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The Amazing Santhiya Koh Yao Yai Resort & Spa Reviewed

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Santhiya Koh Yao Yai Resort & Spa is a one-of-a-kind eco-friendly resort in Thailand. This resort was built to offer luxury accommodation & complete privacy for all guests. Keep reading for my review on Santhiya Koh Yao Yai and I have also included heaps of photos for your reference. 

When I was researching where we should go for our honeymoon, I had a certain expectation because it was for a special occasion. I wanted a room that was luxurious & private. For the resort facilities & restaurants to be high quality but affordable!

It might sound like a lot to ask, but I promise Santhiya Koh Yao Yai Resort and Spa, ticks all these boxes.

Where is Koh Yao Yai Island

Koh Yao Yai Island is reasonably small and is to the east of Phuket in Thailand. It’s easily accessible by boat from Bang Rong Pier on Phuket.

I came across Santhiya Koh Yao Yai Resort and Spa when I was googling private villas in Thailand. It didn’t take long before I knew this would be the perfect pick for a honeymoon.

Booking Santhiya Resort

I recommend booking at least a few months in advance to ensure availability & that you’ll be able to secure your preferred room type.

I booked about 4 months prior and got a great rate on an Ocean View Pool Villa.

Santhiya Resort & Spa can be booked on all major hotel booking sites.

Santhiya Update 2022:

All 4 resorts under the Santhiya Resorts & Spas Group have been certified by the SHA (Amazing Thailand Safety & Health Administration). 

This certification means that at least 70% of staff at the resort have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and that the resort meets the standards of hygiene & health safety.

man and women in pool overlooking ocean in Santhiya resort
Santhiya Koh Yao Yai Resort & Spa Review
outside Thailand villa, wooden do not disturb sign. This is the entrance to an ocean villa at Santhiya Koh Yao Yai resort
View from the master bedroom at Santhiya Koh Yao Yai Resort and Spa. The room leads straight to the pool and looks out over the ocean in Thailand
lady have breakfast at Santhiya Koh Yao Yai Resort & Spa

Santhiya Koh Yao Yai Resort & Spa Property Details

With the wooden villas blending beautifully within the natural landscape and spread across the 38 acres, all the villas are well spread out to ensure privacy. The property is so big it’s not practical to walk everywhere. The resort offers a 24/7 transport service.

Guests can call the front desk whenever they need to go somewhere and within 10 minutes the wooden cart will arrive to pick them up.

The grounds are also very well kept, there isn’t one leaf out of place!

Santhiya Koh Yao Yai Resort & Spa has 6 different restaurants. We only ate at the three located on the beach & they were all amazing.

At ‘Chantara Restaurant’ and ‘By The Sea’, they have different themes every night. You don’t have to order from these menus but if you do, it’s per person and either a set menu or a buffet. On Thursday night we had the Bangkok Street Food buffet and it was so good, well worth the money. There was also a show of traditional Thai dances and Muay Thai.

Before we left Australia, I’d organized a dinner to be set up in our room as a surprise for Lawrence.

The Santhiya staff were so amazing with this.

They made it all so easy to organise and when we were checking in, they subtly got Lawrence away from the reception area so they could confirm the details with me.

The dinner was meant to be set up on our balcony but unfortunately, it was raining that night. So instead they set up in our lounge room, with many flowers & candles. Still, it was perfect. They can also set up private dinners on the beach.

I highly recommend these services if you’re after something private and intimate.

It wasn’t cheap but the food was amazing and there was plenty of it. Also, the service was ten out of ten.

Breakfast is Included

Included in your room rate will be a daily buffet breakfast. You have two choices on location for this, at the beach or the infinity pool.

The food was the same at each restaurant but if you can get a good seat in the restaurant up at the infinity pool, the view was pretty unbeatable.

This buffet was one of the best I’ve ever had, so many choices & all so fresh. There are also chefs preparing as you order, any type of eggs, and traditional Thai dishes.

Santhiya Koh Yao Yai Resort Facilities

The resort sits at the end of the beach so it’s a very private section. I never noticed anyone but hotel guests there.

Some of the complimentary activities at the resort are Kayaking and Stand Up Paddleboarding. There’s also a gym that had Yoga and Muay Thai classes.

The Spa on the property was absolutely beautiful & as you can imagine was reasonably expensive compared with other Thia Spas.

If you just wanted a massage there are local places up the road (walk up the beach and turn left at the first street).

Although, the service at the Santhiya Spa was incredible. We were offered a buy one get one free deal when we checked in, so didn’t hesitate and booked in for our second last day.

We were both so happy with the treatments we got and the spa itself is gorgeous.

Santhiya Ocean View Pool Villa

The resort has a number of different room types, ranging in price and facilities.

We stayed for 5 nights in an Ocean View Pool Villa and it was pure perfection.

When you first check-in you’ll leave your luggage with the porters and they will take them to your room. Now, this is my only tiny complaint to the resort. When we arrived they took our luggage straight away, we had to wait about half an hour to check-in (we were early & our room was still being cleaned) which was fine but then when we did get to our room we had to wait a further 45 minutes for our bags to arrive. All I wanted to do was go swimming but had no bathers. I would have been more than happy to bring my own luggage to the room.

