Six Senses Yao Noi

My trip to six Senses @ Yao Noi was a great unmatched experience if you looking for a relaxing and quite top tear vacation. The resort management started follow up with with me regarding my arrival weeks before my arrival date. They wanted to make sure my trip from the Airport to the Marina and subsequently the boat trip to the Islad are all scheduled and planned correctly. Vanessa Acierto, Reservations Department, was following correctly to ensure all my planned, pick up, site visits, restaurants preference and tours are explained, planned, and reserved. Then on the day we arrived at the resort, a well experienced staff; Ganesh Sharma, was assigned to support us during our entire stay at Six Senses. He done a great job facilitating our stay and give us the best experience. No talking about the resort, I strongly recommend it if you need to have a relaxing and healthy vacation. It starts from the morning by visiting the resort farm to pickup your fresh eggs, mushrooms ( for the omelet ) and herbs. The restaurant will be happy to prepare your eggs based on your ingredients. The resort has two more restaurants; Nithan (Authentic Thai Cuisine) make sure not to miss. The food was phenomenal. I wish if I can go back again for their green curry and soft shell crab. Also the Hilltop restaurant and Bar the views and food were great. Very romantic. The private sandy beach with eady access and deep blue water at the resort was another great relaxing experience. The bar tender Rachan Jaras was extremely helpful in explaining the drinks herbs used from the garden and how it is used to prepare the local drinks. Not to forget the resort give the residents bicycles if they like to visit the close by villages. This experience was great and we had a chance to experience the local markets and sport activities. In summary it was a great experience if want to do again and again. Thank you all whom I mentioned and whom didn't have their names. Keep up the quality rich service 👌

From the moment we stepped out of our transfer at the Marina in Phuket we knew this was a special resort. We welcomed and waited for the speed boat transfer to the island. On arrival at Six Senses Ganesh our GEM greeted us and took us on a short tour of the resort.. then onto our villa. We had the 2 bedroom hideaway.. wow! Imagine if you were deserted on a tropical island, your own tree house.. like say Family Robinson or Cast Away … but it’s a luxury five star one. Nestled into the jungle, surrounded by nature. It was idyllic. Float in your own pool while tropical birds fly above you… We tried all the restaurants, actually loved Living Room. Food and service .. but all were lovely. Recommend taking the bikes out and also the mangrove kayaking, both free. Definitely book yourself into the spa, even just for a steam and sauna. These are private areas you can have .. they r amazing. We also had some treatments which were just lovely. Six Senses Koh Yai Noi is less of a resort and more of an experience. We felt truly blessed to be there. Loved every minute.

