Anantara Golden Triangle

Rooms

There are 58 deluxe rooms and 19 suites, housed in two wings either side of the temple-like main building. Paths wind through carefully planted tropical foliage to semi-external staircases which in turn lead to just a few rooms: there are no long, institutional corridors and consequently you’re largely unaware of your neighbours.

All rooms fuse traditional and contemporary Thai design, with gleaming teakwood floors, locally woven cottons and silks and a harmonious mix of old (or repro) and modern furniture. Beds are kingsize and supremely comfortable (mine, in a suite, had a pillowtop mattress). Colours are understated – natural tones with the odd dash of ochre or burnt sienna – so as not to argue with the views of the valley unfurling below the balcony.

Suites are twice the size of the relatively small ‘deluxe’ rooms, and have a distinct sitting area with sofa and two armchairs, but all rooms have sliding glass doors to a balcony with a daybed cantilevered from the wooden structure like a giant windowbox. Mine seemed to hover right over the pool.

Bathrooms are large and semi-open-plan, with twin basins and terrazzo baths big enough for two. In the rooms, the bath is rectangular, with shower over; in the suites, the shower is a separate entity and the tub is oval and, on arrival, brimming with rose petals. There’s a wooden bookrest, a stack of handtowels deftly arranged to look like an elephant and if the petals aren’t soothing enough, you can add a tea infusion to the water.

This resort is more eco-conscious than most and pointed notices invite guests to think about the laundry load, but the one thing the designers seemed to have forgotten was enough hooks to hang damp towels on.

In the suites, the walk-in wardrobe has, unusually, space for two suitcases as well as plenty of drawers. The minibar runs to two cabinets, for hot and cold drinks respectively, and fruit is replaced daily. TV and hi-fi, including an iPod connection, are housed in a wooden cupboard, which, in the suites, swivels to face either bed or sofa. All rooms have fans as well as air-conditioning, both reasonably quiet, and I didn’t hear any noise through the walls or floors. For maximum seclusion, ask for a room on the upper level, at the far end of the Chiang Seng wing. Suite 205 comes recommended.