Thailand has been a popular tourist destination for decades thanks to its white-sand beaches, delicious cuisine and hot – weather. Bangkok, Thailand’s capital, frequently holds the top spot as the world’s most visited city. It attracts around 22 million visitors each year. The 1,430 islands of Thailand draw in hundreds of thousands of visitors each
year, some of the islands are heralded as being some of the best in the world.
This was once again reaffirmed with the recently released Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards 2022 in which Thailand ranked high in most award categories.
The Kingdom was ranked the 3rd best country and Bangkok was voted the 4th Best City in the World, while many Thai islands, hotels, and resorts also placed highly on other ‘best of’ lists.
With its 3rd place spot among the 48 ‘Top Countries in the World’, Thailand was only one of two Southeast Asian
countries to make the top 10. The kingdom scored 90.46, after Portugal (91.22) in first place and Japan (91.17) in second, and ahead of Singapore (90.09) in fourth.
Similarly, Bangkok was only one of two Southeast Asian cities to appear on the list of the 10 ‘Best Cities in the World’. The Thai capital placed in 4th spot with a score of 89.36, after San Miguel de Allende in Mexico (92.94) in 1st spot, Singapore (89.49) in 2nd, and Victoria in Canada (89.46) in 3rd.
Bangkok almost always appears in the top ten of major polls, and often in 1st place. Case in point, on October 20th Bangkok was voted the ‘Best Leisure City in the Asia-Pacific’ for the sixth consecutive time in the prestigious Business Traveller Asia-Pacific Awards 2022.
On the list of the 10 ‘Top Islands’ in Asia, Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ voted Ko Samui 3rd with a score of 92.13, Phuket as 5th (90.88) and the Phi Phi Islands was 10th (76.41). Koh Samui was once known as the ultimate backpacker’s haven but is now a world-class leisure destination for global travelers of every kind. About 473 km and ten hours south from Bangkok, Samui is the third largest island in Thailand. Surrounded by crystal blue waters, the island of Samui is one of the top island destinations in the world, and why wouldn’t it be? It is a tropical treasure—filled with villages built entirely of bamboo, lush jungle interiors, turquoise-fringed beaches, and glorious sunshine most year round.
Ranking 5th place in the 10 top islands of Asia, Phuket is known as the pearl of the Andamans. Last Year, US NEWS ranked Phuket number 8 in their 2021 top 30 “World’s Best Places to Visit”, noting its outstanding sights, culture, scenic beauty, food scene, plus accommodation, boat trips, spa and wellness for all budgets as reasons for their endorsement, and we wholeheartedly agree. One strong positive to come of the Phuket shutdown during Covid was that the island’s natural resources had time to rejuvenate. Always part of its allure, the island’s forests, beaches, coral reefs, marine and land-based wildlife have all thrived and are in the best condition people can remember.
Phi Phi island was voted the 10th best island in Asia and we are surprised it didn’t rank higher. Phi Phi is actually a group of six islands. The two main islands are Phi Phi Don and Phi Phi Leh. The bigger and inhabited Phi Phi Don
attracts the most visitors to stay in the beautiful shores while the smaller uninhabited Phi Phi Leh has stunning bays and beaches, including the world-famous Maya Bay. Maya Bay is where the movie “The Beach” starring Leonardo
Dicaprio, was filmed. After the release of the movie, the islands came to worldwide prominence. Due to almost two decades of mass tourism, Maya Bay had planned to close for 4 months, but that turned into 3 years to fully allow its eco
system to rejuvenate. Thankfully, on January 1st of this year Maya Bay reopened.
The list of ‘The Best Hotels in the World’ saw two Thailand properties featured among the top 50 hotels. Ranked in 20th
place was The Athenee Hotel, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Bangkok. Number 48th was the Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok at
Chao Phraya River The Athenee Hotel is situated along the tree-lined Wireless Road, in the centre of Bangkok’s business and embassy district, The iconic Athenee Hotel stands on the site of Kandhavas, the royal palace of HRH Princess Valaya Alongkorn. Princess Valaya was the daughter of King Rama V and was renowned for her ability to elevate European style with a Thai aesthetic. Princess Valaya’s influence was seen in everything from interior design to flower arranging. It was her mastery of these pursuits that are integral aspects of the modeling of The Athenee Hotel.
At 48th was the Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok at Chao Phraya River which opened for guests in December of 2020 with 299 rooms, 38 of which are suites. Features include destination restaurants and lounges, stunning event spaces, an urban wellness centre like no other and the view of the mighty Chao Phraya.
In the #1 position for Best Spa in the World is Thailand’s Chiva-Som, located on the beach in Hua Hin. It is Asia’s first comprehensive wellness retreat and destination spa. Nestled on seven acres of tranquil grounds, Chiva-Som has seen royalty, movie stars, super models and sports legends staying in residence to achieve their own personal and unique journeys of self-discovery and fulfilment. The resort, consisting of 54 Thai style rooms and suites, is set within tropical gardens and offers over 200 treatments spanning from holistic health solutions, physiotherapy, spa treatments, and fitness programs to non-invasive medical rejuvenation.
The staff at Chiva Som include expert health professionals, consulting doctors, naturopaths, fitness instructors, spa therapists, nutritionists and alternative health practitioners.
Coming in at number 8 on the list of the ‘The Best Train Trips in the World’, is the Eastern & Oriental Express that travels from Thailand to Malaysia and Singapore. A train trip on the Eastern & Oriental Express is a holiday where the journey is as thrilling and captivating as the destination. It is one of the most scenic and luxurious ways to travel.
There were five Thai properties included on the list of ‘The Best Hotels in South-east Asia’. These were The Athenee Hotel, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Bangkok in 1st place (99.45), Four Seasons Hotel Bangkok at Chao Phraya River in 3rd (99.04), Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok in 5th (98.65), Capella Bangkok in 7th (98.49), and COMO Metropolitan Bangkok in 8th place with a score of 98.20.