Phuket by design: 6 luxury resorts with striking architecture and interiors

The largest island in Thailand, Phuket has long been a coveted holiday destination. Off the west coast of the country in the Andaman Sea, it offers beauteous sea views, delicious food, relaxing massages, cultural attractions, and the rusticity of the old town. The best part? It is a quick boat ride to smaller islands such as Phang Nga Bay and Phi Phi Islands.

Many hotels in Phuket still embody the typical tropical resort style, with vernacular Thai architecture as the basis. It is all charming and familiar but for the design-savvy, discovering unique details form part of the overall hotel experience. Here, we highlight six hotels that put design at the forefront.

AMANPURI

Amanpuri is where the luxurious Aman Hotels, Resorts and Residences brand founded by Adrian Zecha began. His initial aim to build a holiday home in Phuket developed into the creation of a boutique resort with with financial investor Anil Thadani and two other friends. The resort opened in 1988, offering an unparalleled level of understated luxury that make them sanctuaries for the well-heeled.

In 2023, the hotel went through a rigorous three-month renovation that saw the addition of Kengo Kuma-designed restaurant, Nama. The famed Japanese architect also designed a retail pavilion at the resort last year. The renovations also resulted in a new Spa House offering hydrotherapy facilities, a Vichy shower room, a Banya, a steam room and cold plunge pool, among other facilities.

Gearoid Lyons, Amanpuri’s general manager shared: “Each of the Pavilion [room types] received an interior and exterior overhaul to enhance the feeling of privacy and space, with nine of them befitting from the addition of private outdoor pools. The significant renovation includes open and airy ceilings [that exposes the roof’s structure], new wooden flooring and upgraded outdoor balcony decks.”

INIALA BEACH HOUSE

Iniala Beach House will appeal to travellers who prefer edginess and flair in their accommodations. In fact, the resort has housed many famous guests, among them the Kardashians who filmed one of the episodes of Keeping Up with the Kardashians in this resort.

Located on Natai Beach in Phang Nga, the property was designed by UK-born architect Graham Lamb. Eleven renowned international designers were gathered to create unique rooms that exhibit each of their distinct creative styles. Inside the resort are also over 40 pieces of art that complement the distinctive interior design of each room.

There are three villas and a lavish penthouse that were designed by Lamb in collaboration with the development’s owner Mark Weingard. The latter features flooring of memory foam, seating built into the contours of the room and a shower enclosed in a glass tube structure.

The most elaborate villa is the 1,049-sq-ft three-bedroom Collector’s Villa that was originally Weingard’s private residence. In here, the common spaces and living areas are designed by the Campana brothers (Humberto Campana and Fernando Campana), who, inspired by the ceramic craft of Chang Mai and the Wat Arun, covered walls and pillars with ceramics, matched with teak and rattan surfaces. The Brazilian designers also created a special green edition of their famous fluffy Cipria sofa for Italian furniture brand Edra in the movie room that is clad in real coconut skin, as well as wrapped the spa in mother-of-pearl.

In another bedroom, Irish furniture maker Joseph Walsh created a canopy bed and other furniture made of sculptural timber. Artist and designer Mark Brazier-Jones from New Zealand wrapped another room in silks and crystals. The third beachfront suite enjoys the whimsical touches of Spanish designer Jaime Hayon.

KEEMALA HOTEL PHUKET

The multi award-winning Keemala Hotel Phuket stretches guests’ imagination with a fictitious narrative of four different clans of ancient Phuket settlers housed within the resort. Situated in Kamala on the west coast of Phuket, the resort is perched atop rainforest canopy on slopes that offers superior views.

The architecture of the four different villas reflects the clans’ different skills and ways of life. There are the Tree Pool Houses with furniture and fittings hung from the ceiling, the Bird’s Nest Pool Villas with interwoven exteriors, Tent Pool Villas representing an imaginary nomadic tribe and Clay Pool ‘Cottages’ with thatched roofs, as well as walls, roofs, furniture and even the bed structures made from soil and clay.

