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The guide in one frame.
Soneva Kiri sits on Koh Kood in Trat province, reached by private plane from Bangkok.
Soneva Kiri sits on Koh Kood in Trat province, reached by private plane from Bangkok. One- to six-bedroom pool villas, Treepod dining in the rainforest canopy, and an on-site PADI dive centre. Here's who it fits.
In short
Soneva Kiri sits on Koh Kood in Trat province, on the Gulf of Thailand southeast of Bangkok, reached by a roughly 90-minute flight on Soneva's own aircraft to the resort's private airstrip on Koh Mai Si, then a short speedboat crossing. Every stay is a private villa — one to six bedrooms, each with its own pool — with a dedicated Barefoot Guardian and an electric buggy or bicycles for getting around. Dining spans eight-plus venues, including Treepod Dining, where meals are raised into the canopy and delivered by a zipline waiter.
The verdict
Soneva Kiri Review: Koh Kood's Private-Island Pool-Villa Retreat for Barefoot Luxury and Treepod Dining
Soneva Kiri earns its remoteness — a rainforest-and-reef island reached by private plane, where every stay is a fully private one- to six-bedroom pool villa rather than a hotel room, and dinner can be eaten in a pod raised into the tree canopy.
Who should book
In favour
- Travelers who want a fully private, multi-bedroom pool villa rather than a single hotel room
- Families who want a kids' club plus unlimited ice cream and chocolate
- Divers and snorkellers who want reef access from the same address
The property
Soneva Kiri occupies a stretch of rainforest and coastline on Koh Kood, one of Thailand's less-developed islands, with villas set along the beach, up the jungle hillside, or on the clifftops. The larger multi-bedroom villas are marketed under the Kiri Private Reserve name within the resort. Design follows Soneva's rustic-chic register — natural materials, open-air bathrooms, indoor-outdoor living space — and there's no road access from the mainland side.
Dining and bars
- The View — clifftop, Nikkei (Japanese-Peruvian) cuisine over the Gulf of Thailand; wifi-free.
- Coconut Grove — a rotating range of world cuisines.
- Colours of the Garden — plant-based dinner in the organic garden, four menus tied to Thailand's culinary regions, guided garden walk beforehand.
- Benz — open-air Thai restaurant on stilts in the mangroves, set family-style menu from local, seasonal ingredients.
- Treepod Dining — a wicker pod raised into the canopy by pulley, food delivered by a zipline waiter; breakfast, lunch, high tea, or dinner.
- So Chilled / So Guilty — a complimentary ice cream parlour (sixty-plus rotating flavours) and a chocolate room with handmade chocolates, petit fours, and macarons.
Wellness, diving, and family facilities
The rainforest spa has eight couples' treatment rooms, a yoga pavilion, a Watsu pool, a spa beach sala, and separate men's and women's relaxation areas with steam rooms and saunas, offering Thai massage, Intuitive Therapy, herbal compress massage, and Ayurvedic treatments. An on-site PADI dive centre runs trips to reef sites around Koh Rang, Koh Mak, and Koh Kood, plus the resort's own Solar Reef Garden; snorkelling covers Koh Rang National Marine Park and Koh Raet. The Den, a bamboo kids' club, runs Thai instrument and art activities.
The resort has been carbon neutral since 2012, plastic-straw-free for over 20 years, and free of imported bottled water since 2008, with waste-to-wealth hubs recycling or composting over 90% of operational feedstock. A share of each stay supports the Soneva Foundation's reforestation and marine conservation work.
Location
Alternatives to the private-plane route: Trat Airport plus car and speedboat (four to five hours total), or a private speedboat charter from Laem Sok pier.