Honeymoons are our favourite. So when we were given the task to book a dream honeymoon for two wonderful guests, we were (almost) as excited as them. We sent Samantha and her new husband, Toby, to Thailand on a two-week adventure with Premier Holidays.
“We knew it would be stressful to go on our honeymoon straight after the wedding, so we decided to call on the help of an experienced travel agent.
It took all the stress away and meant we were able to focus on the wedding. On the flip side, it didn’t hit us that we were going until the week before the wedding when Toby was packing his bags.
The excitement became real as soon as we were on route to the airport. We were like little children as we sat in the waiting lounge.
This would be our first time visiting Thailand. We had a trip booked a few years ago but had to cancel due to family grievances. That’s why Thailand was our honeymoon destination of choice because it felt like the place we never got to see.
We flew from London to Bangkok with British Airways and our avios points allowed us to upgrade to Business Class, which was lovely.
It was such a smooth transition. Somebody from Premier Holidays was waiting at Phuket airport to greet us with bottles of cold water and information about the city. Air conditioning in the humidity was also a bonus.
We arrived at Village Resort & Spa in the evening and the staff were extremely kind and helpful. When we arrived at our room it looked beautiful and had some lovely honeymoon touches.
The food in the hotel restaurant was yummy, and it was a beautiful hotel to be in. But we actually were not there long enough to explore properly. Our one full day in Phuket was spent on island excursions.
The early morning transfer to Elephant Hills was... very early! But it was worth it. We met three other couples on the transfer and all stuck together for the experience. We didn't know whether the tents would be luxury or not, but we were excited and ready for a few days of adventure.
Elephant Hills was by far the most special part of our entire trip. The accommodation was fantastic considering they were tents! The staff were really helpful (WE LOVED OUR TOUR GUIDE POND!), especially when it came to the food, they made special vegetarian food for Toby.
The canoe ride on the first day was an amazing experience, we had a lot of fun with our local guide! The afternoon was spent feeding and bathing the elephants, something that we will remember forever. The animals were so beautiful and are really benefiting from the protection of camps like this.
Just when we thought it couldn't get any better, we took a boat ride into the middle of the lake and stayed in the floating tents. The scene was idyllic and felt so peaceful and calm. Being away from phone connection was a nice change from our busy lifestyles, especially after the wedding.
We couldn't be happier that we did the three-day and two-night experience rather than the shorter one. We felt it gave us a true reflection on how amazing it really was. It definitely exceeded all of our expectations.
Another seamless transfer from Elephant Hills to Santhiya Koh Yao Yai. Getting a private boat transfer was so special for us and it was nice to have that level of privacy. Arriving at Santhiya was like a scene out of Mamma Mia, with beautiful long decking coming out into the sea that you had to walk up to get to the main reception. It was breathtaking!
Santhiya was a fascinating place. We absolutely loved the hotel and how everything was carved out of wood. The view from our balcony was beyond incredible. We thoroughly enjoyed travelling around the hotel in wooden trucks and the free classes on offer were an added bonus.
We tried a few of the restaurants and they were all delicious. We also liked the Hawaiian-themed beach party on our last night, everybody got involved and it was such a great atmosphere.
Samui Resort was up next. This was always going to be our spot for pure relaxation. With very few people in sight, it did feel like we were very isolated from our surroundings, which at times was maybe too quiet for us, but on the whole it gave us time to unwind.
The food in the restaurant was amazing quality, especially the salmon and mozzarella spring rolls. We stayed in a villa with a private pool, which gave us time to relax and enjoy the first part of our married lives away from everyone else. One night we even decided to get room service and eat in the bath. It was divine!
The spa is definitely the best part of this resort, the staff were lovely and every treatment that we had was so enjoyable (we had quite a few!).
Despite many people telling us they didn't enjoy Bangkok, the city fascinated us. On the day we arrived, we visited the Grand Palace and the Reclining Buddha (Wat Pho).
We also did a group day trip to the floating markets, stopping off at the coconut sugar farm on the way, we have never seen anything like it before - it's one of those experiences that you just have to do. I had great fun bartering in the market and it was a good opportunity to try some street food.
The hotel we stayed at was the Banyan Tree in central Bangkok. We both came away feeling like it was the best hotel that we'd ever stayed at. 5* service, 5* food, 5* facilities - it was all sublime. Our favourite meal was on the river boat, it is run by the hotel and the cuisine is authentic Thai food. They also treated us to a bouquet of flowers and a free souvenir photo to commemorate our honeymoon, which was very sweet. I would absolutely love to stay at this hotel again!
I would recommend this trip in a heartbeat, if you haven't been to Thailand then it is an absolute must! I'm so glad we chose this destination for our honeymoon, not just for the beautiful hotels and lovely experience, but because the Thai people were so warm and welcoming, which really contributed toward creating a special experience for us.
Sharron is a superstar. She made everything so easy, had all the knowledge about Thailand and really steered us in the right direction with the route to travel, times to fly, and all the details in between. She was easy to get hold of, and always service with a smile. We would come back to book another trip over and over again!”
Samantha and Toby