Series three of The White Lotus is almost upon us and one of the main stars of the show is Thailand. Our expert has travelled the length and breadth of the country, staying in more than 100 hotels. Here are her top picks…
Having first visited Thailand as a backpacker two decades ago, and returned annually ever since, my hotel tally broke 100 some time ago.
Thankfully, I’ve moved on somewhat from my early bunk-bed days. Last year I was the first guest at the Four Seasons Koh Samui, the day after the cast and crew of HBO’s The White Lotus – which is back on air with series three tomorrow – checked out after filming.
The choice of where to stay in Thailand is marvellously varied, from boutique hideaways by the coast to glamping pods, beach shacks, elegant designer city hotels and wildlife retreats.
The best thing? You don’t have to break the bank. There’s accommodation to suit all budgets and, with more than 1,400 islands in the country, there’s an incredible amount to explore.
Here are some of my favourite spots, with tips on how to make the most of them – plus a few to avoid…
Stars of the hit HBO series The White Lotus, which is back on air with series three tomorrow
Bangkok – big city buzz
You could fly into Thailand via Phuket’s international airport, bypassing Bangkok entirely, but that would be a mistake as it’s one of the world’s most exciting cities.
A great way to get a feel for life in the capital is to join a food tour. These pause at sizzling roadside stalls for cheap pad thais (the famous noodle dish), coconut pancakes and fiery catfish salads. Food tours usually also cover the city’s evolution and history – giving you a two-for-one experience. From £47 for three hours (secretfoodtours.com).
Illuminating insights are also to be had on tours of the khlongs (canals). Instead of long-tail boat tours, which rattle along too fast, barely giving you a second to see the sites, book a solar boat tour – a great way to slow down in the frenetic city (carbonneutral.tours).
My tip: Download the Grab app for cheap taxis.
Book it: For a glamorous place to stay that’s not outrageously expensive, try 137 Pillars (137pillarshotels.com) in the speakeasy-dotted neighbourhood of Thonglor. A three-night stay, including a full-day solar power boat tour, is from £598pp (insideasiatours.com).
Hannah recommends going on a food tour around the city and exploring it by solar boat
Trang – foodie favourite
Trang doesn’t feature on many Thailand holiday must-go lists, but if you’re looking for an authentic Thai town with few tourists, head here.
The other reason to visit? Food. This is a place that goes big on breakfast – a tradition that’s been established by the folk working on the rubber tree plantations, who start shifts at 4am. Family-run dim sum joints established by Chinese immigrants have been thriving here for decades, each serving their own version of dim sum with secret spicy sauces. Restaurants are simple affairs, with plastic chairs and sticky floors.
The other famous dish here is moo yong, a local specialty sweet, sticky and crunchy pork dish. You’ll find it in the central market.
My tip: Stop in Trang on your way to Koh Lanta. Trang has its own airport, with flights from Bangkok, and then it’s a 90-minute drive to Koh Lanta.
Book it: Simple doubles at Rua Rasada are from £39 B&B (booking.com).
A man prepares food at a stall in the night market, next to the railway station in Trang, Thailand
Koh Lanta – escape the crowds
Despite its long swathes of beach, peaceful mangroves, wildlife and good-value places to stay, Koh Lanta remains relatively crowd free, and is all the better for it.
The further south you venture from the ferry terminal, the quieter it is. But wherever you go on the island you’ll relish the tranquility. There are no noisy jet skis, nightlife is limited to laid-back beach bars (cheap Chang beer and toes-in-the-sand joints), and the roads are usually peaceful, by Thai standards.
My tip: Stay at Pimalai Resort & Spa, one of Thailand’s best hotels, on the island’s top beach… you’ll get more for your money here than in Phuket or Koh Samui.
Book it: Seven nights at Pimalai Resort & Spa from £1,475pp B&B, including Heathrow flights and transfers (inspiringtravel.co.uk).
The Old Town of Koh Lanta, which remains relatively crowd free compared to other islands
Koh Mak – Thailand of 40 years ago
Visit popular islands such as Phuket and Koh Samui and it’s hard to imagine Thailand being anything other than busy and built up. Yet several decades ago even these spots consisted of little more than rustic beach bungalows and dirt track roads.
If you’re still seeking that, then try Koh Mak, a tiny island located between Koh Chang and Koh Kood, 200 miles south of Bangkok, close to the Cambodian border. There’s a much slower pace of life here, but what’s most unusual is the island’s community ownership model.
Much of the resort is undeveloped. The only cars are songthaews (shared taxis). Head to the south and west for the best beaches, with swaying palms and vivid blue waves.
My tip: Koh Mak can only be accessed by boat and it’s worth considering as part of a bigger trip taking in Cambodia.
Book it: Doubles at Lazy Day cost from £76 B&B (kohmaklazyday.com).
Khao Yai national park – wine and wildlife
Travellers often bypass Khao Yai national park – Thailand’s oldest and third-largest national park – in favour of the Golden Triangle further north or islands to the south. But if you love nature, don’t miss it – it’s just a two-hour drive north-east of Bangkok, and under the radar for most (except in-the-know, wealthy Bangkokians).
Trek through the jungle or take a four-wheel drive safari in search of hornbills and wild elephants. And enjoy top-class hotels from the Bill Bensley-designed InterContinental Khao Yai Resort, with rooms made from repurposed train carriages found at junk yards, to seriously stylish Marasca, where glamping-style villas come with private pools surrounded by pristine gardens.
My tip: Admittedly it can be hit and miss (reds generally better than whites) but you’re sure to learn something new about Thai viniculture on a visit to a local vineyard.
