Have you always wondered whether it was truly worth forking out thousands of pounds, for the ultimate holiday experience? During my recent trip to Asia, I was working on creating a Viral Video with World Unknown. A new adventure dedicated page created by the company Jungle Creations. I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to stay at the world-renowned Anantara resorts as we travelled through South East Asia.

Anantara Angkor Resort, Cambodia

The amazing land of Cambodia is still rising in the ranks of visiting tourists. The friendly locals and stunning scenery make it hard not to instantly fall in love with this place. You can find the 39 room boutique Anantara Angkor located quite centrally in the town of Siem Reap. You’ll find some but not many hotels of a similar stature in the same area. Aside from its general charm as a beautifully structured hotel moulded to traditional yet contemporary Cambodian architecture. The Anantara Angkor honestly provides some of the biggest hotel rooms I’ve ever seen to date, in Asia. A large lounge area accompanied by the overwhelming presence of the most comfortable King-sized bed has you in Awe from entry.

Additional touches such as tuk-tuk services, daily local treats and twice a day turn down service really added to the overall experience. One factor that shone through was the kind nature and eagerness of the staff at the Anantara Angkor to serve and provide you with the best possible stay. I felt as though during my entire stay I hadn’t really need to lift a finger.

Note: Anantara does provide guests with mobile phones to use around the city, however, If you do not use the mobile to call a  pre-arranged tuk-tuk dropping a name like Anantara will cause the drivers to give you a serious mark up in prices due to the perceived nature of the hotel’s guests. A journey from Pub Street to Anantara Angkor should cost you no more than $2-3.

Although we were only in Cambodia for a short period of time we were able to experience much of what Cambodia had to offer, with Anantara offering activities such a Quad Biking, Jeep Trails, and Temple picnics. We really felt our time there was full of adventure. You can see first hand our experiences below:

Anantara Si Kao Resort, Thailand

Located not far from Malaysia along Thailands southern strip. The beauty of Si Kao was one that I had not experienced before in Thailand away from the generally touristic hot spots. I’m personally not a huge fan of Thailand for many reasons. It’s not that I dislike the country, I just feel it’s become too westernised and overrun by tourism.

There are beautiful parts of Thailand and Si Kao definitely became one of those regions that made me second guess my thoughts around Thailand. Driving along to the Anantara you pass a dense forest area where you feel a sense of wonder as you imagine what rural Thailand really looked like before the boom of tourism. The Anantara tucked away in a remote corner of Si Kao, gives you a feeling of tropical paradise. Resembling all those scenes in destination films, as you enter into their grand foyer and go on to look out onto the amazing distant shoreline home to what I dubbed a mini-ha long bay (…Until you hear the horns of the nearby cars on the main road just off into the distance).

The layout of the hotel focused on courtyards filled with beautiful native tropical flora, surrounding you with beautiful colours really giving you more of a feel for where you were. Most if not all rooms had windows facing towards the ocean, the waves on the shoreline soothed you into the evening whilst morning light on the bay gave you a relaxing wake-up call.

We got to experience two unique activities for which I don’t know if many other hotels in Thailand offer. The first was the opportunity to scout out Dugong amongst the islands and the second to see how they carry out underwater weddings. You can see first hand our experiences below:

 

Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp & Resort, Thailand

The golden triangle was an area I was unfamiliar with even though I had visited the northern regions of Thailand before during my backpacking years. The region is called as such due to the ability to view the neighbouring countries of Laos and Myanmar from Thailand. This particular Anantara was especially unique due to its elephant camp experiences, which you can read more about here.

The resort was probably the most extravagant of the three, filled with elephant based architecture that flooded each corner of the hilltop complex. From carved statues and podiums to elephant print cushions and loungers you really felt immersed in the world of elephants. Although being the only all-inclusive resorts of the three, the service at this Anantara was completely unaffected. With staff going even more above and beyond here than in other resorts.

All the rooms at the Anantara Golden Triangle face out onto the Golden Triangle valley, giving you 180-degree panoramic views of the beautiful landscapes this region has to offer, you can wake up and see the morning mist come in from the mountains, with elephants roaming the lands and watch as the sunset really turns the sky golden.


Overall you can see where and why Anantara get their luxury 5-star ratings. For me, I would class them as some of the best resorts for a “splurging” getaway. Anantara provides a nice balance between activities that integrate with local wildlife and culture whilst providing a touch of seclusion and opulence. Perfect for families, couples and even travelling friends. Even if you can only stay there once, it would be an experience you would not forget.


Well, I hope you guys found my experience article interesting and insightful! Let me know below if you have any thoughts or questions!

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