Koh Phi Phi Island

Note: The entirety of my time at Koh Phi Phi was at Phi Phi Island Village Beach Resort

Following a one hour transfer from Karon, a two hour ferry and a 20minute boat ride we had finally reached our destination!!!! But wait, do we have to walk all the way to shore with all our luggage? Nope! Tractor to the rescue! It comes to transfer guests from the shore to a boat and vice versa during low tide. My first impression was that it didn’t look like the pictures (low tide) but after we were seated in a tropical haven lobby, given a Pina Colada, cool towel and flower bracelets the tropical paradise atmosphere emerged. We were then escorted in a buggy to our hillside infinity pool villa. The view left me speechless and was worth the 4 hour commute! Our villa, 509 was massive and split into three large rooms - the bedroom, the lounge/dining area both overlooking the ocean and an open plan bathroom. With three additional sofas/day beds, the villa could easily sleep 5 or 6 people. We soon learned that high tide was when the resort turned into a paradise and the view was like nothing else I’ve seen before. It was one of the most romantic and beautiful places I’ve ever visited and on par with our accommodation in Santorini, Greece.

Highlights

  • A family of monkeys came to visit us in our villa (beware, they are naughty and will try to steal your things)!
  • Pool bar.
  • There are 4 restaurants, 2 bars, 2 swimming pools, private beach front with sun lounges, sunbeds and bean bags, a tennis court, a recreation centre and shop at the resort so you’re pretty much set!
  • The hillside villas are limited and tucked away, so whenever you need to go anywhere a buggy is only 5-10min away to pick you up!

Tips

  • The resort restaurants are very expensive and displayed prices don’t include service and tax. Try one of the Thai restaurants in the village behind the resort for better value!
  • Make sure you get a room inclusive of breakfast otherwise you’ll find yourself spending a lot of money! Eat a big buffet breakfast then you won’t even need lunch…. Haha!
  • If you want to do a bit of exploring of the local town, Tonsai, you can get a scheduled long tail boat for 200baht per person, per way (we didn’t use this service as we were happy to chill at the resort or in our amazing villa).
  • This resort is almost entirely full of couples and I can see why, it has a very romantic and chilled atmosphere. We met a few really lovely couples that we befriended during our stay! You can even organise a romantic dinner for two on the beach front.
  • There is a lovely traditional Thai Restaurant near the hillside villas, the food is amazing and they have a huge vegetarian selection but beware, quite spicy!!!
  • Low tide usually runs from the late afternoon (4ish) to around 10am the next morning so make sure you get the most of high tide during the day!
  • In our villa (as expected because you’re practically in the rainforest) there were lots of bugs especially millipedes!  I don’t mind creepy crawlies so this didn’t bother me too much. Just added to the ambience of the jungle retreat!
  • Originally the Phi Phi speedboat transfers were quoted to us at 2,200 baht per person, per way which we decided against as the local ferry is only 200baht per person, per way (plus around 150 for hotel transfers to the wharf). However, upon arrival they sold us a speedboat return transfer for only 1000 baht per person. Beware, although the speedboat is much quicker (around 50min) if you are prone to seasickness,  it's likely you will get sick!!!
  • We had really mixed service, some staff were really warm, friendly and welcoming (especially the Filipino staff - you can pick them out by their fluency in English and American style accent) then others were quite rude, grumpy and blunt which put a damper on what could have been a perfect stay (I’m all about service, if I receive bad service, I won’t return). 

Overall

Phi Phi Island Village Beach Resort was a picture perfect oasis with a very romantic and relaxing atmosphere. We had an almost perfect stay except for the few run in’s with poor service. It’s definitely a splurge type of place to visit but would I recommend going there? Absolutely! Add this one to your bucket list. 9/10