“This trip was filled with beautiful memories and laughter, and will be remembered for a long, long time.”
Annie Tarasova x The Asia Collective
Day 1 – Angsana Laguna Resort & Spa
We arrived to Angsana Laguna Resort & Spa around 3am in the morning and even though we were falling asleep, our first impression of the place was great – the lobby was incredible, spacious with stunning architecture. We got to our room on the 4th floor which had an incredible view of the resort grounds, and I was asleep as soon as my head touched the pillow. In the morning we explored the resort, had a mango shake at the XANA beach club and took a trip to the Angsana spa where I got the best hot stone massage I have ever experienced. We walked out of the spa feeling refreshed and energised!

Day 2 – Aleenta Phuket Resort & Spa
We woke up at Angsana resort and started our day with delicious buffet breakfast which was filled with healthy options and exotic tropical fruit (this is where we fell in love with mangosteen). Afterwards we got a hotel car to the Aleenta resort which was a 45 minute drive away.
Aleenta Resort had a completely different vibe about it – modern architecture and facilities made the resort look perfect for couples and honeymoons. We got shown our pool villa and we were extremely happy with it! It looked beautiful, clean, comfortable and relaxing. The rest of the day we spent exploring the resort, swimming in our pool and devouring sweet mangoes. For dinner we went to The Edge restaurant on the beach and were very impressed when the head chef created a delicious three course vegan dinner specifically for us.
Day 3
At around 7 we woke up to the sound of the birds. After a morning swim in our pool, we had a delicious buffet breakfast and spent some time at the public pool area of the resort, just relaxing and reading books. Then we decided to explore a little bit out of the resort and hired bikes. We went on a two hour bike ride around the area and to the shops and back, of course stopping along the way to take in the beauty of Thailand. After we came back we refreshed at our villa and went for a relaxing walk along the beach just outside of Aleenta, we were the only ones on it! We had our dinner at The Edge restaurant again where the head chef came up with a different three course vegan dinner which we absolutely loved also. The highlight of it was the chef’s take on mango sticky rice – crispy black rice with a cloud of coconut cream with a ball of fresh mango sorbet in the middle.
Day 4 – JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa
Today we had to leave Aleenta and move to JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa. After delicious buffet breakfast, we got a hotel car to the next resort.
At JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa we were greeted by Mio, JW Marriott’s Marketing Communication Manager, who was extremely helpful and very lovely. She showed us all around the resort, and we were amazed at how big and green it is! Reminded us of an enchanted forest, with little ponds and flowers everywhere. We were impressed when Mio showed us the resort’s little turtle sanctuary, where injured turtles are saved and released back into the ocean when they are healthy enough to be in their own. In the afternoon we had mocktails by the beach and ate delicious dinner.
Day 5
In the morning after breakfast we went to the local markets with Chef Kong to buy some herbs for our cooking class together further in the day. It was nice to get out of the resort and dive into the atmosphere of the local markets, with all of its noise and unique smells. At the cooking class we learned how to create three Thai dishes – pomelo salad, pad thai and coconut soup – all of which were absolutely delicious. Chef Kong was hilarious so we had a lot of fun. Afterwards we went to the spa to receive our treatments and facials – every product applied to our skin was natural and smelled AMAZING. We also met the Spa manager who was very lovely and inspiring. After the spa we went on a beach walk, had an early dinner at the Japanese restaurant and went to bed straight after.
Day 6 – TwinPalms Phuket
Woke up, had breakfast and headed to our next resort – TwinPalms Phuket! It was beautiful there. A lot smaller than JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa, but very peaceful and serene. The public pool area was stunning, we felt as if we were on a tropical island surrounded by palm trees. We relaxed by the pool for a few hours, went for a swim, and headed to the Palm Seaside Seafood Restaurant, which was a part of TwinPalms resort, but a 10 min drive away from it, located right on the beach. It had vegan options that we could have, which was wonderful. The location of the restaurant was amazing!!! We had mocktails and pad thai’s and watched the sun go down, making it one of the most relaxing evenings we’ve had.
