Photo: © Christopher Joe Cypert

Being greeted by someone after a twelve-hour flight who has already run a bath for me, placed burning candles around it as well as lanterns in front of the windows – that does not happen very often to me! It feels good to be welcomed this way, it feels like vacation and immediate relaxation. And a whole lot of appreciation! That is how guests are received at the Phulay Bay Ritz-Carlton Reserve on the Thai island of Krabi, where each of the 54 villas comes with a personal butler. And the best part: this place remains just as delightful on all the days that follow – just as attentive, just as special.

This hotel just feels wonderful to me – because it provides a lot of privacy and the villas are secludedly spaced out in the large tropical garden. The only thing you hear is the rustling of palm branches in the mild evening breeze, the sound of the ocean, and the humming of the birds.

The beach is only a few steps away, the infinity pool is huge – and straight ahead lies the famous Phang Nga Bay with its ‘James Bond Rocks’, these scattered little stone islands that steeply stand out of the water, looming like exclamation points. When I look up from the daybed with its white linen canopy, I count them every time, although I know nothing will have changed.

My favorite dinner place? The ‘Sri Trang’ restaurant with Thai specialties – one of four excellent restaurants at the Phulay Bay Ritz-Carlton Reserve. And after that, before bedtime: the cocktail bar ‘Chantawan’. What will the new day bring? How about a snorkeling trip – and once again, a lot of rest.