Ayara Hilltops Boutique Resort & Spa, PHUKET : 21-24 Aug 2013

Wednesday; 21 Aug 2013 at 12.40pm, Rocker 57 and I boarded AK1926 to Phuket International Airport via Air Asia. ETA to Phuket - 1pm Thailand time. Phuket is an hour behind Malaysia.

We planned & booked this trip on January 16, 2013. Cost of flight & 4D/3N accomodation at Ayara Hilltops Boutique Resort & Spa, Surin Beach for two persons was RM1,879.60 inclusive of breakfast for two. There are 3 Ayara hotels in Phuket, Ayara Hilltop, Ayara Hilltops Boutique Resort & Spa as well as Ayara Kamala.

I was particularly attracted to this hotel because it is situated on a hilltop overlooking the Surin Beach. (based on their website pictures).

The airport limousine was a Toyota Camry that cost us 700 Thai Baht or approximately RM70 - one way about 30-45mins drive depending on traffic.We were immediately greeted by name at the lobby by our friendly and warm front desk personnel of Ayara Hilltops Boutique Resort & Spa.

As you step up onto the lobby, right side view of lobby.

Calm, soothing and welcoming Lobby.

On the left of lobby is a pathway to the pool, restaurant, spa & gym

No registration required. All done prior to our arrival. We were given a floral wrist garland, cold scented towel and a welcome drink each. Please sign your name and input contact number and hey...good to check into our room. So easy-peasy.

Our hostess, gave us a tour of the premises - the pool, restaurants, spa and gym (photos to be shown later), Then, we were driven by a buggy to our unit accompanied by our sweet and soft spoken hostess. The buggy is on-call 24 hours. Very efficient and reliable. Last pick-up from the beach (5 mins walk from hotel to the beach) is 6pm from Catch. Will elaborate more on Catch is the next blog post.

Two of this buggy available at your beck and call 24/7.

Buggy drives us uphill in luscious greens on cobble-stoned road.

Buggy stand / station at each level. Equipped with nice bench to sit while you wait for the buggy. As well as a housephone. An intricate carving of the 12 Chinese zodiac on a single wood is placed on two sides of the buggy stand columns.

 As you walked away from the buggy stand to your suite...(downwards to our junior suite unit) here's what's in-store for the guests. Lots and lots of green...so so enchanting and refreshing.

There is a labyrinth-like link between all the units that can lead you to the lobby. We found this out on our 3rd day there when we explored the place as well as when this pix was taken. Prior to that, we either used the buggy or walked down the cobble-stoned road.

So awesome that the resort builds its structures based on the contour of the hills and make it oh so comfortable and inviting.

Hello!! Welcome to our humble abode for the next 3 nights. Very private and so so comfortable and NICE!!!

Hello? Can you find Rocker57 amongst the greens? Care for a banana?  

After climbing up a flight of steps...this thing welcomes you to wash away the dirt on your feet. Nice touch, eh? You know me, I had to wash my feet...just for the heck of it...Hehehehe.

Ta-Daaa! A basket of fresh local fruits welcoming us to our suite. We had two Thai oranges, a Fuji apple and in season dukong - a cross bred between langsat (in English is Lansium domesticum or Lanzones in the Philippines) and duku (describe in Wikipedia as the larger version of langsat). I added the wrist garlands to add a touch of Thai hospitality. So thoughtful and elegantly done.

Here, a close up shot of the dukong, for the benefit of my foreign readers. Picture courtesy from my google search.

Welcome to our suite :

Our bed for the next 3 nights. Very cozy and comfortable bed. Rotating TV for the comfort of their guests. There is also a DVD /CD player, value added indeed.

Welcome to our living room cum study cum pantry :)

Our private patio with Jacuzzi at far end. We can see the sea from where we lie down or from the jacuzzi. FYI....we have TWO jacuzzis!!! This one without hot water but has jets of water shooting out.

