The Best Places in Thailand

A private beach and bay tucked behind 28 acres of forest, with outdoor soaking tubs on the terraces that make the views feel earned. This longstanding Choeng Mon resort has been around since Koh Samui was barely a rumor, and it's grown into a full compound: three restaurants, a spa, two outdoor pools, a tennis court, and a kids club that actually buys parents an afternoon off. Beach BBQs and Thai street food nights keep evenings from going quiet.

A 2.4-kilometer pool threading through 27 acres of garden sets the scale here, which is considerable: nearly 500 rooms, 11 restaurants and bars, and a bamboo shark breeding program that guests can visit, because why not. This JW Marriott resort sits on a clean stretch of Khao Lak beach, ninety minutes from Phuket Airport. Rooms come in dark wood and Thai art with ceiling fans. The on-site garden supplies the kitchen, eggs included.

A contemporary-style pizza dough with a pronounced crust is the anchor here, but Marni runs a fuller Italian menu than that suggests, covering fresh pasta, gnocchi, local meats, and seafood alongside the pies. It sits in the middle of tourist-heavy Phuket, which makes its consistency quietly impressive. The wine list is short and sensibly priced, and a small gin and tonic selection handles aperitivo duty. It ranked 39th on 50 Top Pizza Asia-Pacific.

Actual teak barges, once working river vessels, now moored on the property as self-contained suites, are the thing that separates this resort from the standard Koh Samui lineup. Most guests stay in rooms and suites overlooking a sprawling lagoon-style pool, but the Boat Suites have their own logic entirely. Choeng Mon Beach keeps the vibe quieter than the island's rowdier south, and two restaurants, a spa, and a kids' water park mean you can ignore the outside world without effort.

Bill Bensley designed the gardens, which tells you everything about where this resort sits on the ambition scale. Anantara Bophut occupies a quiet stretch of Koh Samui's north shore, and the grounds wander down to the beach through landscaping that earns its reputation on its own. Rooms run from deluxe to suite, all with terrazzo soaking tubs and private terraces. The spa is the real draw for many guests, and Bo Phut beach handles the rest.

A gin bar and two pools, one of them adults-only, tell you what kind of resort this is before you've seen the room. Centara Reserve is the Bangkok-based chain's move into ultra-luxury, and it lands on a quiet stretch of Chaweng Beach with a turquoise infinity pool, a swim-up bar, and suites that come with private pools and round-the-clock butlers. Rooms have sliding glass doors onto furnished terraces, marble-topped bars, and cocktail shakers already waiting.

Private pools come with every villa here, which tells you most of what you need to know about the register. Karma Samui is a resort on Bophut Beach, ten minutes from the chaos of Chaweng but positioned to make that chaos feel optional. Two- and three-bedroom villas run large and airy, suited to families or groups who'd rather cook in than go out. The onsite restaurant faces the Gulf of Thailand, which tends to settle the debate.

Marasca Samui sits at the quieter end of Chaweng Beach, which turns out to be its whole argument. Mornings run to yoga, Muay Thai, or time in the organic garden; by afternoon the Cabanas Beach Club takes over with cocktails made from house-made cordials and DJ sets beside the sea. Rooms lean into warm, earthy interiors with color-accented ceramics, and the better ones add private pools or sea-facing balconies. The spa draws on local ingredients and traditional Thai techniques.

White-washed low-rise buildings break from the usual Thai architectural playbook, which at a resort on one of Koh Samui's most popular beaches is a genuine visual statement. SALA Samui Chaweng is a beachfront resort where every room comes with a private pool, the shared one is moon-shaped, and a palm-lined stretch of the Gulf of Thailand sits a short walk down a curving garden path. The Michelin Guide has it among its selected hotels.

A full-size golf course, a half-moon beach on the island's quiet north shore, and a circular pool large enough to get genuinely lost in make this luxury resort easy to tell apart from its neighbors. The villas lean into traditional Thai aesthetics, with jewel-toned silk and fine woods, and several sit close enough to the water that hammocks are strung between the palms. Beach butlers circulate with cold drinks while kayaks wait on the sand, free for the taking.

