Anantara Koh Yao Yai Resort & Villas – Island Retreat Meets Contemporary Luxury.
Anantara Koh Yao Yai Resort & Villas is a relatively new name on the Thailand hotel scene, opened in 2023. It blends clean-line luxury, excellent facilities, and natural scenic beauty seamlessly together.
Koh Yao Yai is located just 35 minutes by speedboat from the northeast coast of Phuket. You leave from Laem Sai Jetty, where Anantara has its lounge, just 20 minutes by road from Phuket Airport. The speedboat is scheduled to travel 4 times daily between Phuket & Yao Yai in both directions, usually during daylight hours only. In addition, there is now a twice-daily service from Krabi, 40 minutes.
Yao Yai is a relatively small island, easily circumnavigated in a day. In Thai it translates rather cutely into “big, long island,” with its northern sister Yao Noi, “little long island,” which is actually smaller and slightly more developed with several hotels.
The resident population of Yao Yai is around 8,000, most of whom are still involved in fishing and farming. The island is lush & tropical, 30 minutes from Phuket but more like 40 years in terms of development & commercialised tourism. Small villages rather than towns.
Here the pleasures are simple and rather nature-focused; it would certainly not be the choice for shopping and nightlife, but those are easily found in Phuket, so it can make a twin centre of contrast.
Anantara Koh Yao Yai Resort has 148 Suites, Speciality Suites and Villas. The Suites are set mainly in the main building clusters, sea-facing but set back in the wonderfully tropical gardens.
They are all bright and spacious (90 sqm), Deluxe Junior Suite style with step down to an integrated living space.
On the ground floor you have patio access to the garden or step down to the family pool. Those on the upper floors have balconies and, as they are elevated, have good panoramic views across the resort.
Also in the main building clusters, you have Grand Family Suites with extra bunk bed areas, larger Speciality Suites, and stunning Rooftop Penthouse Suites, some split-level with upper deck swimming pools.
You then have a few Wellness Lagoon Villas with a private pool and even more One-bedroom (198 sqm) and Two-bedroom (300 sqm) Pool Villas located closest to the beach. Rather uniquely, grass-covered roofs so they are not obvious from the air.
- Main swimming pool plus separate family pool (with paddling area) and water slides
- Choice of restaurant location and cuisine
- Gym with Muay Thai boxing classes
- Spa with some treatments tailored to younger ones
- Kids club
- Bike Hire
- Non-motorised water sports (weather permitting)
- There are a host of island exploration tours, either private or join-in, encouraging you to discover Yao Yai, neighbouring Yao Noi or the easily accessible Phi Phi Islands
Anantara Koh Yao Yai Resort & Villas is a really delightful addition to our Thailand selection. The quality of accommodation would be right at home on some of the more established islands, but the resort comes with the luxury of nature surrounding you at every turn.
It would make a good, contrasting twin centre with Phuket or the less developed Krabi, which is just 40 minutes east by speedboat. It appeals to couples and especially multi-generational families.
Dominic from Chic visited the hotel in spring 2025, really enjoyed the setting and the overall quality, and found the island wonderfully relaxing after busy Phuket.
The Anantara Hotel Group has several other hotels in Thailand, Cambodia & Vietnam.
Anantara Koh Yao Yai Resort & Villas, Off Phuket
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+ About Phuket & Koh Yao
Phuket Thailand is the most developed of the resort islands in the south of Thailand, one hour flight from Bangkok. Good infrastructure, with many top-class hotels and restaurants, and tourist attractions both on land and at sea.
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