Anantara Rasananda Koh Phangan Villas — Hotel in Ko Pha Ngan

I cannot fathom how this does not exclusively have 5/5 stars. We first came here in April 2024 and as soon as we got home, started planning to come back. After our second - even better - stay, we are already looking at when we can return for a third time.

This year, the Full Moon Party coincided with my birthday so it made too much sense to come back. Unfortunately, the death of the queen mother meant all events were cancelled and we only found out as we were about to get changed to go! You'd think this would dampen the trip, especially as it won't happen again on my birthday for decades, but this hotel is such a special place that it was an after thought.

If this isn't the best hotel in the world, I don't know what is.

Staff: You are allocated a dedicated host who you can contact via WhatsApp. They're super friendly and helpful and go above and beyond to make your stay magical. Shout out to Ping who is a total superstar. She liaised with my other half to sneak into our room and cover it in balloons, food, and decorations for my birthday, and made a nice message on the TV. Gestures like this really stand out and make your stay feel personal.

Our cleaner was exceptional - I'd hire her for my house if I could! Whilst she didn't speak much English, she was so incredibly friendly and helpful. Nothing was too much for her. Extra towels? Mosquito spray? Fixing the deck chair? No problem. Absolutely cannot fault her at all.

The rest of the staff were so overtly warm and welcoming that we walked around with a smile our whole trip. From the breakfast staff to the guards at the gate, to the reception staff and beyond, everything was about service with a smile. Thai hospitality is world famous of course, but this hotel takes it to the next level.

Food: Breakfast has an extensive menu you can select from (AYCE), as well as a large buffet. 7 kinds of milk, 12 kinds of bread...the options are endless. They cater for all allergies. I have a dairy allergy and they didn't make me feel like I was inconveniencing them at all - I felt like any other guest, which is rare (and never happens in the UK).

The menu for food at the restaurant and room service is even better. The satay gai, the salmon tacos, and the absolutely sensational lamb massaman were all without equal. Is it expensive? Sure. Is it worth it? Absolutely.

Rooms: Each room has a private plunge pool and a private patio/terrace/balcony. Some are very private, others give up a little privacy for beach access. There isn't a bad room in the place. Rooms are incredibly well equipped and spacious, very comfortable, and lack for nothing. You get a welcome drink on arrival, cold towels, a bag of beach towels, and probably more I'm forgetting.

Amenities: The spa is like stepping onto another world! It's pricey but it's paradise. The staff here are fantastic, thoughtful, and accommodating. We got a couple's massage and I have a broken shoulder. They were careful to ensure I had a relaxing time without causing me any pain. If I was to offer criticism, not everyone can comfortably wear flip flops that go between the toes, so sliders should be an option also.

The gym is small but has a range of cables, dumbbells, and cardio kit. The aircon is crisp! Too few hotel gyms have sufficient aircon so this was a blessing.

Each room has reserved umbrella beds on the beach with a table, complete with food and drink table service. You also get a welcome glass of water on arrival and there are sometimes free drinks through the day as you watch the private speedboat arrivals!

The hotel itself is so well appointed you won't believe. It feels like you're in a rainforest! There are thoughtful seating areas, ponds, and water features - truly a feast for the senses!

If I was to offer one improvement, it would be that you would have a partner company for vehicle hire. There are some in the village and some that offer hotel delivery too, but there are so many scams and horror stories that it would be a big help.

The local village is a great place to spend some time and it...

Overall:

We spend 11 days at this beautiful beach hotel in October 2021. And in a nutshell, it is exactly that island and beach paradise, as the photos suggest. As GHA Discovery Platinum members we were recognized and received a lot of benefits. The resort, the pathways to the rooms, the rooms themselves, the restaurants, the Spa … all so beautifully kept and with a vibrant, tropical and also luxury flair. Exactly what we were looking for, when booking that.

Location :

It is clearly also about location here. This has nothing to do with the Party Koh Phangan, which is on the other side of the island. The way to the Anantara is already part of the experience, when crossing the island through its national park with its mountains and lush and tropical flora. Then after half an hour ride, you arrive at this beautiful beach and resort, where you feel like being on a remote island (which Koh Phangan actually isn’t) - but there are still 2-3 other nice hotels in the neighborhood and even a tiny village, so that you are not stuck in your hotel, and can also try other restaurants during your stay. For us the perfect combination for experiencing a luxury, tropical hide-away, while still having some variety.