The pool is red, which sounds like a design mistake until you see it against all that white. The Library is a minimalist resort steps from the chaos of Chaweng Beach, built around the quiet it refuses to let outside in. An all-white reading room sits by the shore, platform beds and black lacquer fill the rooms, and ground-floor suites open onto Jacuzzis. Tranquility, apparently, is the amenity.

Every one of the 79 pool suites and villas at this Luxury Collection resort has its own plunge pool and terrace, looking out over either the Gulf of Thailand or the rainforest pressing in from behind. Warm timber and local materials give the interiors a Thai feel without overdoing it. Chaweng Noi is quieter than Koh Samui's livelier strips, and Vana Belle leans into that, with a private beach and a butler for guests in the upper categories.

A hillside eco-resort on Koh Samui where rescued elephants roam freely across protected land, visible from your terrace before you've touched your coffee. Cottages range from garden-facing rooms to sea-view villas with private saltwater pools and teak kitchens, all built around an ethical sanctuary rather than just near one. The organic kitchen blends Thai and Mediterranean cooking, which sounds unlikely but fits the vibe of a place that doesn't do anything the obvious way.

Eight adults-only beach villas on one of the quieter Andaman stretches, each with its own pool and a personal well-being guide assigned from arrival. The architecture is raw concrete and open timber, the programming runs from sunrise sand yoga to jungle excursions, and the whole project was born from a cowhide mat and a long search for something less resort-y than a resort. Khao Lak keeps things calm by default; this place leans into it.

Seven miles of untouched beach on one side, virgin rainforest on the other, and six restaurants in between: Le Méridien Khao Lak is the resort you fantasize about when Phuket starts to feel like a theme park. Rooms run minimalist Eastern-chic, villas add private pools and blurred indoor-outdoor edges, and the three pools cover every constituency from small children to adults who'd prefer not to see any. Selected by the Michelin Guide.

Thatched roofs and teakwood bungalows sit at the northernmost tip of an already remote island, which tells you something about how seriously this resort takes the word "away." OUTRIGGER Phi Phi is all suites and villas, each with verandas, outdoor showers, and mosquito netting that feels atmospheric rather than alarming. A full spa, two restaurants, and guided scuba and fishing excursions mean you can stay thoroughly busy doing almost nothing.

The signature restaurant is built into a granite boulder directly above the water, which tells you something about what this resort is going for. Rocky's sits on Lamai, Koh Samui's quieter coast, with three small pocket beaches tucked between rock formations that give the whole property a sheltered, almost secret feel. Rooms run to warm neutrals and tactile fabrics, with upper categories adding big balconies and pool access. Downtown Lamai is a short walk if you need reminding the world exists.

Thatched-roof villas step down through the palms to a crescent of private beach on Phi Phi Don, with jungle cliffs rising behind and coral reefs sitting just offshore. This is a beach resort that keeps things breezy rather than fussy, with shaded terraces and wide sea views doing most of the work. A marine discovery centre runs reef restoration and shark rewilding projects, which gives the place something to talk about beyond the scenery.

Villas on a secluded stretch of Phang Nga Bay where the architecture earns its eco-conscious label, blending traditional woodwork, stone walls, and woven details rather than just hanging a sign. This boutique resort is built around doing very little on purpose: bean bags on the beach, a free-form pool, and a pace that genuinely seems calibrated to match the tides. When stillness starts to feel like enough, Hang Nak mountain is a short hike away for a better view of all that nothing.

Granite boulders push through the walls and windows of this boutique resort on Koh Phangan's quieter northern tip, less a design choice than a geological fact the architects decided to work with. It sits a short walk from the calm Thong Nai Pan Noi beach, which puts it at a deliberate distance from the full-moon party circuit. A seawater pool faces the treeline, and the on-site restaurant covers Thai and international ground.

Sixteen rooms and six pool villas sit at the edge of Khao Yai National Park, the jungle framed by floor-to-ceiling glass in every direction. This small boutique resort pairs Scandinavian-leaning design, pale wood, concrete, and heated pools, with amenities that lean into the theater of a long stay: floating pool breakfasts, organic herb baths, and Technogym equipment delivered straight to your room. The on-site restaurant and bar handles fine dining and craft cocktails on a terrace facing the park.

