Review: The Tubkaak, southwest Thailand's boutique beachside hideaway

Location: A secluded, boutique five-star resort in southwest Thailand, The Tubkaak offers a picture-perfect escape on the Andaman Sea. Located on a white-sand beach in Krabi, with views of 13 forested islets, the property is 40 minutes from Krabi airport and two hours from Phuket. Impressive limestone cliffs are the draw at nearby Rai Leh peninsula, while a ferry connects Krabi with Koh Phi Phi Leh, the filming location of Danny Boyle’s movie, The Beach.

First impressions: We enter The Tubkaak’s traditional-style lobby from the road, in the shadow of Hang Nak mountain, and sip a cooling juice while our concierge checks us in. The resort’s beauty reveals itself slowly, as we glimpse the pool and villas from the terrace, before descending past a lily-pad-covered pond. Our Seaview Suite comes into view, with emerald-green gardens beckoning beyond the private deck and the ocean shimmering in the distance. Bliss.

The facts: This boutique resort boasts 59 chic rooms, villas and suites. The spacious Thai-style villas overlook a tree-fringed pool, which neighbours L’Escape Spa, where guests can indulge in Thai healing sessions and contemporary wellness treatments. A petal-strewn outdoor bath greets me in my suite, while infinity-edge pools and private Jacuzzis await in many of the romantic hideaways around the property.