Cape Kudu Hotel

Koh Yao Noi is reached only by boat. From Bang Rong Pier on Phuket the speedboat takes half an hour, and that is all the distance there is between Phuket's crowds and the hotel's own pier at Manoh. Cape Kudu Hotel is laid out low along the shore in clusters of pavilions, like a fishing village, and then painted for a beach club: white and blue, wood and stone, white shutters and loungers striped navy and white. The infinity pool runs out under the trees towards the limestone islands of the bay, with a shingle-roofed pavilion at its far end, while a forested limestone hill rises behind the rooftops. In the dining room the French doors open onto the pool deck, and the tables, topped in small white tiles, have rattan chairs with backs scalloped like shells. By this point the fishing village is mostly a matter of layout.

Recommended for couples, and for families with small children, who want Phang Nga Bay at a price that leaves something over for the boats. Children are welcome from the age of one and have the shallow end of the main pool; the adults have an indoor pool of their own at Cape Spa, which seems a fair division. The days belong to the bay, by kayak and paddleboard, or by long-tailed boat to the enclosed lagoon on Koh Hong. Café Kantary, a beach shack of a café at the front, serves sandwiches and pizza to anyone still in a swimsuit, and Hornbill cooks Thai and international dishes under the tree canopy. Then a G&T in one of the pavilions at the Long Island Bar, a name that on Koh Yao Noi is only a translation: the island's Thai name means little long island.