A Little Bit of Heaven
After several months of trawling the Net to find the perfect hotel to celebrate my daughters birthday I finally found Somkiet Buri, a new hotel resort that had just opened. Rates were good so I booked and crossed my fingers. On arrival at Krabi Airport a young Thai boy was waiting for us with the hotels minibus (which we had booked and was much cheaper than a taxi)to speed us off to our destination at AO Nang Beach. We arrived at the resort and turned off the main road down a drive to the open-air Reception area glistening like a jewel in the dark, hot night where we were greeted by smiling staff and a glass of chilled fruit juice. Young boys arrived looking smart in their blue and green uniforms to whisk our baggage away on a handcart, and they beckoned us to follow them. They lead us over little wooden bridges spanning magical streams full of coloured fish, thru lush tropical foliage with mangoes and coconuts hanging from them, until we arrived at our room which was huge, with a lounge area and an amazing stone bathroom. The floor was beautifully tiled with designs of orchids inlaid in the marble. The boy showed us how to work the remote controls for everything, lights, curtains, TV etc and quietly left us to explore the rest of the room. On opening the curtains we found a big terrace furnished with teak loungers, table and chairs and surrounded by enormous exotic plants in the garden where we could just see the swimming pool shimmering in the failing light. A welcome basket of tropical fruits sat on the coffee table with a little card wishing us a good stay. I knew I had made a wise choice. Come the morning we could see that this resort consisted of 13 bungalows all around the central swimming pool and whirlpool and accessed by small paths and bridges through stunning gardens and jungle greenery.
Unique Quality: The dining area of this hotel was on a terrace under a bamboo roof and breakfast was a buffet, which was pleasantly surprising and had choices for all nationalities. Its only a five minute walk from the beach and although there are lots of shops just outside the hotel it was still tranquil once apart from the wild birdsong. Just 17kms from Krabi renowned for its limestone formations and pottery remains dated back 37,000years making this the most ancient settlement in Thailand. Krabi also boasts a 4 acre water park and golf course.
