Anantara is once again welcoming story collecting travellers back to the white sands of Bophut Bay, as one of Koh Samui’s favourite resorts, Anantara Bophut Koh Samui Resort & Spa reopens after an extensive refurbishment programme which saw the resort’s arched doorway closed for the last six months. The ever popular resort is quite unlike any other, from Bill Bensley designed tropical gardens which complement the charms of Fisherman’s Cove, to southern Thai architecture which reflects the local cultural heritage, and world class amenities enhanced by Anantara’s unique design touches.
Of the 106 guest rooms, the wide ranging overhaul has seen the previous six room and suite categories increased to eight, and most categories changed. The Deluxe Garden View and Deluxe Sea View rooms have been expanded from 32 to 36 square metres, thereby affording sufficient space for extra guest bed requests. With direct access to the beautifully landscaped indigenous gardens, the revamped 44 square metre Junior Garden View Suites are ideal for family holidays, accommodating up to three adults and a child. The suite categories are now increased to five, with two new Garden View and Royal Garden View suite types offering spacious accommodation at 70 and 75 square metres respectively. The popular 80 square metre Anantara Beachfront Pool Suites’ facelift includes a new 20 square metre private pool with superb beach and sea views and, as the name suggests, allows guests to step directly onto soft golden sands that are lapped by the warm waters of the Gulf of Siam.
Guests arriving prior to check-in time or who need somewhere to relax and refresh before departing to the airport for an evening flight, are well looked after in a brand new hospitality room with shower facilities and offering complimentary beverages and light snacks.
The restaurants and bars have also received a facelift, with the al fresco Full Moon restaurant switching Italian fare for contemporary Koh Samuian style char grill fusion cuisine, and Eclipse Bar taking on a more open, pub like ambience. Casual Asian fusion snacks and sushi are served poolside at a new cocktail bar, complete with bean bags, shisha pipes and sweeping views across to Phangan Island.
The “catch of the day” gets a whole new personalised meaning at the refurbished Anantara Bophut Resort, as guests are invited to meet local fishermen on Bophut Beach at the end of a day of harvesting the ocean, to choose their favourite fish from the catch. From here the culinary team takes over to prepare the catch to perfection in a variety of ways, for the guests to savour at dinner.
Koh Samui is a paradise for kids and the new purpose built Baan Ling Noi (Thai for little monkey) Children’s Club offers a terrific range of unforgettably fun activities designed to motivate, develop skills and make new friends. Here pizza cooking classes, building sandcastles, playing mini garden soccer, hunting for treasures, trampoline jumping or making coconut paintings all keep the little treasures safely entertained for hours on end, leaving parents free to unwind.
At the award winning Anantara Spa, world-class health and beauty treatments are delivered in private pavilions set in their own walled courtyard. Set within 3,100 square metres of landscaped grounds, the six treatment suites are individually encased in glass with a mirrored back wall, designed to accentuate the feeling of floating. Ambient lighting and funky butterfly-style roofs lend an emphatic dimension to the design. These sensual suites feature alfresco showers and terrazzo bathtubs, all made for two. The Anantara Spa is also home to a separate beauty salon and herbal steam room.
The resort’s impressive lobby, ballroom, meeting facilities and public spaces were also refreshed and updated to meet the needs of today’s sophisticated travellers in a fast-paced world.
With its winning combination of luxurious surroundings, contemporary facilities and warmly welcoming Thai hospitality, the Anantara Bophut Koh Samui experience is not to be missed.