2 years’ worth of suppressed wanderlust later, it seems our borders are finally opening. Though an escape from our dull work routines is on the cards, some of us aren’t quite ready to commit to a “jet-setting across Europe” kinda trip. Not yet, at least.
Closer to home, there are hotels and resorts in Thailand for vacays to fool your followers into thinking you’re all the way in a vineyard in Champagne, when you’re actually 3 hours from Bangkok.
To save those dollars, we’ve done intensive research to cobble this list together in case you’d like to pair the overseas experience with more affordable regional prices.
More guides to Thailand’s hotels:
Image credit: @pkvicx
What caught our eye at this boutique hotel in Khao Yai, was its cobblestone pavements, quaint European-style streets with ye olde knick knack shops and diners, and neat rows of flowers lining the way.
Basically, a trip here entails opting out of our dreary colour palettes IRL to be thrown headlong into a Monet painting.
Image credit: @pkvicx
Guests at La Purinée will also have access to well-manicured lawns for picnics among lush forest groves.
Image credit: @pabsays.1212312121
And if you’re on the premises, try to accidentally on purpose stumble upon this private pool that exudes kalm with a capital K, in your journey to find post-pandemic peace at this French-inspired countryside.
Proximity to Bangkok: 3-hour drive
Opening hours: 9am-6pm, Daily
Address: 178 Moo 5 Bann Nhong-Som, Tambon Pong-ta-long, Pak-chong District, Nakornrajasima 30130
Phone: +66 88 836 6659
Image credit: Kew Muang Mountain High Camp
Imagine looking out at the rolling hills and slopes in front of you and turning to your partner to say, “Look, Simba: Everything the light touches is our kingdom.”
Jokes aside, you can roleplay this very scene at this secluded mountain resort that’s housed right smack in the middle of nature, with elevated viewing decks for you to sit pretty and admire Thailand’s very own “Swiss Alps”.
At Kew Muang Mountain High Camp, you’ll be housed in cabins with intricate dinnerware for meals, and the option of both juice and coffee for breakfast.
Image credit: Kew Muang Mountain High Camp
At the observation decks, you’ll also get to ride on open wooden swings perched atop the picturesque camp so do swing by to snap that money shot for the ‘gram.
Proximity to Bangkok: 1-hour flight, 1-hour drive from Nan Airport
Opening hours: 24 hours, Daily
Address: 1169, Du Phong, Santi Suk District, Nan 55210, Thailand
Kew Muang Mountain High Camp Facebook
Image credit: @thamesvalleykhaoyai
Those who follow the “will-they-won’t-they” antics of the main characters of Netflix’s Bridgerton will surely vibe with any resort named after “Thames” or “Valley”.
This countryside homestay called Thames Valley in Khao Yai has both. And a water feature studded with pebbles. AND a stone bridge for you to cross as many times as you’d like.
To really drive home the English-concept at its B&B, we’ll let the guesthouses’ A-frame roofs and poster beds do the talking.
Proximity to Bangkok: 2 hour 40 minute drive.
Opening Hours: 9am-6pm, Daily
Address: 999 Moo 4, Moosi, Pakchong, Nakorn Ratchasima 30450
Phone: +66 0 44 009 999
Thames Valley Khao Yai website
By day, Villa Maroc Resort boasts Moroccan-inspired architecture, so we hope you’re ready for a mish-mash of influences here at this locale in Pranburi District.
We love the pink buildings and uninterrupted turquoise pool, an aesthetic alternative to taking a dip in the sea.
Image credit: Chillpainai
As night falls, however, the resemblance to charming sea-facing towns in Sicily, Italy becomes quite uncanny.
Image credit: Chillpainai
If you’re up for it, you can also try to find this Santorini-esque tub for a quick sojourn to mini-Greece to truly complete your jet-setting trip within this resort. We’re sure your followers will be none the wiser.
Proximity to Bangkok: 3-hour drive
Opening hours: 24 hours, Daily
Address: 165 Pak Nam Pran, Pran Buri District, Prachuap Khiri Khan 77220
Phone: +66 0 3263 0771
TBH, we’re not sure where exactly in Europe The Timeless private cabins fall under, but we’re 100% certain these guest houses surrounded by open sea will not resemble your typical Phuket hotels at all.
