the beach and bay still within easy reach. The first-floor balconies, designed for romantic moments for two, give a real sense of suspension in the tree canopy itself. And let’s be honest, whose inner child can resist the lure of a treehouse?
Poolside
As well as the private plunge pools in each villa, there’s also an unheated chlorinated pool by the Roots restaurant and bar, which you can use from 7am to 7pm.
Spa
The Serenity Spa (around 100 metres from the TreeHouse Villas site and shared with its neighbouring sister hotel, Paradise Koh Yao Resort) is open daily from 11am to 8pm. Its lush jungle setting helps kick off the journey to relaxation and healing, which continues as you hit the herbal steam cave and waterfall plunge pool. Book in advance to enjoy treatments such as aromatherapy and Thai massage, performed using all-natural herbal products, in one of the six open-air treatment rooms overlooking the waterlily pond and rice fields. Personal-training sessions are also available, as are group or private yoga sessions in the scenic beachfront space.
Packing tips
Yoga gear (the good stuff, not the elderly leggings) and a list of upbeat podcasts to work through in this supremely relaxing location.
Children
TreeHouse Villas is for guests aged 16 and over.
Sustainability efforts
There’s a strong focus on sustainable tourism, from the natural materials and upcycled pieces in the guest villas to the eco-friendly, locally made bath products. The open-air jungle spa has been constructed in wood to blend with the natural environment. The hotel employs local people, training them in key hospitality skills and in how to protect and preserve the locality. There’s a monthly native tree-planting programme, and much of the vegetables and herbs for the restaurant are grown in the organic garden. Efforts are made to conserve water and energy across the site, turning off the power to things like air conditioning and lighting when they’re not in use. In-room bamboo bins have separate compartments for separating waste for recycling or reuse.
For a truly special occasion, you can book the mini pavilion for two, right on the private beach. One to note if you’ve got a special question up your sleeve…
Dress Code
No-fuss, coastal casual wear.
Hotel restaurant
Roots Restaurant and Lounge serves a buffet breakfast (7.30am to 10.30am), lunch (11.30am to 5.30pm) and dinner (6.30pm to 10.30pm). The à la carte lunch and dinner menus showcase Thai and international dishes, crafted largely from locally sourced produce, some grown on the island itself. Tables are draped in white linen and you can choose to dine under the tall, airy pavilion or by the pool.
Hotel bar
The breezy Roots lounge area, part of the adjacent restaurant, is open from 7.30am to 11pm. You can sit under the cover of the elegant high wooden pavilion, at the bar or by the infinity pool, taking in some bay views with your apéritif. Drinks are mixed to order using local ingredients.
Last orders
Food orders close by 10.30pm.
Room service
You can enjoy the Roots menu in the comfort of your villa between 11.30am and 10pm.
TreeHouse Villas sits on the northern tip of Koh Yao Noi island, in Thailand.
Planes
Due to the remote location of TreeHouse Villas, the best way to access it is by boat, which you can only do during daylight hours when it’s safe to sail. Hotel transfers are available from either Phuket International Airport or Krabi International Airport. The shuttle service from Phuket Airport involves a 15-minute drive and an hour-long boat ride. From Krabi Airport, it’s around a 40-minute drive followed by 35 minutes on a boat. Alternatively, you can book a direct transfer from your hotel in Phuket or Krabi.
If you’re travelling independently, you’ll need to familiarise yourself with the speedboat timetable. Boats travel from TreeHouse Villas to Yacht Haven Marina (Phuket) at 9.30am, 1pm and 3pm. They run from Yacht Haven Marina (Phuket) back to TreeHouse Villas at 11am, 2pm and 4.30pm. Boats depart from TreeHouse Villas to Thalen Pier (Krabi) at 1.30pm, and depart Thalen Pier (Krabi) to TreeHouse Villas at 2pm.
Worth getting out of bed for
TreeHouse Villas has its own private sandy beach, where you can paddle, swim and sun yourself. You can borrow paddle boards and kayaks from the activity centre to start your own adventure, or hop on the free daily beach shuttle to one of the diminutive neighbouring islands (around a 30-minute boat ride) for a snorkelling session. There are also twice-daily yoga classes in the beachfront studio, or one-to-one sessions if you prefer (book in advance https://www.paradise-kohyao.com/dining/al-fresco/), plus guided jungle treks to bring you closer to the island’s local flora and fauna.
Local restaurants
The remote location and lack of evening transfers means that you’ll probably rely on the ace hospitality of the onsite Roots Restaurant and Lounge, but you can mix it up during the day by exploring the options at the neighbouring sister hotel, Paradise Koh Yao Resort. Try oven-fired pizzas at Al Fresco, an Italian-style beachfront eatery with white-clothed tables, or seafood-focused Thai and international dishes, either under the covered area or on the sands, at the Seafood Terracerestaurant.
Every hotel featured is visited personally by members of our team, given the Smith seal of approval, and then anonymously reviewed. As soon as our reviewers have returned from this secluded and sun-warmed hotel in Thailand, a full account of their treetop break will be with you. In the meantime, to whet your wanderlust, here's a quick peek inside TreeHouse Villas in Koh Yao Noi…
Step off the boat onto the wooden jetty that leads to the private beach at TreeHouse Villas – it’s an unbeatable intro to discovering your jungle-lavish abode. To one side, cast your eyes over the craggy limestone cliffs, to the other there’s a sweep of palm-flanked beach. There’s an obvious pull here for newlyweds, but it’s just as enchanting for those celebrating a much longer journey together. And what better reward than a rustic (yet bang-up-to-date) hideaway tucked into the tropical canopy and just metres away from the sea? You can walk or golf-cart your way around this little resort, taking time to notice the views from each wooden walkway or rope-strewn bridge. Private balconies give you a first-row seat for the sunrise, and custom-designed, hammock-shaped bath tubs are sure to push you over the edge into full relaxation mode. A chunky writing desk set against full-length glass in each villa provides a not-too-shabby spot for finishing that tricky last chapter of one’s novel (or just crafting a envy-inducing email to your nearest and dearest). The private decked space with plunge pool, day-beds and romantic squishy swing-seat for two is the cherry on top of a rather generous cake.