I realize this isn’t the end of the world but it was frustrating at the time and I just wanted to mention my one and only complaint!

Anyway…. I feel like the room had everything you could ever need, so I really wanted to stay there forever.

From our private pool, we had the most incredible panoramic ocean view and were surrounded by beautiful gardens. I won’t list everything the room had, I’m sure my photos will speak for themselves!

Each day we had our room serviced and pool cleaned, were given 6 bottles of water, a plate of fruit, and a bag of dried fruit or chips. See, why would you ever need to leave?!

I’ve done Thailand the cheap way, and now the 5 star way, and either way, Thailand is certainly something special.

Santhiya Koh Yao Yai Resort & Spa is more expensive than most other properties on Koh Yao Yai but the service & facilities were exceptional.

In many other parts of the world, when booking a private villa like this, it may cost triple the amount, but I can’t imagine it could be any better.

As much as we enjoyed being in the resort, we did spend one day away from Santhiya, exploring the island of Koh Yao Yai. If you’d like to read that travel guide on Koh Yao Yai, click here! 

Before traveling to Thailand in 2022, please check the latest government advice on entry requirements into Thailand.

Currently, all foreign citizens will need to have a travel insurance policy that includes medical cover for COVID-19 to enter Thailand.

You can get a quote with Cover-More Travel Insurance here.

Thanks for reading, 

Happy Travels 

Breakfast set up Santhiya resort thailand, breakfast on wooden bench
View of the Santhiya Koh Yao Yai resort property, taken from the back of a wooden cart that was used as the guests shuttle service
Entrance to spa at Santhiya Koh Yao Yai Resort. small pond surrounded by trees
Me on the edge of infinity looking out to the ocean at Santhiya Koh Yao Yai
Outdoor shower at Santhiya Koh Yao Yai Resort, the show is in the shape of an elephant and the view is of the ocean
The back of our villa at Santhiya Koh Yao Yai, outdoor pool overlooking the ocean
Me in outdoor bath in Santhiya Koh Yao Yai Resort. Looking out to villa pool and ocean
Inside our resorts villa, wooden table with decorative light hanging above

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looking out the resort window in a sunny day. The main bedroom loads to the villas pool
deck chairs set up facing the ocean in Thailand

Planning a Trip? Travel Resources Below;

Where to Next?

If you’re unsure of where to travel to next, why not check out my Destination Page. Filled with informative travel guides from all over the world.

Searching For The Best Flights

Without a doubt the best site for comparing and booking flights is Skyscanner. Just click here to compare flights and get the best prices with Skyscanner. 

Booking Accommodation 

Then when it comes to booking accommodation; if you’re after a hostel the best place to search is HostelWorld.

Or, if you’d prefer a hotel or resort, Booking.com or Agoda are two of the best sites out there, they consistently return cheap rates.

Get Your Cashback

Before you book though don’t forget to activate your Rakuten browser extension so you get cashback on these bookings. 

Don’t know what Rakuten is? Read my guide here!

And, Don’t Forget Travel Insurance 

Unfortunately, everything doesn’t always go to plan but travel insurance will protect you when it comes to illness, injury, theft & cancellation. I never travel overseas without travel insurance, it’s just not worth the risk! 

Cover-More is a trusted company and they also have COVID-19 benefits available. 

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This Post Has 11 Comments

  1. Elena Presagio

    Omggg what a place to be😍😍. I really would love to visit Santhiya Koh Yao Yai Resort & Spa! Thanks for sharing 🥰

    1. Elyse

      It’s amazing, you definitely won’t be disappointed

  2. gloria li

    It looks so relaxing. I’m often in Thailand and would love to check it out, thanks for sharing.

    1. Elyse

      Oh you definitely should then, thanks for reading Gloria

  3. Megan

    Wow this looks amazing! I haven’t heard of Koh Yao Yai before. It definitely reminds me of Phuket. It looks like paradise. What an amazing honeymoon!

  4. Josy A

    This all looks incredible! What a beautiful and relaxing place to stay! You must have been so relaxed by the end of your trip.

    It is really good to hear that the staff are vaccinated too. I am still pretty nervous about travel for 2022, so at least if you stay in Santhiya Koh Yao Yai Resort you wouldn’t be putting the staff at risk!

    1. Elyse

      Thanks for your comment Josy. This would for sure be one of the safer options for travel this year

  5. simplyjolayne

    Sounds heavenly. And if you can plan ahead, tucking your swimming suit into your carry on is probably the best way to get to the pool fast after check-in even if your luggage hasn’t arrived at your room.

    1. Elyse

      Yes for sure haha, I will definitely be doing that next time!

  6. Henrik

    Hi Elyse
    Thanks for all this information 🙂

    But is there any small town near the Hotel, just with some resturants and shops?

    1. Elyse

      Hey, yes there is. You could walk there from the resort, it’s a very small area though.

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