When I set out to live full time in hotels, Aonang Villa in Thailand’s Krabi Province was exactly what I had in mind. It’s the kind of place you come to and immediately say “I wish we could run away and live here forever!”
Rooms at this beachfront resort are typically around $150 on Expedia. I got a bit lucky and was able to book this Monday-Friday stay for a nightly average of $80.28 on the Capital One travel portal.
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Aonang Villa looks like the sort of place they would base the production team while shooting a season of Survivor. The kind of resort where the host sleeps every night and they shoot the interviews and voting scenes.
If you’ve never been to Thailand before and you close your eyes and picture “tropical beach resort” this is exactly what you’re thinking of.
Aonang Villa Resort Location
It’s not a stretch to say this is the best location in Krabi. The large property has a wide beachfront area and is right on a boardwalk style promenade. Aonang Road is the main avenue in town. it runs along the beach for a long way before turning at a 90 degree angle and leading inland. Aonang Villa Resort is right at that bend in the road, making it easy to walk anywhere.
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It’s also right next door to the Monkey Trail, a temple, and the Massive Climbing attraction. The town is full of hotels and hostels. It’s a fine place to stay off-beach if you want to save a little money but the location of this hotel is so good it’s certainly worth a premium.
Aonang Villa Resort Property
What can I say? It’s a tropical paradise. It’s very large. So much so that there are maps and directional signs posted all over. There are two beautiful swimming pools, one of which faces the sea and includes a swim-up bar. There’s a real fitness center where you can get an actual workout. Game rooms, kids’ playrooms, two restaurants, a spa, beachfront massage area and more.
The property is accessible on foot from either the beachfront boardwalk or the vehicular entrance on Ao Nang Road (leading inland). This is the sort of place you could come for a weekend and not even leave the resort. In fact if you happen to like the food at the restaurants here or ordering room service that might be the way to go.
One thing I appreciated in particular is that all of the walkways here are covered. So you can stay in the shade or, like on my first full day here, move around the property while avoiding torrential rains.
Aonang Villa Guest Rooms
The rooms here are very nice. Ice-cold air conditioning, comfy beds, well lit, nice bathrooms. Basically everything you could ask for. They have balconies too. Even without a view of the beach, it’s nice to sit out and relax. The whole property has a sort of tropical Garden of Eden vibe so there’s bound to be something nice to look at no matter which room you’re booking.
The desk is nice, but unfortunately it’s a bit too low for sitting and working all day. The desk chair is really more of a dining room chair and not very ergonomic at all. Wifi was noticeably slow during uploads. The armchair and ottoman, on the other hand, were extremely comfortable. I would want these in my own house, particularly if it was a beach house.
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You can tell they didn’t go over the top with luxury in these rooms, but that’s very much okay. If they had the rates would have to be $400 a night instead of $150 or less. I really think they nailed it and the rooms are large, clean and comfortable.
About Ao Nang Beach & Krabi
Southern Thailand’s Krabi Province has three main areas. There’s Krabi Town, which is a small city mostly just for locals without much to attract the average tourist. Railay Beach, which is only accessible by boat, but the boats are cheap at about $3 USD each way and the trip is only 10-15 minutes. And there’s Ao Nang Beach, the main tourism center.
The sands on Ao Nang beach are not the greatest. They’re adequate. But the views and atmosphere are amazing. The beach and beach road are a lot more chilled out than other places in Thailand. During my visit it wasn’t crowded at all. You’d almost hope a few more people would show up because many of the bars are a bit empty at night.
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Krabi’s got a good sized modern airport and is only an hour flight from Bangkok. Flights are very inexpensive. You can grab a shuttle bus for $3 at the airport that will take you right to your hotel. It’s just about as efficient as a $15 Grab. You can also reach Ao Nang by ferry from Phuket or vice versa, which is a great way to see both locations.
Bottom Line
You made it this far reading the post? You haven’t booked Aonang Villa yet? What on Earth are you waiting for?
Get over to Expedia! It doesn’t get any better than this in Thailand. And for $80 a night it doesn’t get better than this anywhere in the world.