A ceiling completely covered in colorful blooms is the dining room's opening argument, and the rest of the hotel keeps pace. Maison Mystique is a boutique resort near Khao Yai that leans hard into Grand Budapest Hotel energy: white façade, bellhops in full uniform, velvet everywhere, and guest rooms dressed in midnight blue, forest green, or burgundy with antique furnishings and four-poster beds. The Michelin Guide has it among its selected hotels.

A boutique resort perched on a hilltop above Khao Yai's valleys, with an infinity pool cantilevered over the hillside like an architectural dare. Seven rooms keep things minimal, all exposed white brick, polished concrete, and floor-to-ceiling windows aimed at the mountains. Villas add private pools and outdoor tubs. The national park next door is where people spot elephants; the resort is where they recover from the shock of having done so.

A cocktail bar in the heart of Chinatown that leans into the neighborhood's past, with low lighting, vintage details, and a menu that folds Chinese ingredients into familiar formats. The gin and tonic gets Chéngzi orange and sesame; the Negroni picks up Chinese ginseng. The kitchen is serious enough that duck wontons with homemade chili oil can pass for dinner. Grab a seat early if you want to be outside, because by sunset the terrace is gone.

A tiki bar meets American backyard barbecue on the 40th floor of Kimpton Maa-Lai, which is a more coherent idea than it sounds. Tropical cocktails, a DJ running electro-funk, and a kitchen open past 1am mean no one has to leave early if they don't want to. Grab an outdoor table if the weather cooperates and the city sprawls out below you.

A hotel cocktail lounge where the menu is organized around historic social clubs, which sounds like a gimmick until you're halfway through a Jungle Bird built with three rums and reconsidering everything. The bartenders have strong opinions about the classics, shaking Sazeracs and adding soda to the Tom Collins before anything else goes in. Dress up a little, order something you think you know, and see if they've changed your mind about it.

Gins are kept cold behind the bar, but the piano on stage runs warm all night at this red-soaked cocktail bar inside Velaa Sindhorn Village. The room leans full cabaret, and the cocktail menu follows suit, with drinks built around jazz history and cultural lore from across the globe. By late evening, people are on their feet, which says something about the live performances and the pours in equal measure.

The durian colada is either the bravest cocktail in Bangkok or a personal challenge, depending on your feelings about salty durian foam. This cocktail bar on Sukhumvit 37 runs on disco-funk and an unapologetic willingness to put curry powder in a drink. A khao soi cocktail, bar snacks that include chicken wings stuffed with fermented pork sausage, and a disco ball overhead make for a room where nobody is standing still.

The third floor of a former printing house, bare cement walls and iron-grating windows left exactly as found. Ku Bar is a speakeasy-style cocktail bar that leans into the brutalist bones of old Thai architecture rather than papering over them. The menu rotates around whatever's good at the market, so the drinks shift with the season. Instagram makes it look intimidating, but the vibe is easygoing once you're up there.

A cocktail bar in Thong Lo where the menu reads like a Bangkok street-food tour, except the chicken rice arrives as a fizzy drink made with chicken skin-infused vodka and miso-ginger soda. The space is sleek and minimal, and the floor sits higher than the back of the bar, so you face the bartenders eye-to-eye, which feels oddly equalizing when you're sipping a mango sticky rice cocktail and reconsidering your life choices.

Every cocktail here is named after a single ingredient, then built from every part of it, cornsilk and all. Mahaniyom is a sustainability-forward cocktail bar in Bangkok where the kitchen-science ambition is worn lightly enough that the drinks still sound fun. The Cow, a savory-sweet blend of beef fat, brown butter, and blue cheese foam, is exactly the kind of thing you'd describe to someone the next day and watch their face move through several emotions.

A cocktail bar built around the idea that more people should be listening to vinyl, and it shows: the DJs at the record booth chat with nearby tables as they spin soul and hip-hop. The menu sorts drinks by mood and sensation rather than spirit, so you might find a warm gin and earl grey number filed under "gentle cuddles." The bartenders are the kind who actually want to talk, which keeps the whole thing from feeling precious.