Just Back: Pimalai Resort and Spa

A LITTLE SLICE OF HEAVEN MAKING A HUGE IMPACT FOR GOOD

BY LAUREN RAPS

“It’s what Phuket was 30 years ago,” remarks Charintip Tiyaphorn, owner and representative of Pimalai Resort and Spa, as we sat peacefully listening to the waves lap onto the shore of Pimalai’s sandy beach.

Pimalai Resort was built by Charintip’s family nearly 30 years ago, when her father, Anurat Tiyaphorn, discovered this part of Thailand while on a business trip in Krabi. He met a few local people who introduced him to Koh Lanta and rented a long-tail boat to explore beaches on Koh Lanta and found Ba Kan Tiang beach, where Pimalai is today. Its name in English means, “a little slice of heaven,” and what the Tiyaphorn family has created in this beautiful cove on Koh Lanta Island is exactly that.

Charintip was a child when her family bought the land, and she remembers all five of them sleeping at the construction site, in temporary housing, as they spent all of her school holidays overseeing the creation of Pimalai and laying the foundation for what has become one of Thailand’s best resorts, and also one of its most sustainable.

While creating a sustainable resort was paramount to the family as they created Pimalai, designing a luxurious and intimate experience for guests was as important. With beautifully appointed and sizable state rooms and villas, quality dining establishments and bars, and the kindest, most attentive staff, it is a treat to stay at such a resort while also knowing its positive impact on its local environment and community. large. Its beach villas dot the coastline and then the resort climbs vertically up the mountain. It’s built in a way so that it blends in with its natural surroundings with infinity saltwater pools and numerous, tucked-away areas to lounge the day away staring out at the sea.

It’s a resort that ticks all of the boxes people seek for a holiday. A quick ninety-minute flight from Singapore to Krabi, where you will be picked up by your driver, then a 45-minute drive to the town dock, and your vacation begins when you board the private boat shuttle to Pimalai’s shoreline.

The car transfer and boat ride are included in the rate, and I must say, the boat ride through the Andaman Sea would probably be an excursion many guests would want to take regardless of its necessity in this case.

Pimalai would be an ideal destination for a romantic getaway, girls’ trip, or for a family holiday. You can spend the day secluded in your private pool villa, or at the two resort pools steps away from the beach. Located near a national park, Pimalai does not support motorized water sports with the exception of its fleet of boats, but kayaks, paddle boards, and other beach activities are offered complimentary for guests, as is the kid’s club which hosts two daily activities for the littlest guests (but guests are free to utilize throughout the day).

Excursions offered include diving, snorkeling, and kayaking around the gorgeous limestone mountain islands that dot the sea, a mangrove tour on an authentic long-tail boat combined with lunch and a tour of Koh Lanta’s village, a sunset boat ride, or stay back at the hotel for a Thai cooking class with their head chef.

Or better yet, stay at the hotel and take advantage of the oasis that is the Pimalai Spa. Tucked away on the resort, the spa is a destination in itself, with streams flowing through the shaded pathways which take guests to their individual huts to enjoy such treatments as Bamboo and authentic Thai Pra Kob massages.

A full-service gym, tennis and basketball courts, yoga classes, and a Thai boxing gym can help make your holiday as active as you would like it to be.

Hotels have come out of the COVID-19 pandemic in so many ways, and just like us humans, we all had the choice about how we wanted to spend these trying years. Pimalai chose to take care of their staff; they chose to renovate some of their rooms and common space; and they chose to come out of these dark days renewed and ready to greet their guests once again with the kindest hospitality.

It is one of those hotels where the staff remembers your name, and how you like your coffee and tea on day two of your stay, and will remember again when you return on your next visit.

“We want to keep Pimalai as our sanctuary forever,” says Charintip. “And we train the staff to provide service from the heart, and to be a good example.” And in that, we say goodbye for now as she probably knows I will return…as most guests do.

Pimalai Resort and Spa is offering AAS members a special Stay 5 Pay 4 promotion until September 30, 2022. The hotel is also offering a 20% discount for the general public which can be combined with this promotion. E-mail lauren@travelprospect. com to inquire.

Charintip Tiyaphorn, owner