Image credit: @chillpainai
Each home pod is surrounded by crystal clear blue waters, and access to an open-air jacuzzi for you to revel in the salty sea breeze.
A pro tip would be to act as if you’re all the way in Mykonos, Greece in your private tub, minutes away from a surfing date with a millionaire restaurateur.
Proximity to Bangkok: 1 hour 45 minute drive and a ferry ride.
Opening hours: 9am-6pm, Daily
Address: 28 หมู่ 7, Bang Lamung District, Chon Buri 20150, Thailand
Phone: +66 97 259 5251
Image credit: @metropolebangkok
So although Britain has exited the European Union – remember when that was headline news way back when? – we’re still adding this posh UK hotel in Thonglor, Bangkok to our list for your perusal.
Image credit: Metropole Bangkok
From herringbone floors, to shelves of dusty tomes, Metropole Bangkok is a hotel designed to allow guests to step right into a lobby from the 1920s.
Image credit: Metropole Bangkok
There’s even an upper West End pub that Messrs Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson would frequent to investigate shady deals afoot.
Image credit: Metropole Bangkok
Besides a wide selection of cocktails, house pours and martinis that are shaken, not stirred, see if you can spot a smartly dressed gentleman next to a sleek black London taxi once you exit the lobby to complete your trip to “England”.
Proximity to Bangkok: Thonglor, Bangkok.
Opening hours: 9am-6pm, Daily
Address: 2802 New Petchaburi Road, Bangkapi, Huaykwang, Thonglor, Bangkok 10310
Phone: +66 2 314 8555
Though we’re not sure where glamping originated, it has gained popularity in Central Europe in places like Austria and Germany – or anywhere with vast open greenlands where campers can catch a glimpse of an uninterrupted cloudless skyline.
Sky Glamper Khao Kho is further away than most places on this list, but we think it’s well-worth the longer drive to wander amongst flower fields and “bubble tents”.
The rooms are pretty family friendly as well, if you want to whisk the kiddos away to not-Thailand during the June school holidays. You can tell them when they’re older. Or perhaps, not at all.
Proximity to Bangkok: 5.5-hour drive
Opening hours: 24 hours, Daily
Address: 2 Sado Phong, Khao Kho District, Phetchabun 67270, Thailand
Phone: +66 81 474 9979
Image credit: @thesceneryvintagefarm
The Scenery Vintage Farm houses a star villa on its premises that will dial up the luxe factor on your vacay quite a few notches.
Image credit: @jib_nitha
But you can still expect a “back to nature” experience when you step out of your guesthouse to get handsy with cows, pygmy horses, flocks of sheep and doggos to boot.
Image credit: @arada.roj
We’d also recommend checking out the resort’s in-house cafe, Grandma’s Cafe. Look for the glass-roofed greenhouse to locate this place. We’re sure grandma won’t mind if you snap a pic with her old rocking chair and pose at the display table repurposed from a deconstructed wagon.
Proximity to Bangkok: 2.5 hour drive
Opening hours: 9am – 5:30pm, Daily
Address: The Scenery Vintage Farm Ban Tha Khoei, Ratchaburi, Thailand 70180
Phone: +66 81 000 7070
The Scenery Vintage Farm website
For many Singaporeans, centering our trips to Thailand around Bangkok – a city we know and love – is a great way to retrace the once familiar motions of booking a holiday after the pandemic.
Beyond the capital, you can also hit up “Greece”, “Austria”, and “Britain” within 3-hour drives from the city’s centre.
If you’ve stayed this far, all that stands between you and your BKK trip is probably a hefty drop in prices on plane tickets to Bangkok.
Thankfully, Singha’s beer promo means that some of us will get to visit Bangkok for 5D4N trips – flights, hotel and on-arrival Bangkok PCR test expenses covered. It’s ongoing till 30th April 2022 for Singaporeans, so get on it, ASAP.
This post was brought to you by Singha Beer.
Cover image adapted from: @thamesvalleykhaoyai, @jackntp, Kew Muang Mountain High Camp
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