Phuket Iniala Beach Luxury Resort

I’m back from a week in paradise at Phuket’s Iniala Beach Luxury Resort, and the one good thing about jet lag is that I can use the early morning hours to catch up on blogging! Iniala Beach Resort is without a doubt one of the most spectacular places I’ve ever stayed in my life (definitely up there with our honeymoon in Bora Bora!). Iniala is located on Natai beach, north of Phuket by around 1 hour. It faces the beautiful brilliant turquoise waters of the Andaman Sea, which was warm and inviting at all hours of the day, perfect for water sports! Iniala is made up of three beachfront villas and one penthouse (where Kim Kardashian stayed!). My family stayed at the Collector’s Villa, which had three bedrooms, a living room, a glass-encased dining room facing the beach, a private spa room, and a movie theater. Every morning once we stepped outside our rooms we were greeted by the sight of the beautiful beach, just three steps down from our pool! The resort also had a gym complete with a Thai boxing ring and coach, a game room with a pool table, and a top notch seafood restaurant Esenzi, run by Tim Butler, featuring Thai fusion tasting menus with wine pairings.

What stood out about Iniala aside from its stunning decor and location on a private pristine beach was their impeccable service. Each villa has a dedicated team with 24 hour assistance from a concierge, a driver, butler, chef, spa therapist and housekeepers. We had two butlers, Palm and Daria, who attended to our every need, whether it was arranging airport transfers or ordering lunch. They made sure every aspect of our trip was coordinated perfectly, so we didn’t have to worry about any of the stress usually associated with travel. I’m also very grateful to the beach crew, who helped us rearrange the beach umbrellas constantly so we’d be in the shade. They also helped set us up for all the water sports we could handle, from kayaking and paddle boarding to boogie boarding with the kids.The beach crew also made sure the sand was raked and cleaned every morning, so we could enjoy a perfect beach!

The Villas

During our stay I became curious about the other villas and Palm was nice enough to take us on a little tour. We got to see the two other villas as well as the penthouse. Each villa was beautifully designed and had its own flair. I hope to come back one day and stay in Villa Siam!

Fine Thai Dining

Last but definitely NOT least: the food was one of the MAJOR MAJOR highlights of my trip. My family opted for the full board service, which meant all beverages, snacks, and meals were included. Every meal was an all you can eat Thai feast prepared by an extremely talented private chef. We each received villa iPads which had the full menu from which we could order all our meals. I don’t know how I can possibly go back to eating Thai food in the states anymore! Every morning started with fresh tropical fruit platters, green detox juice, crab omelettes, yogurt, smoothies, and freshly baked pastry baskets filled with every pastry you could imagine. Lunch and dinner were usually fresh salads, grilled tight prawns and scallops, octopus, and squid, a plethora of Thai curries (green, red, yellow, Massaman), fried rice, all sorts of noodles (pad thai, pad see ew), and traditional Thai dishes I don’t even know how to spell. I had at least 2 fresh coconut waters a day and TONS of mango sweet sticky rice. (Side note: I’m currently jet lagged and extremely hungry so I’m dying as I’m writing this paragraph!) Sadly I only took one photo of the food since I was always eating as if it were my last meal on earth, but I made sure to include EVERY meal on my Instagram stories – check it out under the Phuket highlight!

Dinner at Esenzi: (not representative of all that we ate; I missed a few courses!)

 

Not only is this beach resort an amazing experience for adults, I was also blown away by how kid-friendly this place is. There is an entire floor of a building dedicated to children, where kids have 24/7 babysitting with fun activities. My nieces did all sorts of arts and crafts, pizza and cooking making, movie watching, treasure hunts, and more, with a really sweet childcare staff (who were also experts at hair braiding!). The kid’s club even had its own sleeping space with faux tree houses and clubhouses where the kids could sleep. Not only is this great for the children, but 24/7 childcare also means that the adults can TRULY enjoy their vacation and relax.

Staying at Iniala Beach Resort was a once in a lifetime experience and I’m truly grateful to my family for inviting us on this vacation! What makes me appreciate this resort even more is its dedication to philanthropy. 10% of room revenues and 5% of other revenues go directly to the Inspirasia Foundation, which funds health and education projects throughout Southeast Asia.

Now that the sun’s coming up, I’m going to venture out for some breakfast, but I’ll be dreaming of Iniala for a long long time to come!