This was our first Six Senses experience and it certainly won’t be our last. We were met at the airport and shown to our car which took us straight to the marina. At the marina we were greeted and shown to an air conditioned restaurant where we were made comfortable with drinks, until our speedboat was ready to transfer us to the island of Yao Noi. We were greeted on arrival at Six Senses by several staff members including the General Manager and our GEM, 'Guest Experience Manager' Namwan. What an apt name for this group of staff, Namwan really was a gem! Without exception, everyone at the resort was friendly, always greeting you with a smile and a ‘sah wah dee khaa or khrap’.
The resort itself is a lush tropical paradise - each villa being entirely private, set off paths around the beautifully maintained, well designed gardens. You can walk around very easily, as there are signposts and shortcuts all around the resort, but if you prefer to totally relax, then you can simply call for a golf buggy, which will arrive within minutes to whisk you to your required destination. The views from our ocean view villa were glorious, utterly breathtaking and will remain imprinted on my memory forever more.
We were delighted to discover, that Six Senses resorts have a strong focus on sustainability, they are environmentally conscious and a lot of thought has gone into the impact that their existence has on the island’s resources. I have always felt that this is a very difficult balance for a high quality hotel chain to achieve but huge respect, as they really have some very impressive foundations in place – from keeping their own chickens (you can go and collect your own eggs and take them with you for the Chefs to prepare for breakfast the following day in a basked provided), an organic kitchen garden, goats, mushroom huts to the thoughtful re-distribution of their kitchen waste
The food in every restaurant was utterly sublime and they do not stint on the portions. Even though it is a small resort, there were plenty of dining choices – we ate in the Dining Room one night, the Living Room another, in our own villa looking over the spectacular view on another, at the Hilltop Reserve, and we went sat at two Chef’s Tables. Each venue had its own plusses (the Hilltop Reserve only has 8 tables, so the service is on point, plus you get the utterly draw dropping views), however the Chef’s tables were far and away, the most enjoyable for us, meeting and chatting to other people, whilst being entertained with both superlative cooking and interesting conversation by both Vikram one evening and Walter on another. If you have the opportunity, you really should do one of these special events!
On top of all the amazing restaurant food, there was also home-made ice cream available all day. We are lucky enough to have been to lots and lots of five star resorts, but all of them struggle with dealing with the birds and insects, all of whom are so quick and willing to prey on any food that is on display. So, we were particularly impressed with the thoughtful layout of the restaurant area at the Living Room, with the Deli and Bakery, both being in enclosed but easily accessible air-conditioned rooms.
The Spa was fantastic, we both booked a de-stress package which meant we were heading to the Spa on an almost daily basis for various treatments and massages, we came away every day feeling blissfully relaxed.
With a full list of daily activities as well as every other night there being a movie on the beach with popcorn on offer, you can do as little, or as much as you wish.
On our way home we had a private transfer back to the Marina and Namwan came to see us off, even supplying us with a picnic box of breakfast goodies for our boat trip. We were seamlessly transferred from boat to car, to airport and even accompanied through check-in, security and efficiently delivered to the airport lounge – what service!
If you like a laid-back vibe, understated luxury, unobtrusive service with spectacular scenery to boot, you will get that in abundance at the Six Senses Yao Noi!