Restaurants:

Amazing food in the “Bistro” (the name “Bistro” is a bit misleading, as it is actually a really good restaurant. We also tried the Japanese restaurant (in October it was only opened for special events). This was ok, but we expected a bit more for the quite high price of that event. It was good, but not overwhelmingly tasty, which I was expecting because of a really good marketing. Also, there was actually only one sushi course in the 6-course dinner, while e.g., one was Wakame. Anyway, overall the food quality was very convincing but had its price.

Facilities:

Absolutely beautiful, tropical rooms, the grounds were so well kept, everywhere little ponds and fountains framed by lush greenery.

The Spa is probably in the most beautiful tropical settings that I have ever seen. It was like in an ancient jungle. It was so beautiful, that I booked a massage in one of their outdoor massage rooms (instead of an indoor one). I would not recommend to do so and never choose outdoor again there, because “ancient jungle” also means: millions of mosquitos.

The gym was very small, but lovely. Highly recommended.

We were working there on our laptops and were positively surprised because of the very good internet speed there.

Staff/Service:

A lot of effort is spent into tiny details, which are maybe easily end up unnoticed, but, in my opinion, are so important for the overall atmosphere of that resort. Overall the staff was great although it was quite half-half. Some were perfectly professional, service oriented, attentive and so friendly. Some others where apparently quite new (probably due to staff change in the corona crisis) and partly quite slow and maybe too shy to interact really with guests.

Some staff, that remains in our best memory because of their friendliness (and who we want to say thanks on this way) are Kae, who was always nice and helpful with very good tips for activities, Sakko the very friendly bar keeper, and Khun Tua and Khun Oh, who both were utterly professional, friendly and obviously interested in their guests.

I would also like to highlight the friendliness of the villa hosts Khun Pup and Khun Sanh who both were so helpful and nice throughout our time there taking care...

If you look at my other reviews you'll see in the last few years I've been all over Thailand, always staying at the best places. I can. And this is the best place I've ever stayed in Thailand.

We were met at the airport in a nice new van (with cold drinks) and driven to the nearby peer to catch the speedboat to the resort. At the peer is a private little beach club where we had to kill an hour before the boat was due to leave, which we had to ourselves.

The speedboat was in perfect condition with new safety equipment and a very capable captain. Unfortunately when the wind is from the north east the swell in the bay makes it impossible for the speedboat to come right up to the beach at the resort, so we were dropped at a pier at the other side of the island, where a nice new 4x4 was waiting to drive the 20 minutes to the resort.

On that point, in reply to other reviews that complain about the boat being diverted & think it's just the hotel saving money, I'm a boat skipper myself and there's no way I'd bring a speedboat even vaguely close to that beach with an on-shore wind. The hotel should make people aware of this possibility when they book, as it seems to be a regular problem, and less people would complain if forewarned.

Upon arrival we were met by Silvia, the delightful front desk manager, who showed us around, settled us in and made sure everything was just as we wanted - right down to making sure the complimentary flip-flops were the right size!

We had an ocean front pool villa, which was quiet, private, luxurious, spacious, immaculately clean and perfectly maintained. You're left in no doubt that you're in the best 5* resort on the island. It may not exactly be a cheap place to stay, but you certainly get what you pay for.

The complimentary gin/whisky/vodka in the rooms was a nice touch, as is the Nespresso machine and the stocked wine & champagne fridge!

We had dinner in the on-site sushi restaurant that night, and I had a wonderful steak, while my partner had the sushi.

Just outside the resort are a few supermarkets & shops, a Rasta bar (although please note this part of the island is less "liberal" than say the south of the island) and a few good massage places. These are about 1/8th the price of a massage in the resort - if the management want more people to use the spa they should probably address this. I could live with paying double for the on-site massage, but not 8 times as much!

There are also a few restaurants on the beach for some variety (none as good as the hotel food, although none as expensive either), and a lively bar or two. None that can be heard from the villas though.

The excellent service continued all the way through to when we left, and my only complaint is that we liked it so much we wanted to extend our stay but couldn't as they were fully booked. Hardly surprising really!

Not to worry, we'll be back, and next time we'll be staying a bit longer.

A big thank you to all the staff at A.R. for a...