Bathing gel and bath salt canisters.

Can you see the sea??? The iron triangle stand is for us to hang our bathrobes & towels. So detailed thoughts for the ease of their resort guests. Thumbs up!

Each night, we get either cookies or chocolates when the housemaids turn-down our beds. I particularly liked the coconut cookies that looked like a walnut except that it was round. It was crunchy on the outside yet soft, sweet and tasty dessicated coconut on the inside....ohhh...just the thought of it makes me salivate. Yes! Yes! I know I am a glutton - and am proud to be one. I live to eat, remember? ^_^

How about a walk-in closet big enough to do a short moonwalk dance? Comes with a safe too.

The aisle / passage way leads from the walk-in dressing closet to the bathroom, WC and the other jacuzzi. How cool can it be? Ya...so so awesome.

And here is the outdoor but sheltered jacuzzi. This one has hot and cold water while the former has no hot water. We enjoyed this on the first night. Hehehehe....obviously no explicit needed. DUH!

To the right (not in pix, entrance door)...this is the entrance to outdoor jacuzzi

The pathway leading to the stairs....view shot from outdoor jacuzzi towards steps leading to unit.

A view from the top of our unit.

Our huge entrance door. Door knob is in the middle. Need a bit of skills to open this solid wooden door. keh keh keh!!!

This is how the surrounding of our boutique hilltop resort looks like around our unit. 

So awesome, right? I knew you would like it.

Despite a small but elongated pool, it is very inviting and pleasant just to sit there and listen to the birds chirping and the movement of the leaves from the endless gusts of wind.

24 / 7 security check and service provided for the safety of their guests. Situated at the entrance of the resort.

Entrance to the Spa and gym. Situated next to the guardhouse.

We had our lunch here on the 3rd day. More about it in the following posts.

Another angle of the pool view. Isn't it inviting? Do you feel like dipping into the waters now? I do!!

The Gym.

Equipped with weighing machine, BMI chart, water dispenser (hot and cold) with paper cups.
Two TVs at your disposal.

3 different sizes of balls for Pilates or just for stretching.

Rocker57 hard at work on his bicycle after weight lifting and sit-ups.

 And to end the tour...the ladies dressing room after your work out session.

FYI, they also print out daily weather forecast for the benefit of their guests. Can be seen at lobby entrance. Awesome!

FYI, it was low peak season, so we and about a dozen or two of the guests were pampered to the max by our ever so gentle, efficient and alert resort staffs. Rocker57 and I felt like VVIPs during our entire 4D/3N stay here. Hence, Ayara deserves a special mention by itself for its facilities, scenic view and awesome hospitality.

Great place for honeymooners. By the way, returning guests gets a rebate. Isn't that nice?

AYARA Hilltops Boutique Resort and Spa
Rating : 5 star
Address : 125 Moo3, Surin Beach
               Srisoonthorn Road
               Cherngtalay. Thalang, TH 83110
Tel : +667 627  1271
Website : http://www.ayarahilltops.com

**Wifi available in the suite but not stable**

Koh Samui >> Songkhla, 9 Aug 2013

We checked out about 8am Malaysian time from our hotel; Marina Beach Resort, Lamai; Koh Samui for Songkhla. It is about 300km ride from Dong Sak, Mainland Thailand to Songkhla. Click here for more info on Day 1 in Koh Samui and Day 2 Koh Samui. From Koh Samui pier to Dong Sak on mainland Thailand, ferry ride is 1.5hours. Ferry fee is 250 baht for biker and bike and 150baht for pillion or equivalent to about RM40 per couple. This time we weren't so lucky, we got a non air-conditioned unit, unlike the day we arrived on Day 1 in Koh Samui  

Pier at Koh Samui. Hourly departure.

Waiting in Q for departure. 5 bikers and 2 pillion riders

Benches anyone?

Bikes gets priority parking in the ferry

Passage way in Ferry

Aerial view from the upper deck

View from the ferry. Long wait for departure.

