9 Hornbills Review

[snoop1130]

 

Koh Yao Noi may be one of Thailand’s lesser-known islands, however being located a mere 30-minute speedboat ride from Phuket, I thought it was about time to explore further.

 

After a short tuktuk ride through this mostly rural island, passing the sleepy village and riding down winding coastline tracks, I arrived at the 9 Hornbills Tented Camp, (part of the Germing Frey Hotels & Resorts group). The rustic journey had manifested in me an excited feeling that this small island still had an unspoiled paradise about it; a little-known gem perhaps?

 

Check in was efficient and friendly, which really is the combination of choice when you are edging to see your accommodation after days of stalking its beauty on Instagram. My over-active mind began to slow as I sipped on a fresh coconut, which was plucked, (or hacked to be more precise), straight from the palm on arrival for me.

 

Let’s not forget that hotels right now are going through unprecedentedly difficult times, and this filters down to service issues from staff who are struggling to take on more tasks, often hand in hand with other challenges. However, I certainly didn’t get the feeling that staff at this resort were anything other than invested in the place and happy to be there. This feeling grew as a particularly cheerful lady whisked me off via a golf buggy up a narrow and rather steep path lined with exotic banana blossoms and tropical bamboo. Perched on the hillside, hidden amongst lush greenery we reached number 27 – my glamourous, very private tented pool villa with breathtakingly panoramic views. 

 

Let’s just pause for a moment and focus on that view, as it deserve to be celebrated. Upon entering the grounds of your tropical paradise, you are presented with a spectacular and unobscured panoramic seascape. This is one of natures’ spectacular works of art; the vast karst rock scenery that is Phang Nga Bay. 9 Hornbills even provides guests with vintage style binoculars to appreciate some of these formations further, as well as to help spot the rare hornbills in the area, for the bird lovers amongst us. 

 

This luxury resort comprises 10 privately appointed safari style tented villas dotted around the rainforest scenery. Each villa is finished to a high spec with interiors showcasing locally made teak furniture, a king-size romantic netted bed, comfortable seating area with (in my case, certainly) a practical and in-style safari writing desk. In each villa, the private grounds feature a wooden decked terrace with relaxation and dining zones, viewpoint infinity pool, and when you want to freshen up you get to choose between your free-standing indoor bathtub and / or outdoor bamboo surrounded rain shower. 

 

The designs are reminiscent of a luxury safari escape, and are in-keeping with the natural surroundings. I’m pleased to report that design has certainly been considered with eco conscious elements; from the sourcing of teak wood from sustainable forests, to eco clever functionality such as being able to fully open up the front of the villa with see-through mosquito nets firmly staying in place allowing for a refreshing breeze without being eaten alive. 9 Hornbills has also implemented a unique eco-friendly bed cooling system for a more energy efficient climate control system. In addition, there are a number of fans dotted around the villa if you desire more than the natural hillside breeze, and of course you can enjoy sleeping in complete comfort with a bed-only zoned, cool air system – genius! 

 

Full Story: https://expatlifeinthailand.com/travel-and-leisure/9-hornbills-review/

 

-- © Copyright Expat Life in Thailand 2021-03-25
 

- Whatever you're going through, the Samaritans are here for you

- Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates

[BMW Overlander]

9 Hornbills is fantastic place, spent Chistmas Holidays there

 

 

[alien365]

This should be labelled as an advertorial. Funnily enough I have recently been looking at going to Krabi, but I don't see any deals as such on decent accommodation encouraging me to travel that far.