Trip of a lifetime to Thailand

Thailand | Nov 22 - Dec 3, 2023

A lovely oasis in the middle of bustling Bangkok, Ariyasom Villa is a beautiful, quiet property with lush greenery, a nice swimming pool, really nice rooms, and excellent service. The restaurant is also very good, with a vegetarian focus. Breakfast was a highlight; homemade bread and muffins accompanied delicious Thai food. Location also good, close to the skytrain (if interested).

The highlight of our stay at NaNirand was the Loy Krathong gala dinner. There was a delicious buffet, krathongs to put in the river, Thai entertainment, a professional photographer who subsequently sent us excellent photos, and someone to teach us how to make krathongs. It was a fantastic evening. Note - your materials called the evening "compulsory", but I think a better word would be "complimentary". Compulsory means we HAVE to go, which isn't what was meant, I believe. The room and property was also very nice, generally well located, etc.

Enchanting! All of the rooms face the valley where the elephants roam, and the view is spectacular. The prettiest picture I took from our entire vacation was from the deck of our room at Anantara. The spa is also excellent; I loved the massage from Poy, and even went back to her a second time. The highlight of course is the elephants, though. It was a wonderful experience to walk the grounds with a small group, guide, and 3 elephants. No riding or petting allowed, which was good; the animals are very well protected and cared for. The only disappointment at Anantara was the Mekong River boat cruise. We were on a boat with a guide who spoke no English, so we weren't able to learn what we'd hoped to. The dining and property in general are top tier. The service at the restaurant - particularly by Kat and Morn - was excellent, and the food at every meal delicious. The infinity pool overlooks the valley with the elephants, an unbeatable view. p.s. let me know if you'd like me to email you the picture from our room.

This is an incredible property outside of busier Phuket, but still very well located. Our villa was incredible, large and comfortable with our own private pool! We also enjoyed the beach and pool area, including complimentary stand-up paddleboarding, kayaks, etc. Dining was great too. We found ourselves staying on the property to enjoy the restaurants there. I'm sure there's great dining nearby, but we didn't discover it ourselves. I would definitely recommend this hotel for couples and families. If someone wants to be closer to Phuket itself, they may want to choose a different property.

Loved the cycling and seeing the Bang Krachao area - a great way to get energized on our first day in Bangkok. Rating a 3 instead of 5 only because the guide didn't speak English, so our Exotic Voyages guide (Ms. Oh) was forced to come with us. Ms. Oh does not like cycling and ended up falling and hurting herself. In the future, it would be ideal for the guide to speak English to prevent an accident like this. Besides this, however, the ride was beautiful and relaxing and a wonderful introduction to Bangkok.

The Golden Palace and Wat Phraw Kaew were both spectactular.

They were a bit touristy, but still really fun to see.

Great experience! Great food and fun exploring the city at night.

The property is spectacular, and what a privilege it was to spend time with the elephants. We signed up for two activities: 1) Walking with Elephants 2) Boat trip on Mekong River Walking with the elephants was moving and beautiful - I highly recommend it for any visitors. I don't think I'd recommend the Mekong River ride, however. We were on a boat with a captain who spoke no English, so we learned nothing except that we could see Myannmar, Thailand, and Laos from the boat. I would have liked to learn more about the Golden Triangle generally, and wasn't able to from this excursion. Instead, I'd recommend your guests sign up for a spa treatment instead. They have a beautiful spa which would be a much better choice than the river boat.

This was one of the best activities we did. Amazing to be at the temple before sunrise, with no crowds at all, so we were able to appreciate the beauty and serenity of the temple. Watching the sunrise was beautiful too, and then being blessed by the monks is something I'll always remember. This is a must-do activity for anyone up for an early start to the day.

I really think the name of this needs to be changed. Compulsory suggests it's mandatory. Really, it was a "complimentary" - i.e., the dinner was included for all guests. And it was excellent! They had a delicious buffet, entertainment, krathongs to put in the river, someone to show us how to make the krathongs. It was truly a gala evening and a joy to attend.

Highly recommend! We loved going to the market to get the food to prepare, and then we spent several hours cooking five different courses. We loved learning about the ingredients and preparations, and then we loved eating what we'd prepared. Absolutely wonderful day!

We explored Chaing Mai a little saw the huge parade for Loy Krathong, and then drove outside the city to launch a lantern. It was a beautiful and memorable experience!

It was really nice to learn more about the Lanna culture, and to meet the family who provided the meal. It felt very authentic, which we appreciated.

It was a wonderful way to end our stay in Chiang Mai. We saw another beautiful temple, which was peacefully quiet in the morning when we went, and then we visited a food market, which I loved. The visit was made all the better by our wonderful guide, Mona, who patiently explained Thai history and Buddhism to us.