Trisara

Nai Thon is the quiet stretch of Phuket's north-west coast between the airport and the busier beaches to the south, and the road down to Trisara ends at a steep green bay that belongs to the hotel alone. The name comes from Sanskrit and means the garden in the third heaven. Trisara opened in December 2004, weeks before the Indian Ocean tsunami, and it reopened quickly in 2005.

History

The hotel was conceived by Anthony Lark, who had run Amanpuri on the other side of Phuket and wanted a house with the same privacy and more space per guest. It is owned by Montara Hospitality Group, a Thai family company, and has been run independently since it opened. The multi-bedroom residences along the hillside were added over the years that followed, and the farm-to-table restaurant PRU opened in 2016.

Architecture and design

The villas are set in tiers up the hillside so that each looks over the roof of the one below to the sea. Buildings are of dark timber, stone and tile, in a plain Thai style without ornament, and the gardens of frangipani and palms hide one villa from the next. The main pavilion at the top of the bay holds reception, the library and the bar, and a path runs down to the beach club and the sand.

Rooms and suites

There are 39 ocean-view pool villas and suites, each with a private infinity pool facing west over the Andaman Sea, a bedroom pavilion and a terrace with a sala. Beyond them stand the residences, of two to seven bedrooms, each with its own large pool, kitchen and staff, used by families and private groups and sold as whole houses.

Dining

PRU, the initials of plant, raise and understand, grows and sources most of its ingredients from Pru Jampa, the hotel's own farm inland, and from Thai producers. It received a Michelin star in the first Michelin Guide Thailand to cover Phuket, for 2019, and has kept it since. Seafood at Trisara, by the beach, is the main restaurant, with grilled fish and Thai dishes. The Deck handles breakfast and lunch above the pool.

Wellness

Jara, the spa, sits in the gardens with treatment pavilions, a steam room and a yoga sala, and offers Thai and Ayurvedic treatments. There are tennis courts, a gym and water sports from the beach, and the hotel runs boat trips to the islands of Phang Nga bay and the Similans.

Weddings and events

Trisara hosts weddings on the beach and the lawn above it, and in the residences for private parties. Receptions are usually held at Seafood at Trisara or in a residence. The hotel takes small meetings and incentive groups in its residences and private dining rooms; there is no ballroom, and capacities depend on which villas are booked.

Location

The hotel is at 60/1 Moo 6, Srisoonthorn road, Nai Thon, in the Thalang district of Phuket. Phuket International Airport is about 15 minutes by car, which makes Trisara the closest resort of its class to the airport on the island. Patong is about 40 minutes to the south and Phuket Town about an hour. Nai Thon beach itself, a public beach with a handful of restaurants, lies around the headland, and Sirinat National Park begins to the north. As a resort on Phuket, its advantages are the private bay, the short transfer and the distance from the crowds of the west-coast beaches.