Krabi's Somkiet Buri Resort Review: Looking Glass Magazine-November 2006

Krabi's Somkiet Buri Resort, the jewel of all Krabi's hotels and resorts, is the finest, most visually impressive hotel I've been to in Thailand, yet.

The Somkiet Buri is just 200 yards up the main drag from Ao Nang Beach and just fifty yards down a tree lined lane that heads toward a towering cliff that overlooks the town and beach.    We paid just 1350 baht a night to spend six nights at the Somkiet Buri after paying 1150 baht at Ao Nang Paradise the first night we arrived.  Later we would find that Gus, who lives down the hall from me at Wongamat Residence had just paid that much a night at Ko Samet for very inferior accommodations.  Gus showed me a ticket for one of his dinners at Ko Samet.  The prices he paid were at least a third higher than what we paid for our average meal at Krabi.  As for the Somkiet Buri, each morning we got a free buffet breakfast as part of the deal and each afternoon a free fruit tray was brought up to our room.  For that matter we also got a complimentary breakfast at the Ao Nang Paradise, which was actually a pretty nice place although it simply couldn't match the Somkiet Buri, but then, few hotels or resorts can.  At the Somkiet Buri, we ate in an open thatched hut building.  Amazingly most of the dishes were very low priced with Thai dishes starting at 60 baht or so, which was a welcome surprise for a resort of this caliber.   But what really sets the Somkiet Buri Resort off from practically every other place I've ever stayed is the landscaping of the resort itself with its extensive pathways through the resort , Lilly ponds, small waterfalls, wooden walkways and bridges, and small thatched roof structures--eg. Somkiet Buri's outdoor restaurant comprises not one but two buildings.  And there's not just an acre or two of it, there's, I'd say, around five or ten acres, but whatever it is, the jungle here is very extensive.  Even more impressive, it is all lit up at night with red, green, purple, as well as subdued white lights.  But don't just take my word for it, take a look at the pictures below.  Better yet, watch the video and you will get the real idea of what this place is all about.    Service at the Somkiet front desk was impeccable.  We booked an all afternoon outing to Phi-Phi on the ferry, the four island speedboat tour, and our taxi back to the airport from the desk.  Always we were picked up in front of the desk, and if we were a couple of minutes late because we were still eating in the restaurant someone would come by to tell us that our ride was waiting for us.   You are going to ask, does the Somkiet Buri face out onto the beach? No, it does not.  But if you leave the windows open at night, the chirping of the frogs will lull you to sleep.  The deck is spacious and comfortable.  The Somkiet Resort, unlike the Long Beach Hotel, the other resort covered in this issue of the Looking Glass, is a world unto itself that offers beautiful seclusion, yet it is only a quarter of a mile's easy walk from Ao Nang's beach.