Fictional Mad Men ad man Don Draper once mused, “I keep going places and ending up where I’ve already been.” Even the most jaded of global jetsetters, however, will not feel this sentiment at the Six Senses Yao Noi. This property is sui generis. Back in 1998, Swiss developers Germing Frey saw something others had overlooked: a former rubber plantation on the untouched island Koh Yao Noi, one of the 42 islands in the scenic Phang Nga Bay, was perfectly situated to build a resort. First operated as a Kempinski property, in 2008 this property became the Six Senses Yao Noi. With no operations in the United States, many Americans are unfamiliar with this flagship IHG brand, although an upcoming outpost is in development in New York’s Hudson Valley. This is a resort situated in the jungle and biophilia abounds. Although it is easily accessible by boat, it is an unspoiled world apart from the mass tourism of Phuket. With this comes welcome residents like majestic Oriental Pied Hornbills (one almost alighted on me as I was splashing about in my villa’s personal pool) and menaces like nasty mosquitos. Although the property does mosquito abatement thrice weekly, I suggest you apply the provided repellant and keep the mosquito coils sparked up, or you may find tell-tale red welts accompanying you on vacation. In particular, if you choose to undertake the complimentary guided kayak tour of the mangrove forest (delightful), make sure you apply repellent to your ankles and sunblock to the tops of your feet (lesson learned) as you won’t be shod. And speaking of the jungle, there are a tremendous number of trees that shed leaves more quickly than a New England hillside in October. Yet you will never hear the unwelcome whine of a leaf blower or snarl of a chainsaw. All of the pathways are immaculately maintained by a team of gardeners who work tirelessly to keep the place pristine. To give a sense of the velocity of leaf shedding, on my departure day, the portion the path shared with an adjacent villa along with its branched path were swept leaf free while the groundskeepers waited to sweep the spur to my villa until closer to the arrival time of the next occupant lest they simply have to start sweeping all over again. The density of foliage is such that when the property describes the view of the “Hideaway Pool Villa” as “Jungle,” you should believe it. You might only be a couple yards from another villa or 50 yards from the ocean but you will not be able to see either of them. It is complete privacy. If a room with a view is important to you (and there are some rooms with boffo views, including the most spectacular of them all appropriately and simply named “The View”), make sure you reserve an appropriate room category. All of the one-to-four bedroom villas are spacious, vibrantly decorated and filled with a confounding collection of switches controlling everything from lighting to fans to air conditioning. On my first night I had to venture outside past the pool to the end of the villa to locate the switch to a light that was shining into the bedroom window. Perhaps future room enhancements will include some automation technology to operate the systems and shades. This property operates close to full capacity almost all of the time, even during the low season when some of the 56 villas are unavailable for maintenance. When upgrades are available, the resort prioritizes them for what it terms “long staying” and returning guests (who also receive a cute “Welcome Home” plaque outside their doors). Booking through Virtuoso, AMEX FHR or being an IHG Diamond Royal Ambassador will likely not yield outsized results given the number of guests with similar status or higher upgrade proiority. If you are a IHG points enthusiast, however, this may prove to be a redemption opportunity that yields greater value than their customary US$0.005 valuation peg, at least until they adjust the number of points required to keep up with the rising cash room rates. Dining here is tasty, plentiful, varied across the three restaurants + room service and reasonably priced, with the notable exception of the eye-watering Andaman Rainbow Lobster at 6,800 Bhat. It could be simple menu price anchoring to make the other items look reasonable, but I’m buffaloed why high-end resorts crank up the price of these nocturnal omnivorous nautical scavengers to the moon and beyond. saw the same dynamic in Maldives. Perhaps some subsegment of guests must regard lobsters as a singularly indulgent vacation delicacy. I suggest you save your lobster consumption for your next trip to Maine. Breakfast is a particular treat, but keep an eye on the mouth-watering Thai mango which is snapped up as fast as a worker can slice it. While there is a pilot program in Florida to grow Thai papayas and mangos, until they become widely available in the US, you’ll be glad you tried them in their home setting. I also recommend the Phuket Noodle with Onsen Egg (order off the menu; it’s a different dish than the one prepared at the buffet noodle bar). One thing to skip here is oatmeal as it is the same instant variety you would find at a Holiday Inn Express. And if ice cream is your preferred way to cool down, you can enjoy as much home made ice cream as you desire all day long for free. For those venturing off property, there are a variety of coffee shops, beachside beer shacks, massage stands, restaurants and even two package stores for hootch for tourists visiting this 95+% Muslim island. Hit up the ATM across from the resort entrance as cash is king at these establishments. You will find these outposts both to the south and north of the resort but be advised that the road to the north features two rather formidable hills if you are on foot or bicycle while the road to the south is basically flat. Prior to visiting, I recommend signing up for the IHG Intercontinental Ambassador program (US$225/annually) to be treated to either a complimentary guided excursion or a massage for two from the storied spa regarded to be among the finest in Southeast Asia. You’ll make up the annual fee and then some with a single massage alone. The spa facility is indeed beautiful, nestled in the jungle in a classic Thai longhouse. Upon entering, I was given a form to fill out assessing my current level of stress and other preferences. I selected a 90-minute “medium” “relaxing” with the addition of hot stones. Well, perhaps something was lost in translation. The first 45-minutes were delightful. But then I think the therapist transitioned into the “Movement Restoration Massage.” She hopped up on the table and began pressing, pulling and stretching with all her might, rending me asunder in a such a fashion I felt I might