The steam engine ferry was smoking us the entire journey!! What seemed like a long cruise, we were glad when it finally landed on shore. We refueled just a few kilometers from Dong Sak. And then, off we went on our way to Songkhla. 

We rode some 200 over kilometers before we stopped for lunch. I had for the first time, the best Thai meal I've eaten on this 4D/3N stay thus far. It is called BaristaTerrace; Patthalung.

Live bands at night. But dead quiet for lunch.

Seafood tom yum soup and mixed vegy - Superb TomYum!

Spicy minced beef, tender and juicy - very tasty

Green curry(L) and pineapple fried rice.

Each dish was well marinated and well cooked. No, not because we were hungry but because it was really delectable. We requested for additional Tom Yum soup and our request was gladly honoured. Barista Terrace is easy to find...just below a ramp along the Patthalung highway. After lunch, we can easily get back to the trunk road. This meal was truly taste bud and tummy satisfying for everyone.

From Patthalung, about 125km ride to Songkhla. By the time we reach Songkhla, it was almost 3pm. We refueled and took sometime to search for our hotels. We were split into two. I don't remember where the 3 'bachelors' stayed but the two couples stayed at :

Sun City Mansion
165/8 Talay Luang Road
T. Bo. Yang
Muenag
Songkhla
Tel : 6674313888

Largest 'mini' bar fridge I've ever seen!!! LOL!!

Strange. Reception at the carpark! the one with 4 windows fr right

Beggars can't be chosers. Thanks to Ryan and his partner Shirley for leading and arranging all accommodations for our entire 5D/4N trip Hatyai, Koh Samui, Songkhla trip. 

FYI, (pix above) the middle door is where breakfast was served the next morning. And where did we eat our breakfast? Yup...at the parking lot as there were only 2 or 3 tables available indoors!!! The first for Rocker57 and I had ever experience eating at a hotel carpark! Due to peak season, we can only count our blessings that we have room to stay for the night. Having said that, I had trouble sleeping until 1am Malaysian time, midnight Thai time as there were some ritual prayers happening right under our hotel room!!! HAIZ....

After a good hot shower and a short nap, we were ready to meet up again for dinner. Then, panic mode set in. None of us had sufficient Thai baht for food!! Between the two groups, we had a total of 500 Baht each group. Banks were closed and no money changer in sight after walking very far around the hotel vicinity. The bachelor group faced similar issue.

We had more than enough Ringgit Malaysia but short of Thai Baht. Do note that Songkhla doesn't have many FOREX money changers so do bring enough baht.  Ryan had to ride to another hotel where he stayed before (couldn't make reservations at that hotel as rooms were fully booked) to change RM1,000 to Thai Baht. Only then did we stop to look for food and a huge sigh of relief not having have to count the cost of food and the amount of money we had like the bachelors did.

We settled for a cozy and family ran restaurant just few steps away from our hotel entrance. Aptly named Coffee Shop. The son spoke smattering of English while both parents spoke only Thai.

They had an assortment of western, Thai, fusion, dessert, etc. All home cooked and quite tasty. Ryan, Shirley, Rocker57 and I ate here while we waited for Sam and Alex to join us after their dinner. Francis, the other biker opted to stay back at the hotel they were staying in some 5 minutes ride away. Poor guys had to walk almost half an hour to meet up with us due to wrong direction given. All is good in the end.

We had a few drinks and chatted till almost midnight Thai time before Sam and Alex bade us goodnight and had to walk back to their hotel some 20 mins away. The next day, Francis, Alex and Sam rode to our hotel for breakfast and then we headed straight back to Malaysia.

All in all, it was almost a 2,000km return ride. 5 bikes, 7 bikers, 5 days and 4 nights of awesome riding, good company, ok-ok food and great experience. 

So glad to be home the next day to my awesome bed! Ahhhhh....ZZZzzzz