It may sound kitschy but the spatial storytelling is actualised in a sophisticated way, immersing guests in a five-star experience and amenities, surrounded by matured trees, streams and waterfalls. The architecture is by Thailand’s Architect Space and the interior design by Pisud Design Company.

The resort is also a showcase of Thai creative talents, with mosaic murals at the welcome pavilion and lobby by Chiang Mai native artist Surachai Sripaiboon, and fabrics and textiles used in the resort produced by ethnic minority groups in Thailand under the Doi Tung Development Project that has successfully developed sustainable alternative livelihoods of these populations.

THE SURIN PHUKET

A property of YTL Hotels, The Surin Phuket (formerly The Pansea) is one of the island’s pioneers in luxury travel, having been built in 1982 when Phuket was relatively quiet and undiscovered among the jet set. It is located on the picturesque Pansea Beach and enjoys crystal-clear turquoise waters and soft white sand beach that guests can access directly.

In 1995, the hotel, spread across rolling hills, was re-designed by Edward Tuttle, who also designed Amanpuri. The Paris-based American architect and designer is known for reinterpreting local culture into refined and streamlined spaces, which he did for this hotel when it was branded as The Chedi from 1995 to 2011 before it became The Surin Phuket.

In 2011, Tuttle revitalised the property, fitting the geometric roofs of the buildings with sustainable cedar shingles. Western elements were incorporated, such as a herringbone floor pattern for the library and cottage-like wall details for the guestrooms. Materials such as lustrous black anthracite – the hardest of all coals – was used to clad the pool such that it reflects the lights dramatically at night.

“Built into the tropical bay and verdant environment, no elevators are installed so guests can experience nature through a series of stairs and walkways connecting the resort,” highlighted the resort’s director of sales and marketing, Sutarat Usamanwet on the resort’s layout that immerses visitors with nature.

COMO POINT YAMU

Opened in 2013, COMO Point Yamu is Italian architect and designer Paola Navone’s first hotel project for the hospitality group. It was also her first hotel design. The property manifests the Italian architect and designer’s individualistic style, introducing a refreshing, contemporary take on resort design that highlights traditional Thai culture and craft in a sophisticated and playful way.

Navone said: “We use elements in a modern way but we also like to look at the tradition of a place; working in Thailand is different from working in Berlin. I am very careful to discover if possible the craft that is typical of a region. For example, we used a lot of ceramics in COMO Point Yamu because Thailand has good ceramics craftsmen.”

Perched on high lands, the resort has amazing views out to the limestone karsts of Phang Nga Bay and the Andaman Sea. In fact, Navone’s colour scheme, inspired by the surrounding waters, features a predominant palette of turquoise and white. This is juxtaposed with fiery orange accents inspired by the robes of Buddhist monks, which is encountered in painted timber columns and spaces such as Nahmyaa, a Thai restaurant that has sparkling orange mosaics depicting swimming goldfish.

At the lobby, lampshades fashioned from local woven rattan inspired by local crab and lobster traps, as well as a large wall made of wood blocks make a strong impression upon arrival. At the heart of the project, Navone wanted to use the range and depth of Thai craft culture to create an authentic resort experience.

THE NAKA ISLAND, A LUXURY COLLECTION RESORT & SPA, PHUKET

The feeling of leaving one’s cares far behind to enter into a duration of rest starts when one boards the speedboat from Ao Por Pier and heads toward Naka Yai Island. The resort is the only hotel on the private island overlooking Phang Nga Bay, with 90 villas and rooms joined by winding roads and surrounded by landscaping.

The villas have thatched roofs, textured uneven wall plastering, organic lines and niches that incorporate seating and tables. A trip to the bathroom includes walking across a path of stepping-stones, with views to gardens. These details accentuate the development’s focus on nature. Formerly the Six Senses Sanctuary Phuket designed by Habita Architects, the experience integrates nature closely. Thailand’s Begray Architects renovated the property after it changed hands, adding 10 deluxe rooms, an upgraded 24-hour gym as well as a new beachfront restaurant Rum Chapel.