Asiaversary Trip Hotel Review – Koyao Island Resort

Panoramic Pool View at Koyao Resort
Panoramic view at the infinity pool at Koyao Resort

After we wrapped up at Santhiya, we caught a Tuk Tuk over to one of the piers on the North side of the island to take a longboat transfer (costing a couple hundred Baht) to the pier on the South side of Koh Yao Noi. From there, we caught a public Tuk Tuk to Koyao Resort, and felt much more at ease almost instantly as we saw the surroundings on the short ride (10-15 minutes) to our resort property. This property was called the Koyao Island Resort, and was the #2 ranked hotel on the island (besides, no real surprise here, the Six Senses resort just up the road).

Here is what I would say about the Koyao Island Resort:

  • Overall: 8/10 – Very nice (and refreshingly quaint/quiet) resort with a lot of “free” amenities that are actually fairly valuable
  • Notes:
    • The island itself was a big shift from Koh Yao Yai; it was much friendlier, much more energetic, with a lot more character and small “hole-in-the-wall” type shops and restaurants
    • Reminded us a lot more of Tulum, which is what we thought we were signing up for in the first place (so, expectations came close to meeting reality!)
    • The staff at this resort were much more accommodating, perhaps because it is maybe only 10% the size of Santhiya (I would guess there are 20-30 rooms total at this resort, instead of the 200+ at Santhiya)
    • Daily activities are offered free of charge, and we ended up lucking out with a 4 hour longboat tour of several surrounding islands with a few of our fellow guests. The fact that the resort puts this together once a week is such a great amenity because, otherwise, you’d have to shell out at least $100 to do that as a couple anywhere else. The time was right, too, we decided we couldn’t do a full day on a boat (especially if the sun was out and it was hot). So this was the perfect way to quench that thirst for boat excursion without having to give up a full day (and a full stack of Thai Baht)
    • The infinity pool was great, and we enjoyed cooling off in it after we got too hot
    • Rooms were very well-appointed, and the biggest hidden gem from my perspective was the insect zapper tennis racket (I had WAY too much fun with this)
    • The food was a bit better than Santhiya, especially the quality/freshness/selection at breakfast buffet (side note: you could tell the head chef took pride in his work as he would stand out and greet guests and help prepare specific selections that were requested by guests). Katy could live off of the pancakes here!
    • Overall, we felt much more at home and at peace/relaxed here than we had previously

Til Next Time,

Michael

Our Asiaversary Trip Overview

For our one year anniversary, my wife decided that we should go on a “real” honeymoon. I use quotation marks because, by all accounts, we did go on a proper honeymoon the first time around (see posts on Tulum – we spent 6 days there and had a blast!). However, since we were nearly out of paid time off at the end of 2016 when we got married, we didn’t get to do a lengthier couple week trip to really relax. So – this is why I refer to it as our “Anniversamoon”, or as you’ll see in upcoming posts – our “Asiaversary”.

Here is a brief overview of our itinerary, and I will be sure to add all the details in upcoming posts (from things like flight, hotel, food, activity, and entertainment perspectives):

Asiaversary Itinerary

As you can see, we had quite a diverse range of stops, as well as carriers (and lodging types). Our major stops were Hong Kong, Chiang Mai, Phuket (well, the islands near Phuket really), and Bangkok. We learned a lot, had a blast, and can’t wait to share more.

Hope you enjoy!

Til Next Time,

Michael