Book it: Doubles from £230 B&B at InterContinental Khao Yai (khaoyai.intercontinental.com); doubles at Marasca from £145 B&B (marasca.live).
Khao Yai is Thailand’s oldest and third-largest national park, offering an array of wildlife and several top-hotels
Koh Samui – Glitzy hotels and spas
The first luxury hotel opened on Koh Samui 40 years ago, and since then it’s become the island go-to for swanky stays. Season three of the White Lotus was mostly filmed at the Four Seasons Koh Samui, a sprawling all-villa resort in a former coconut tree plantation (from about £1,000 a night).
But there are cheaper options. Cape Fahn, for example, is a private island resort with 22 villas – and they’re around half the Four Seasons price. Or there’s Tembo Resort, an excellent-value boutique hotel with chilled-out Ibiza beach club vibes.
There’s more to Koh Samui, of course, than where you sleep. The impressive local wellness scene includes yoga studios, serene spas and great vegetarian/vegan restaurants (Kapuhala, up in the hills, is top notch).
My tip: If you’re island hopping, book your flight to Koh Samui in advance – Bangkok Airways is the only airline to fly into the island, meaning prices can quickly go through the roof.
Book it: Villas at Cape Fahn are from £400 B&B (capefahnhotel.com); doubles at Tembo Resort from £90 B&B (tembo-samui.com).
Koh Samui, where Hannah stayed after the cast and crew of HBO’s The White Lotus wrapped up filming last year
Koh Yao Noi – sleepy villages
It’s amazing that the sister islands of Koh Yao Yai and Koh Yao Noi – surrounded by turquoise sea, a mere 30-minute speedboat ride from Phuket and Krabi – have remained relatively under the radar. Sure, there’s a handful of big brand hotels, but the islands feel blissfully peaceful compared to their neighbours.
Getting out and about on Koh Yao Noi is part of the fun – whether it’s by moped and sidecar, in pick-up trucks doubling as shared taxis, or hiring a multi-coloured longtail boat to go island hopping, dropping anchor at empty beaches or to see monkeys swinging from branches on Monkey Island.
My tip: Hire a moped and whizz past sleepy villages to Ta Ton Do seafood restaurant, run by Ma Na; it feels more grandma’s kitchen than restaurant, with a simple open-air room and menu comprising what her fisherman husband caught that morning.
Book it: Cape Kudu has coastal-chic bedrooms, many with private plunge pools; doubles from £100 B&B (capekuduhotel.com).
Golden Triangle, Chiang Rai – Lush jungle and gentle giants
Elephants are considered sacred creatures by many Thais, but they’re at risk of exploitation – often used for tourist rides and circus shows or for heavy-lifting in logging.
So, if you’re going to see elephants, make sure you’re doing it responsibly, which generally means no touching or riding, at a reputable sanctuary. There are several excellent such sanctuaries dotted across the country, including Samui Elephant Haven on Koh Samui, Phuket Elephant Sanctuary in Phuket and Following Giants on Koh Lanta.
Another option is to venture to the misty jungles of the Golden Triangle, bordering Laos and Myanmar. Here you can enjoy the mighty Mekong River and also sleep surrounded by the gentle giants, which happily wander around the bamboo forest at Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp.
My tip: Chiang Rai is a place to take in temples without the crowds; hire a bike and pedal between them, taking in fields and villages as you go.
Book it: Doubles at Anantara Golden Triangle from £1,031 B&B, including an elephant camp experience, 60-minute spa treatments, yoga and cooking classes (anantara.com).
Hannah recommends going to a reputable elephant sanctuary which involves no touching or riding, such as the Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp
My places to avoid…
Phuket – crowds, traffic and Russian expats
There’s a lot to love – and loathe – about Phuket. Visitors and locals will complain about heavy traffic, Russian expats and built-up, crowded areas like Patong.
On the plus side, it’s home to some of the country’s best beaches and hotels, and, thanks to its international airport, you can jet in from the UK and be sprawled out on your sunlounger within an hour of touching down.
My tip: If it’s the beaches, sunshine and speedy airport transfer you’re after, head further north up the coast to the Phang Nga region. It shares the same western coastline as Phuket, but you’ll find a fraction of the big brand hotels and busy beaches. At Aleenta Resort, for example, the sand is shared with a handful of holidaymakers and a few friendly dogs. Contemporary, light-filled villas are steps from the shore.
Book it: Seven nights at Aleenta Phang Nga Resort & Spa in a grand deluxe pool villa from £2,095pp half-board, including Heathrow flights and transfers; for travel between 1 April and 31 October (inspiringtravel.co.uk).
James Bond island, Phang Nga Bay – selfie-taking tourists
Having visited James Bond island for the first time last year, my advice is ‘stay away’. Picture hundreds of hot sweaty tourists wandering around a tiny island, taking endless selfies and asking each other which James Bond film the island actually featured in (it’s The Man With The Golden Gun). Visiting here is a classic case of following the herd as opposed to thinking about what you actually enjoy doing.
Hannah says that Koh Phi Phi, popularised by the 2000 film The Beach starring Leonardo DiCaprio, is not worth the hype
Maya Beach, Koh Phi Phi – not up to the hype
It was made famous by the 2000 release of the film The Beach, and has since been so busy with visitors that it was forced to close so the natural environment had a chance to rejuvenate. Despite limits on visitor numbers, it’s still crowded and not up to the hype.
If you’re looking for fluro-green water then head south – close to the border of Malaysia – to Koh Lipe, the ‘Maldives of Thailand’ instead.