Day 7
Today we decided to hire a driver for 4 hours and explore around Phuket. We visited Big Buddha and Chalong Temple. The view from Big Buddha was to die for… We spent a good amount of time there not only taking photos, but just taking the view and the atmosphere of the place in. It had such a strong good energy about it that we didn’t want to leave. On the way back to TwinPalms we decided to stop by local markets and buy some durian, as I have never had it before, but heard pretty interesting feedback on this strange fruit. As we got back to the resort we decided to cut it up and have some, and were utterly disappointed when we took a bite… It tasted like sweet onion!!! Afterwards we had an hour oil massage at the spa – not going to lie, I was so relaxed that I fell asleep during it at least 3 times. After it got dark we were quite hot so we took a swim in the pool (it is open 24 hrs) and went to bed straight after.
Day 8 – Sri Panwa Phuket
We left TwinPalms after breakfast and headed to Sri Panwa, a resort I have truly been looking forward to visiting. We were mind blown when we arrived… It is one of the best places I have ever stayed at. The staff was extremely friendly, happy, always smiling and laughing, which made our experience at Sri Panwa the best it could ever be. We stayed at a penthouse in the Habita section of the resort. Our penthouse was incredible – very spacious, comfortable, beautifully designed and had an unbelievable view. Safe to say, we fell in love with Sri Panwa from the first sight! After lunch we went exploring and found the most beautiful private beach on the grounds of the resort. It was very secluded and as if it was hidden away… I felt like I discovered something that has never been found before.
Day 9
After breakfast we got shown around the resort. Safe to say everywhere we turned our heads we were mesmerized by the view. After a walk around Sri Panwa, we were quite hot so we came back to the beach we found last night. We were the only ones there which was honestly surprising, as the beach was so nice and water was so warm. Before dinner we headed to the Baba Nest rooftop bar with 360 view of the ocean. It was… breath taking. We sat on the deck on comfy bean bags and had our mocktails and nachos. The food was so good we had seconds! We headed to the Chinese restaurant for dinner and it turned out we were the only ones there. We had so much fun with the staff at the restaurant entertaining us and teaching us Thai slang while we were waiting for our meals, it was one of the funniest and most memorable evenings.
Day 10 – The Vijitt Resort Phuket
We were so sad to leave Sri Panwa… We truly felt as if leaving this place, we are leaving a piece of us. But we were excited to stay at the next resort, The Vijitt. When we arrived at the beautiful, lush resort and got shown our room, we got so excited about the view… especially the view from the bath. So, naturally, the first thing I did was fill up a bathtub with cool, refreshing water and bubbles. After the bath we spent the rest of the day walking around the resort and relaxing by the beach.
Day 11 – Six Senses Samui
Today we are leaving to Koh Samui for a few days! We had to wake up at 5:30 so we had time to get ready and have a quick buffet breakfast (thankfully, it was open at 6am!). Staff was very lovely and was able to organise a ride for us from The Vijitt to the Phuket airport. By the time we landed in Koh Samui, it was around 11 pm.
We were taken to the Six Senses Resort and I don’t think any of us expected it to be this beautiful. The whole resort is very eco friendly and sustainable and even has its own little farm with goats, chickens and herbs (not going to lie here – we couldn’t stay away from the little baby goats!). The views from the villa we were placed at were absolutely insane. We fell in love with Six Senses just like that. That night we had a five course vegan dinner at “Dining On The Rocks”, which was sensational, and fell asleep to the sound of the waves.
Day 12
We woke up in the best mood possible, excited for the day ahead – today we decided to hire a driver for around 4 hours to take us around the island and show us all the beautiful places. However we got so carried away that we came back to the resort 6 hours later instead of 4. We had a look at the Koh Samui Big Buddha, at the temples around the area, a few beaches and a waterfall. When we came back to the resort we had dinner, went for a quick dip in the pool and went to bed.
Day 13 – Mövenpick Resort & Spa Karon Beach Phuket
Today we had to leave Koh Samui and Six Senses (and the beautiful baby goats), but thankfully we were allowed to check out at 2, which gave us some more time to relax and take the beauty of the island in. We had a delicious buffet breakfast, swam in our pool, packed our bags and headed to the airport. We arrived to our last resort of the tip, Movenpick, at around 5pm. We were super tired so went to bed straight after a relaxing beach walk.
Day 14
This is our last day in Thailand! We could not believe how quick the time went. All day we spent relaxing, swimming at the nearby beach, drinking mango smoothies, and at 6pm had our Aroma oil massage at the Movenpick spa – which was just what we needed before the long flight back to Australia. This trip was filled with beautiful memories and laughter, and will be remembered for a long, long time.
This travel diary was written by @annietarasova for @theasia.collective.