10 Best Hotels in Phuket
Thailand’s largest island offers magnificent beaches, crystalline waters—and world-class hotels to enjoy it all in
Take advantage of the Thai hotspot’s natural splendour and rich culture with the very best of its resorts and villas.
This game-changing resort was the first hotel in the Aman empire and three decades on remains one of the world's best, a hard-to-find haven for celebrities such as Beyonce, Madonna, Leonardo Di Caprio and Bill Gates. The villas feature vaulted ceilings, glossy Makha wood floors and spacious pulse-slowing bathrooms with huge tubs and jasmine bath salts. There’s also a Japanese restaurant, Nama, designed by Kengo Kuma, plus the Spa House, which has a raft of hydrotherapy facilities: Vichy shower, Russian Banya, infrared sauna, steam room, jacuzzi and cooling plunge pools.
Hidden at the end of a winding private road on a sliver of golden beach on Phuket's swish northwest coast, Trisara offers exceptional levels of privacy – and heaps of fun. Enormous champagne-toned villas come with showstopping sea views, swimming pools large enough to do laps in and chef-prepared barbecues. Pru restaurant is the only one in Thailand to have earned a Michelin Green star thanks to its inventive use of local ingredients – and don't miss the boozy Sunday jazz brunch.
This east coast beauty blends solid utilitarian architecture into the velvety tropical surroundings to spectacular effect. Wide rectangles of concrete frame raggedy palm-fringed coastline; razor-sharp lines draw the eye straight out to the luminous green Andaman Sea; chiaroscuro light pours in long tall corridors. Highlights here include the Como Shambhala Spa and two excellent restaurants. There’s no beach but you can take a dip in the 100m long swimming pool or sail across the bay to the Como’s gorgeous guest-only beach club.
It takes a 45-minute wind-in-your-hair speedboat ride through the jade waters and limestone karsts of Phang Nga Bay to reach this Robinson Crusoe-esque resort on the island of Yao Noi. The location is dazzling, spilling through verdant jungle onto a ribbon of white sand beach, and there's no end of adventurous things to do, from birdspotting rare banana-beaked hornbills, to stand-up paddle boarding along the coast, to hours-long spa rituals, to stargazing from the pool of your private villa.
Surrounded by expansive tropical gardens that unfold onto the cottony sands of Bang Tao beach, Banyan Tree Phuket has the feel of a big cheerful village. Oversized villas of varying shapes and sizes fan out around a central lake, alongside a selection of restaurants and bars, and wealth of facilities, including an 18-hole PGA-spec golf course, tennis courts, a fitness centre, yoga pavilions and two swimming pools; a fun one with jet cannons, jacuzzis and a swim-up bar and another for adults. Banyan Tree’s spas are among the best in Asia and here the concept has been extended to include a range of signature spa pool villas and personalised wellness programmes.
Situated on a peaceful hairpin of golden sands, the Anantara Layan is a relaxing resort. Days begin with long leisurely breakfasts gazing out to sea, then pass by reading books or catching up with podcasts on the beach or by one of two attractive swimming pools, before ending with expertly mixed cocktails and heart-melting sunsets. With its secluded location, above-par dining and fabulous wellness facilities – tennis courts, expansive gym, daily classes, seven-suite spa – it’s the ideal spot for those looking to rest and recharge.
This five-star beachfront oasis in the south of Phuket is perfect for families, couples or spa-seekers. Everything feels like it has been designed to keep you happily in situ, from the contemporary luxe suites and villas (all with sea views and private pools), to the exciting food (book dinner at Ta Khai for a feast prepared by local chef couple “Uncle” Nun and “Aunty” Yai), to the sublime spa which offers life coaching, energy healing and sleep therapies alongside marvellous massages.
V Villas Phuket is located on jungle shrouded hillside above Ao Yon Bay in the very far south of the island. As the name suggests, its an all-villa property, with just 19 contemporary villas ranging from spacious one-bedrooms to rambling four-bedroom residences. All have butlers, private pools and spine-tingling Andaman Sea views. Elsewhere, there’s a restaurant serving Thai and international dishes and a sensational multilevel rooftop bar with sofas sunk into reflective pools.
Extravagance is the name of the game at this haute hideaway on the golden sands of Natai beach, on the mainland north of Phuket island (a 25-minute drive from the airport). An ensemble of 10 lauded international designers were brought together to create the ultra-exclusive escape, including Joseph Walsh, the Campana brothers, Mark Brazier Jones, Eggarat Wongcharit and Autoban. There are just three three-suite villas rolling straight onto the beach, each with swimming pools, private spas, chauffeurs, chefs and personal assistants. The Kardashians were famously among the hotel’s first guests.
Opened in late 2023, Anantara Yao Yai is the first five star resort on Yao Yai island. It is located between Phuket and Krabi in Phang Nga Bay, a mythical-feeling landscape where soaring limestone karst islands appear to be dissolving into a sea of neon green. Covering all the holiday bases, it has a range of 148 suites, penthouses and villas, as well as three restaurants (Thai, Japanese, international), three bars (including one for families), a cookery school, a gigantic kids’ club, and an expansive spa with a hammam, hydrotherapy pools, yoga salas and a meditation room.
Amanpuri, Trisara, Six Senses Yao Noi, Banyan Tree Phuket, Anantara Layan and Rosewood Phuket are all part of American Express Fine Hotels + Resorts program.