cleave in twain. In fairness, throughout the session the therapist continually inquired as to how I was doing and whether she should lighten up. But I thought, “When is the next time I’m going to be in Thailand” and bid her to continue. At the conclusion, the only question the therapist asked was, “Did I make you cry?” The spa indicates it deploys “an intuitive mix of science and human awareness, where our high-tech and high-touch approach defines a service that is crafted around the individual.” Upon departure, my therapist suggested that I was in need of immediate additional intervention and recommended I return to the spa the following day. I demurred. YMMV but unless your métier is body builder at a circus, you might want to think twice about ordering a “Strong” massage here. The spa menu (which has illustrations reminiscent of the opening credits of The White Lotus) advises, “we will take you as deep as you would like to go.” Be careful of what you wish for. As for your fellow guests, you’ll likely find them relaxed, rugged, in fine fettle, fit and yoga-ready. The fitness center and yoga studio enjoy steady use throughout the day. The guests are not as uniformly American as those depicted on The White Lotus; they’re more of a mix of families and well-heeled couples in a Knives Out meets Agatha Christie mystery meets characters from the board game Clue – many of whom could have been lifted straight from a XXIO golf advertisement. With names like Duncan and Tobais, Eugenia and Tate, guests here hail from all over the world. This is reflected in the expansive library offerings available 24 hours a day. One day I was studying the bookshelves trying to discern a familiar title when a staffer gently informed me I was looking at the German language section. Sustainability is a top hallmark of the Six Senses brand. As CEO Neil Jacobs put it, “Every hotel has a sustainability director. That’s not the same as having a green team that meets once a month. This person touches every single department of the hotel and sits on the executive committee of the hotel. That just elevates the importance of the function within the organisation at the hotel level.” Indeed you will find no single use plastic here (or any sous vide food preparation requiring plastic) and from lemongrass straws to chicken coup to mushroom hut to garden and farm, this property walks the walk of sustainability. But there is one area where I believe the resort throws sustainability to the wind: transport. After making a booking, guests have the option of having the hotel arrange transfers to and from the property. And they are great: super convenient, timely, professional, friendly and fun. But one of the choices offered is whether guests want a shared or private speedboat – and many guests select the private option! I can understand if you happen to be Lalisa Manobal or Timothée Chalamet, you might require a private boat to accommodate your entourage and escape the paparazzi. But if you are just another anonymous rich person, why on earth do you need your own private boat to separate you from the other anonymous rich people with whom you will shortly be/or just have been sitting on the beach and dining with at the restaurants? These speedboats are not rinky-dink dinghies but powerful, luxurious, speedy craft with dual 200 horsepower motors that could easily accommodate 15 – 20 passengers… or more. Upon departing the property in my “shared” speedboat with another couple, a private speedboat with two other guests left the dock simultaneously. We raced each other across Phang Nga Bay and thirty minutes later arrived at the same dock in the Ao Por Marina at precisely the same time. Private land transfers make sense for people going to different locations and/or at different times. Duplicative boats going to the same destination at the same time do not. Unlike the fictional shared boat in the White Lotus Thailand, smoking is not allowed and no one on the shared boat was anything other than polite and pleasant, even with an impecunious piker like me stowing away. Years ago, the resort created its signature mellifluous jazz-filled 300-chicken coup to provide guests with fresh organic eggs onsite and reduce the carbon footprint from shipping them in each day from the mainland. While the same approach won’t work for guests, perhaps the Six Senses Yao Noi Sustainability Director can use this experience to develop a carbon offset for purchase program to diminish the environmental impact of those guests requiring their own personal nautical conveyance. Finally, here’s why they should have shot The White Lotus Season III here: all of the villa splendor of the Four Seasons Koa Samui + the breathtaking background of the karsts! Until coming here, my favorite pool with a view was the basking pool at the Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur, California to watch the whales swim by 1,200 feet below. But the karsts have won me over. This pool may well be the “Best Hotel Pool View” in the world. These “humpbacked limestone mountains” stand sentinel in Phang Nga Bay, at once immutable and yet ever changing over the course of the day. There’s nothing at all like them in North America or Europe. And the exteriors of the karsts are just the beginning! Inside the karsts are “hongs,” roofless interior chambers, hosting jungle vegetation, mangrove trees and even barrels of monkeys. What Mike White would have made of the mayhem. The good news is that while the crush of The White Lotus tourist trade descends on Koh Samui, Six Senses Yao Noi remains pristine and unspoiled. If you are looking for repose, reflection, reinvigoration, relaxation, renewal or a combination of all of the above, it’s highly likely you will find them here. It awaits your visit for sybaritic service, nature immersion, cultural connection and discovery of a new place guaranteed not to end up where you have already been – a destination worth the peregrination.

We were overwhelmed by the incredible experience we had at the Six Senses Yao Noi and to count with a GEM like Ganesh to assist us at all times has been very rewarding. We’ll always remember Ganesh’s kindness and sweetness! Make sure to visit this paradise on earth.

Had the most amazing 4 nights at Six Senses. A beautiful, tranquil setting with extremely friendly & helpful staff. We ate at all 3 restaurants & were not disappointed-excellent food & very attentive staff. Our GEM Ganesh made our stay extra special, keeping in touch regularly & ensuring that we had everything we wanted. We went on 2 trips-kayaking in the mangroves & an island tour on a tuk tuk which we thoroughly enjoyed. Would highly recommend staying on this beautiful island.