Aonang Fiore Resort

Aonang Fiore Resort's motto is “the best land you can touch,” which sounds a little awkward in English. However, after arriving in person at the hotel and exploring for a few minutes, the phrase begins to make sense. The hotel is a 70-acre world of its own and an eden for nature lovers. Past the wooden reception buildings and restaurant, the resort opens into garden upon garden. The green grounds are full of butterflies bobbing around the flowers and chickens darting under vine-covered arbors. Tropical evergreens and trees bearing keffir limes, pomelos, jackfruits, and betel nuts provide shade over sugarcane and shrubs such as crape jasmine and Chinese honeysuckle. Where there isn't grass and plants, there are streams, ponds, fountains, waterfalls, rock sculptures, even a landlocked wooden boat. The gardens and hotel grounds are soundtracked by birds and insects; day and night, it is a symphony of of hoots, coos, whistles, and trills.

Rising above the gardens is a small jungly mountain upon which the rest of the resort, including its 79 cottages, is built. These elevation provides views of the butterfly and Asian gardens from the infinity pool and pool bar, and views of the property, town, and cliffs from the rooms. The hotel grounds continue all the way up to a lookout point at the top of the mountain. The vertical nature of the hotel makes it a bad choice for guests with bad knees, low stamina, or small children, but golf-cart service around the resort is provided. As a halal-certified property, Aonang Fiore doesn't serve pork or alcohol, and offers a prayer room on-site. Due to its beautiful garden grounds and freestanding, secluded-feeling rooms, the hotel attracts mostly couples by a long shot, though tour groups do come through, as well. 

Aonang Fiore Resort is located at what could be considered the very end of Ao Nang town proper. It's near the intersection of highways 4201 and 4203 (the road that runs through Ao Nang town), right before 4203 veers off to the east. Sidewalks disappear on both highways after this point, signaling that Aonang Fiore is at the end of the safely walkable line for tourists. Indeed, it is a full 30-minute walk down 4203 to reach the beach. (The hotel also does provide a free shuttle four times a day.) There are tourist conveniences on this end of the highway, including a 7-Eleven and a Tesco Lotus supermarket, where many guests purchase beer to drink in their room, since the hotel does not sell alcohol. Thai restaurants, sports bars, pharmacies, and guesthouses are a short walk from the hotel. Some Aonang Fiore guests love being far from the beach and the main Aonang hullabaloo; others hate it. Those wanting nightlife and beach proximity should stay elsewhere. The hotel is a 25-minute drive from Krabi Airport.

All of Aonang Fiore's 79 rooms are separate, wood-and-bamboo bungalows with skylit hexagonal roofs, but they fall into two categories: Deluxe Cottages and Jacuzzi Villas. The main difference between the two are the room proportions (Deluxe Cottages are 365 square feet, while Jacuzzi Villas offer 592 square feet of space) and, in higher-category rooms, the presence of whirlpools on the private balconies and canopied beds. In every room, the bamboo walls and ceiling arch toward a six-sided skylit and the private balconies point toward the hotel gardens or jungle grounds and the Krabi cliffs in the distance. 

All rooms are air-conditioned and feature king-size beds (some Deluxe Cottages have two doubles) plus day beds, satellite flat-screen TVs, safes, and free Wi-Fi. Minibars are alcohol-free, but guests can purchase alcohol offsite and drink it in the room. Coffee, tea, and bottled waters are placed in the rooms free of charge. Frosted-glass sliding doors partition the modern bathrooms, which have walk-in rainfall showers, hexagon-shaped mirrors, and arched bamboo ceilings. Hairdryers and towels are provided. 

A big guest complaint is the fickle water pressure and temperature in the showers (barely heated water is a issue throughout Ao Nang). Lemongrass incense is provided to help ward off mosquitoes, but it is likely that they will still get in, as will ants and other insects.

Aonang Fiore dedicates most of its property to various, meticulously cared-for gardens that showcase plants native to Southeast Asia and Thailand, and a working organic farm on the premises grows holy basil and other herbs. Some of the garden's organic produce is used at the on-site De'fish Seafood Restaurant, a halal eatery serving Thai and Western food for all meals. The hotel's free breakfast includes eggs and regional dishes. Some past guests have expressed their disappointment at the breakfast's lack of bacon, but the hotel is halal-certified, and does not serve pork. Alcohol isn't offered either, though guests are free to purchase it offsite for consumption in their rooms. Room service is available. 

Guests get a discount on the hotel's sunset dinner cruise (available to the public), which includes a three-course meal, live acoustic music, and a tour of Krabi by boat. The hotel runs a coffee shop on 4201. There is also a snack bar selling smoothies, coffee, and light snacks by the hotel's peaceful infinity pool. The pool and pool bar offer lovely aerial views of the butterfly and Asian gardens, as well as the cliffs in the distance. Near the pool are open-air pavilions for massages and a small hot tub. 

Aonang Fiore Zipline Adventure also takes up a sizable chunk of the hotel's jungle real estate. The facility is set up in the forest and offers "Easy" and "Extreme" courses. "Easy" goes to a height of 16 feet and is recommended for families with children, while the "Extreme" course goes up to 23 feet and includes a 263-foot-long double zip-line and a 100-foot long cable designed for bike riding in the air. The rates include equipment, insurance, and drinks and fruit.

The hotel offers free shuttle service to the beach four times a day, plus free golf-cart service around the resort to help guests get to the rooms high up on the hill. However, guests are on their own for getting up the steep steps to the hotel's lookout point, with views over the resort grounds and town. At the front desk, guests can rent motorbikes, book airport transfers, or book local excursions. There is also a prayer room on-site. Wi-Fi is free throughout the resort.