5 Best Hotels in Ao Nang, Phuket and the Andaman Coast

Whitewashed walls and red ceramic-tile floors give a Moroccan feel to this design hotel. The top-floor club rooms and honeymoon suite have blue wooden doors facing a two-story atrium hallway. Inside, wood-frame beds and small tables and chairs are nice, but the real treat lies up a flight of stairs that leads to a private sunbathing deck with a large, round wooden tub. The honeymoon suite has mosaic-style tile floors, bead curtains, and an atmosphere worth the extra baht. Umberto's Restaurant on the ground floor serves good Italian dishes.

You'll get a great view of the cliff that inspired the hotel's name as soon as you step into the lobby, but then your attention will quickly shift to burned bricks, charred wooden tiles, and natural wooden beams. The Cliff's villas are set around a nonchlorinated ozone-treated swimming pool by the lobby. The rooms, each with an outdoor shower, feature glass bay doors on two sides. The suite is on stilts above a small private fishpond and is particularly popular with honeymooners.

On isolated Laem Son Beach, this family-run resort offers genuine Thai hospitality. Tall pines, arching coconut palms, flowers, and ferns abound, and many birds inhabit the grounds. The basic rooms have fans only, but larger air-conditioned villas have individually designed layouts and interior design, with walls in cheerful colors like lavender, pistachio, or yellow, and all include some Thai art. The resort is across the river from Noppharat Thara National Park.

The primary reason to stay here is to save money for day trips and nightlife. The large bright rooms have tile floors, and the ones on the top floor peek out over surrounding buildings for a nice view of the sea. All are available without the air-conditioning turned on for an extra discount. The hotel is close to the action in town (there's an Irish pub across the way), as well as to the minibus and longtail boat junction.

This longstanding resort on the Ao Nang beachfront has tastefully decorated rooms, an on-site spa, two swimming pools, and two restaurants, one of which is vegan. The central location is a big plus, as the resort is within walking distance to entertainment, shopping, and dining venues.