Aava Resort & Spa
Perfect Finnish
9km Nadan Beach
Aava Resort & Spa is the kind of hotel that we’d keep to ourselves if we could, thanks to its eye-bogglingly beautiful beach, brilliant Finnish owners and dandy Scandi styling. The chefs are supremely talented, rooms are romantic and there’s even an onsite bakery that rustles up perfect pizzas.
Facilities
Rooms
28, including 10 suites.
Checkout
12pm. Earliest check-in, 2pm. Both are flexible, subject to availability (no extra charge applies).
More Details
Rates usually include à la carte breakfast, plus WiFi. Stay for five nights or more and you’ll also get free return airport transfers from Surat Thani or Nakhon Si Thammarat.
Also
Aava has managed to keep itself relatively under the radar, but it did once make Tatler’s ‘Too Cool for School’ list.
Free Internet Access
Laundry
Pet Friendly
Pool
On-Site Restaurant
Room Service
Spa
At the Hotel
Beach, swimming pool, spa, bakery, boutiques, beach bags to borrow, library, stash of DVDs, free WiFi throughout. In rooms: TV, DVD player, minibar, tea- and coffee-making facilities, free bottled water bathrobes, hairdryer and toiletries.
Our Favourite Rooms
We love the Poolside Villas for their ladder access to the pool and their private sun-deck with a sunbed, comfy sofa and a little table that hints at sunny private lunches. Of the Poolside Villas, opt for 3 or 4 if you want privacy (these two are positioned at the back of the pool, so get less swimmer traffic) or 1 or 6 – at the front of the hotel, close to the beach and restaurant – if you prefer to be in the thick of things.
Poolside
The dark-blue-tiled pool is the watery heart of the hotel, overlooking the beach, next to the restaurant and flanked by Poolside Villas. There are big white loungers on the wooden deck between the pool and the beach; salas and beanbags dot the beach.
Spa
The spa only has one treatment room, so book your pampering session well ahead.
Packing Tips
Pink bathers, to match the baby-pink local dolphins.
Children
The owners have two children and welcome little Smiths. Extra beds (free for under-13s) and cots (also free) can be added to rooms. The hotel offers free childcare – pick between the kids club or two on-loan, full time babysitters.
Gallery
Food & Drink
Top Table
Sit out on the deck, overlooking the beach. Too hot? There are shady options inside. For a memorable meal, ask staff to set up a private table on the beach (Saturday nights only).
Dress Code
Khanom cool: light, floaty layers and sandals you can kick off for cocktails on the beach.
Hotel Restaurant
Open-air Aalto by the beach and pool takes food pretty seriously: the hotel has a visiting mentor programme, which sees international chefs stay for a few months in high season to teach Aava's staff their art and refresh the menus. Breakfast is generous: fruit and pastries from the bakery, followed by a choice of main (bacon and fried eggs on sourdough with garlic and onion foam, perhaps); lunch is a selection of nine amazing salads; dinner is more formal, featuring ambitious fusion food. We would go back in a heartbeat for the 'spicy cow' signature starter: marinated tenderloin with rice vinaigrette, served on a bed of fresh and cured cherry tomatoes with cucumber ribbon. There are Scandi options too, such as the toast Skagen: prawns in dill-lemon mayonnaise, served on sautéed bread.
Hotel Bar
No separate bar as such, but you can have a drink in the restaurant or take a cocktail to the breezy beachside salas. We're thirsting for the Aava martini (vodka, fresh lychee and lemongrass, topped with apple juice) and the lemongrass mule: vodka, ginger, lime, lemongrass and ginger ale.
Last Orders
The restaurant is open until 10pm; breakfast is served from 7am.
Room Service
Order items from the restaurant menu to your room between 7am and 10pm. You can order perfect pizza from Aava’s bakery between 10am and 9.30pm (make ours a margarita).
Planes
Surat Thani Airport (www.suratthaniairport.com) is the closest, an hour and a half away by car. Phuket Airport (www.phuketairportonline.com) is a four-hour drive. If you’ve flown into Koh Samui, you can hop across to Khanom in a ferry (see below).
Automobiles
Khanom is the nearest town, 10 minutes away and the hotel has plenty of onsite parking – but this is a beach escape, you won’t need wheels.
Worth Getting Out of Bed For
You can’t go home without seeing a pink dolphin. Head out in a longtail boat with a local fisherman and keep your eyes peeled for baby-pink fins (camera essential). While you have the boat and your captain at your disposal, stop off at the sacred island to see the statue of the famous Buddhist monk Luang Por Tuad. You can also go on a trip to visit the fish spa, in a beautiful mountain river – expect the best natural pedicure of your life. At the entrance to the hotel, the owners have created a sort of Aava village: if you need a retail fix, visit the tailor (responsible for the staff’s elegant uniforms), pick up kaftans and beachwear at Island Girl or buy gifts for the folks back home at the souvenir shop. Stake out Aava’s single treatment room for a few hours – have a Thai or oil massage – and steam up in the traditional Finnish sauna. While you’re on a health kick, find out about the hotel’s weekly wellness programme, which includes Tai Chi on the beach, Muay Thai on the terrace (kids can take part, too) and yoga (some activities are free; chargeable options cost between THB500 and THB700 a session).
Earn or Redeem Points with World of Hyatt
This Mr & Mrs Smith hotel participates in the World of Hyatt loyalty program. As a member, you can earn and redeem points and enjoy exclusive benefits for qualifying nights. .
