UPDATE: December 2015: You can still get to this beach, but now it’s deserted. Soneva has abandoned it and the buildings are closed . The entire beach is empty. Sop you can enjoy what was a 6* resort’s beach in total privacy and for free.
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Soneva Kiri is a luxury 6 star resort ( similar to a luxury 5 star resort, only it’s one better ) on Koh Kood. The resort prides itself on keeping their guests and normal people well away from each other.
If you try to ride your scooter to the resort you come a check point where a security guard will politely tell you that you aren’t allowed inside unless you have a reservation, and with rooms going for around 60,000 Baht / night you probably aren’t going to book simply to get the chance to have a nosey around.
The resort has two beach areas one a little removed from the main resort and this is the one that it’s possible to get to by scooter. All beaches are public in Thailand so there’s nothing stopping you from having a wander along it and trying to spot a minor celebrity or lottery winner basking in the sun.
Head past Baan Makok and follow the signs for Soneva Kiri. You’ll head down a hill and come to straight. Look for the sandy track on the left. This leads to the beach. ( If you go to far you start to see a worker’s village. A collection of ramshackle houses and small shops by the roadside.) The track immediately forks. Take the left hand fork. Both routes take you along sand covered tracks where your bike will be sliding around. The left hand route brings you past a couple of abandoned buildings and onto the Causarina lined beach. From there turn left and walk along it to Soneva’s stretch.
If you take the right hand fork you find yourself joining the resort’s access road to the beach. Guests take this to drive down to the beach in their golf carts. They don’t walk, as that’s what normal people do. Then you can park next to the guest’s golf carts behind the beach restaurant. The downside is that as scooters are banned in the resort and guests have their names on the golf carts, so it’s quite easy for the staff to tell that they have interlopers in their midst. More so when you walk out on the beach , past the restaurant and all eyes of the staff are on you as the average net worth of individuals on the sand drops dramatically due to your presence. That was the way we went first. A nice man asked if we were guests. But, I had a feeling he knew the answer already. And he then explained that it would be a good idea if we left the same way we came in. He obviously thought that we might not do this, as when we slowly rode back to the gap in the flower border where we joined the access road, the hum from an electric golf cart tailing us was in the air.
Turns out the Soneva beach is pretty nice, but not great. There are better on Koh Kood.
Location:
Photos: ( None of the sandy tracks leading to the beach as it’s hard to ride a bike and take photos when you’re sliding around in the sand. )
Wow… congratulations on being the resort’s unofficial spokesperson. I’m sure they’re thrilled to have you defending their honour.
Wow…
Now this is clearly written, by somebody who cant pay the high prices, yet envy is thick in the air.
Loads of places I cant afford, but it doesn’t mean I slag it off.
The resort is pricy, but there are plenty of other hotels, B&B’s and resorts to stay at.
The resort offers their guest the use of a golf carts, for several reasons:
– The resort is massive its 41 hectares or 102-acres.
– Not all guests can or wish, to walk such distances in the heat, just like you are driving around on a scooter.
– It gives guests the freedom, to get around the resort, without having to be driven by hotel staff.
The resort is not cheat, but for some worth paying for. for some its the fact that there are less guests then in most luxury hotels or delux cruises ships, spread out on a huge area, spo you dont have to be packed around a share pool, fighting over sunbeds.
For some guest its due to the high level of security, the resort is visited by royals, politicians and starts from music, movie and stage, who actually like to pay, to be in a up market resort, avoiding people, taking pictures of their private holiday.
You might be more of a budget traveler, an nothing wrong with that, but just to let you know, the world is full of resorts, clubs, residential areas, where not everybody can go.
Also, guess what? AS guests of the resort, one is flying to the island, in a private jet from Bangkok, landing on the hotels PRIVATE air strip, in less then 60 min, unlike ALL other guests on the island, having to use car, boats and a day to get there, there is something for you, to get mad about.
Nice resort, people who can afford it, should for sure give it a try, others… find you corner of the island and dont waste your holiday, on envy and negative energy.
Enjoyed your comment “the average net worth of individuals on the sand drops dramatically due to your presence”!!
This is the kind of beach you want to visit just to p them off and get the chance to politely tell them that no beach can be private in Thailand! I hope ALL your readers go.