A love nest on the road

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner making it the perfect time to whisk your loved one away on a romantic break for two. The most significant holiday a couple is likely to take during the year, the surroundings are all important. Whether you can afford a fancy resort or a “love shack”, here are our suggestions for the very best places to mesmerise your Valentine.

SONEVA KIRI
Kood Island, Trat
One of the most romantic retreats in Thailand, Soneva Kiri is guaranteed to take your breath away. The romantic trip starts with a flight in a light aircraft to the airstrip on this small island in Trat province. Your personal butler will meet the plane and usher you to the speedboat for the short ride to the resort. Crafted with recycled wood and surrounded by lush jungle and forest, the Soneva Kiri on Koh Kood is very far from the madding crowd. The resort, in some ways, is made for Robinson Crusoes, albeit those born with a silver spoon in their mouths. Equipped with a chic Espresso machine and high-speed Internet connectivity, this luxury resort is hidden in the middle of jungle. Lovers can take a dip in their private pool in the villa or go snorkelling in the cerulean sea. If the way to your lover’s heart is through her stomach, check out Soneva Kiri’s treetop breakfast. Here, three metres off the ground and safe inside the huge nest, your Valentine will be thrilled.
Call (082) 208 8888 or visit www.Soneva.com.

VILLE DE LA VIE
Pak Chong, Nakhon Ratchasima
Ville De La Vie – French for “City of Life” – is good for lovers who want to chill out in the mountains of Khao Yai but avoid noisy weekenders. The resort has 10 private cottages and four en-suite poolside rooms for larger groups. Billed as the secret garden of Khao Yai, Ville De La Vie is surrounded by small flowerbeds and potted plants. The circular cottages boast high ceilings, tiled floors, small balconies, arched doors and wrought-iron beds. “No two villas are the same when you look at the details,” notes Teerapaj – a retired journalist-turned- inn keeper. “From the wrought-iron door to the bedhead to the ceiling to the rooftop sculpture, they are different.” The welcome is amiable, with two super-friendly Labrador Retrievers and eight horses joining the owners in treating guests like their long-lost friends. The resort is pet-friendly, making it perfect for couples travelling with pet. 
Call (+66 95) 472 4526 or visit www.VilleDeLaVie-resort.com.
 

CASA DE LA FLORA
Khao Lak, Phang Nga
Nestled along Bang Niang Beach in Phang Nga’s Khao Lak district, Casa de la Flora has been a member of Design Hotels since 2010. Perfect for a romantic sejour, its rooms have private pools (big enough for two) and are decorated with paintings of flowers – the narcissus, kaffir, canna and zambac, for example. The villa is minimalist in design, slightly boxy and square, creating a simple yet stylish ambience. A small coffee table dressed with a vase of flowers and a leather armchair fill the small living area. Most of the guests here are independent and stylish. They want to get away from the glitz and cheesiness of Phuket’s bigger resort towns, but still crave comfort and a fashionable lifestyle. With a long stretch of white sand and a quiet beach culture, Casa de la Flora can be a destination by itself or used as base for exploring the Surin and Similan archipelagos in the northern Andaman Sea.
Visit www.CasaDeLaFlora.com.

ZEAVOLA
Phi Phi Island, Krabi
There’s no shortage of wonders here to keep your romance on your toes. Lovers can take a romantic barefoot stroll along the strip of white powdery sand at sunrise before retreating to one of the 53 romantic teak villas stylishly designed to mask mod cons, where the vestiges of modern life are cunningly concealed inside traditional Thai furniture. Rooms are tastefully decorated and surrounded by lush vegetation and fringed with palms. The romantic ambience is made even more perfect with a moonlit dinner on an intimate beach platform. For an ultimate thrill, couples can rent the long-tailed sampan and make it their private “love boat” while beach hopping around Phi Phi Island.
Call (075) 627 000 or visit www.Zeavola.com.

ON-ON HOTEL
Phuket
Nestled on the Phang Nga Road in the heart of Phuket’s Old Town, The Memory at On-On Hotel lets you sleep in an ambience reminiscent of days long gone. Leonardo DiCaprio slept here, at least, in his role as Richard, the American college student hero of “The Beach”, as he strove to save an idyllic island and its marijuana plantations. Today, On-On is enjoying a lavish life as a boutique hostel. Right in the heart of Phuket Old Town, a timeworn hardwood floor, cream-coloured walls and old-fashioned pastel-blue door make the teeny room unusually cosy. It’s a perfect “love nest” for young lovers. Two small single beds, with clean white bed sheets and white blankets, fit perfectly. There’s no view, saving a small window beyond the curtain. Your only “views” of the world come from the flat-screened TV hanging on the wall. If this hostel is good for Leonardo DiCaprio, it should be good enough for you. 
Call (+66 76) 363 777 or visit www.TheMemoryHotel.com.

KRADAN ISLAND RESORT
Trang
As rustic as it is simple, Kradan Island Resort brings to mind Thailand’s seaside back in the 1970s – a time when the beaches themselves were the destinations, not the resorts. Located off the Trang coast on a pristine island in the Andaman Sea, Kradan Island Resort gives the visitor exactly what the resorts of the ’70s offered: a bamboo-stitched bungalow under swaying coconut palms. For romance in the rough, the beautiful beach is within hammock-swaying distance. The crystal-clear water is perfect for snorkelling and a variety of colourful fish darts in and out of the coral reefs. It’s the kind of tropical paradise that Leonardo DiCaprio found in the movie “The Beach” – except for the part about an unlimited supply of marijuana.
Call (088) 821 3732 or visit www.KohKradanIslandResort.com.

CENTARA GRAND BEACH RESORT & VILLAS
Hua Hin, Prachuab Khiri Khan
For love and luxury, Centara Grand Beach Resort & Villas Hua Hin there’s nothing quite like this holiday destination in Hua Hin. The villas boast high ceilings, polished hardwood flooring and period furniture, and front onto a beautiful strip of beach. For a peaceful and private romantic escape, the resort also offers private villas with private plunge pool and living area.
Call (032) 512 021-38 or visit www.CentaraHotelsResorts.com.

ZENSALA RESORT
Chiang Mai
Sitting on the bank of the Mae Ping River, Zensala is perfect for couples looking for a romantic backdrop to wild nights out in the city centre. Set on two rai of landscaped waterfront, the modern box-like building blends well with the lush tropical garden. The sharp contrast between rough concrete and delicate green grass conveys a message of living with nature without leaving the niceties of modern comforts. Soaring ceilings and simple decoration underscore the sophisticated contemporary design while the rooms emphasise open and flexible spaces.
Call (053) 225 888 or visit www.ZensalaResort.com.