The Credentials:
The best way to reach this Crusoe-like location – think bathtub-warm gentle, clear turquoise waters and a soft white sandy beach – is by taking the resort’s speedboat service from swanky Royal Phuket Marina. The award-winning resort has been built like a traditional Thai village – the 52 freestanding thatched villas offer generous outdoor living space, lots of hand-hewn teakwood and are wrapped in lush gardens.
Facilities include a five-star PADI diving centre, a small pool almost hidden by shrubbery and a spa in an exotic setting where the boyfriend and I enjoyed a one-hour Phi Phi Lomi (a massage combining rhythmic dancing techniques, long stroke movements and stretching – it was the boyf’s favourite treatment during our three-week travels around Thailand). There’s also a boutique selling gorgeous scarves and jewellery, valet laundry service, a DVD library and free WiFi access throughout the resort.
Dine:
Excellent Thai meals are served in Baxil, a high-ceilinged, open-sided wooden building. It’s also where breakfasts from around the world are served, from Big Ben (if you’re missing home) to Maharaja Breakfast (if you want to travel beyond Thailand). There’s a huge fresh selection with two street vendor carts among the buffet stations.
Down by the beach, open-air Tacada offers international flavours. We enjoyed a candlelit seafood and meat charcoal-grilled barbeque and Thai salad dinner (1,200THB per person) on a wooden platform for two with live music entertainment and the sound of the sea steps away.
Sleep:
Our spacious Village Suite had most of the things you’d expect from a Small Luxury Hotel of the World, including a king-size bed, TV and DVD player, mini bar, generous all-natural toiletries and bathrobes. There was also a personal touch – gifts, including a framed photo taken of us when we arrived, were placed on our bed and a much-needed mosquito net was let down over the bed at turn-down service. There were a few niggles: we couldn’t adjust the shower so it was either too cold or too hot; the bathroom mirror wasn’t close to the sink and the bed, while comfortable, lacked the ‘luxury hotel’ feel.
Who Goes There?:
Most guests have put in some research and discovered Zeavola independently. We met mainly 20 and 30-something couples during our stay, including Argentinian newly-weds on honeymoon, two Austrian doctors completing their holiday after travelling in Cambodia and a lively gay French couple.
Out & About:
There are plenty of sightseeing trips choices, from hiring a longtail boat to visit Phi Phi Don and Phi Phi Ley to breakfasting with sharks. Our chosen island hopping boat trip (with only three other couples; 2,400THB per person) took in Maya Beach (where The Beach was filmed), the best snorkelling I’ve experienced, a swim in a natural ‘pool’, a view of the limestone caves where birds’ nests are collected for the Chinese soup delicacy, and a rather scary visit to Monkey Beach (the monkeys are a little too friendly due to tourists feeding them). We started our adventure at 8am to avoid the hordes of tourists visiting the same hotspots.
The Worst Thing:
This resort is not for everyone, which the GM acknowledges (and is probably rather relieved about because the hotel is close to capacity year-round). It isn’t luxurious in the classic sense – forget a power shower and 400-thread count sheets, a high-tech gym (there’s the sea to workout in) and staff who are fluent in English. However, considering the harsh jungle environment – I recommend visiting the on-site nurse if you’re attacked by mosquitoes – tranquil Zeavola gets the important things right and offers an antidote to the could-be-anywhere chain-like alternative hotels in the area.
The Best Thing:
The Andaman Coast of Thailand is no secret so it is increasingly difficult to find Thai authenticity, but Zeavola plays an important role in the local community. The sea gypsy village and Jasmine, an independent restaurant, are located further down the beach and I was confident I’d stayed at the best place on the island after chatting to other holidaymakers.
A Thai wedding took place at the resort during our stay; every Friday the resort takes its kitchen to the local Baan Laem Tong School where they feed 40 children from the Sea Gypsy families and its diving centre supports a coral regrowth programme. It doesn’t shout about its eco credentials either – ‘It’s the only way we can exist here,’ general manager Florian Hallermann told me – but the resort draws its water from wells and manages its own waste on-site.
