by Scott Coates

Alexis de Suremain, a French native, first left his homeland to work with Pharmaciens Sans Frontières, a non-governmental organization (NGO), in a few of the former Soviet republics. Southeast Asia and former French colonies were on his mind and he asked for a transfer, landing in Phnom Penh, Cambodia back in 2001. With some schooling in graphic design and international business Suremain quickly set off into business and has never looked back, taking Phnom Penh by storm.

Many foreigners set up bars, restaurants and hotels in up-and-coming destinations like Phnom Penh, but few with as much style, enthusiasm and innovative zeal as Alexis.
I first met him back in 2005 while developing our Classic Cambodia adventure, having heard of his famous parties at Elsewhere on the last Friday of every month. Operated with his wife Elsewhere quickly hit a pulse with the city’s foreign residents who flocked to its pool and lush tropical environment. Alexis hasn’t looked back since, and in many ways has become Phnom Penh’s premier hotelier.

A city on the move and hitting travelers’ radar early in the millennia, he identified a number of critical travel needs in the city, coupled those with his love for colonial buildings that had fallen under disrepair, and opened his first hotel, the 25-room Pavilion. The concept was a quiet, easy-to-run, romantic place for adult travelers, all at a very reasonable price. A signature of his properties is large, lush public areas with a good-sized swimming pool. He also adopted a very visible policy against sex travelers, something the country was known for some years ago. Not to leave families out, he soon opened the Kabiki specifically for families with children. Business has been gangbusters and he’s gone on to open Blue Lime, The 240, set the bar for sipping cocktails with the very stylish Chinese House and is currently working on his biggest hotel to date, The Plantation, a 72-room colonial hotel in the heart of the city, set to open its doors in 2011. The Plantation will expand upon Alexis’ focus of eco-friendly and sensible practices.

Eco has always been at the top of his mandate. It’s not only good for the environment but a great way to save money according to Suremain. Things like open-air restaurants and lobbies greatly reduce electric bills while putting guests in touch with their environment, something that’s key to a rich travel experience. With an eye to the future and setting the bar even higher he’s ambitiously been working on a first-of-its-kind floating hotel.

“Floating structures are mobile, you can move them if the location turns out to be not efficient. Floating hotels are original, romantic, different, give an adventurous feeling, explains Suremain. “The idea was to setup a floating village half way between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap and use existing mid-sized boats to shuttle between those two cities at half the price offered by the large cruise boats. One does not sleep in its cabin on board but gets a larger floating bungalow, with its own private pool.”

Perhaps the most innovative part of this project is that bungalows will be entirely powered by solar, which will in turn air condition only the bed.
“The solar panels feed an air-conditioning compressor when the sun is shining. The compressed gas is cooled by the river by a heat exchanger much more efficiently that with the traditional air cooled units. Compressed gas is then released in a heat exchanger inside an insulated tank located above the bed, cooling 1,500 liters of water. At night, a sliding door above the bed is opened, releasing the fresh air to the space contained by the mosquito net.”

While electricity is saved, the cost of this technology is far more than electric bills. Alexis looks at the real benefit being pushing the industry forward, setting trends and gaining good amounts of PR from doing so. Cambodia has the most expensive electricity in all of SE Asia, an important reason to reduce consumption he says.

While many hotels preach being green, while putting in large bathtubs and cooling rooms 24-hours per day whether you’re in them or not, Alexis is proving simple steps can not only save money, but create interest, spark innovation and drive sales. Next time you’re in Phnom Penh, ask us to put you at one of his hotels and see what the fuss is about.

Over the past year or so I’ve been invited by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) to emcee media events such as this year’s Ultimate Thailand Explorer’s Challenge. In addition, I’ve also had the good fortune to be named a tourism ambassador for such events as the revitalization of tourism following the 2005 tsunami, or more recently following Bangkok’s political demonstrations as an internet-television host for interviews about tourism in Thailand.

Another occasion arose to get in the game of revitalizing Thailand’s tourism image this past weekend during the “Smile@Ratchaprasong” Festival coordinated by the TAT and the Ratchaprasong Business Community. The Ratchaprasong area of course is where the Red Shirt demonstrations took place this past spring (perhaps you heard about it?), which left a temporary sour note in one of Bangkok’s ordinarily more vibrant neighbourhoods. The “Smile@Ratchaprasong” Festival sought to bring people back by way of a town fair– type atmosphere: live music concerts, games, competitions, crafts workshops, photo contests, retail space, moms & tots, etc. In addition, the TAT invited a wide range of media to the event, from traditional TV, newspaper and magazines, to the active social media influencers around town who were vital in reporting on-the-scene truths during and after the demonstrations this past spring. So, in an inspiring step forward, the TAT sought to recognize the importance of this new media vehicle and build bridges into this community. I was to host them on the first morning of the festival, followed by an informal lunch with the Governor of the TAT, Suraphon Svetsaranee, as well as Deputy Governor Prakit Piriyakiet, Executive Director Sugree Sithivanich, and Director of Communications, Thapanee Kiatpaiboon.

Some of our guests on the outing included local social media notables Michael, Richard, John, Greg, Jack, Anthony, Trevor, and more.

Social media celebrities unite!

So, how do you impress a group of seasoned locals and keep them interested for a half-day of visiting the very neighbourhood where many of them live, work and play regularly anyway? Enter Smiling Albino!

As an enhancement to the festival, Smiling Albino was asked to provide some entertainment and information to this group of bloggers, tweeters, online travel gurus and iWizards. So, rather than bludgeoning them with miles and miles of retail and music, we did what we have always thought travel should be about anyway: get involved with the locals.

Using the Ratchaprasong neighbourhood as our canvass, we drafted up a simple walking adventure, mixed with a private boat trip and a few sneak-a-peaks into local villages, shops, homes, boat piers and focused on the life and times of the local people who live, work, and pray in Ratchaprasong. In a two-hour jaunt we tasted the local food, heard the stories of the local shopkeepers, cooks, villagers, and spoke to boat drivers and pier custodians about life before and after the demonstrations. Some of us even tried our hand at making the curious kanom tokyo snacks. Nothing fancy – just an opportunity to get in touch with the community, and make the locals the stars for a day. The concept was “live, eat, work and pray in Ratchaprasong”

Here’s a quick breakdown of the trip:

Pray 1 – start at Erawan Shrine – the venerable spirit keystone of the entire neighbourhood. Flanked in untold mystery and curious history, the open-air goodness emanating from this corner of Ratchaprasong is a must for any walking experience in the neighbourhood.

Eat 2 – from here it was time to walk along Ratchaprasong Ave across from the recovering Central World Complex, currently getting a new make-over to grace Bangkok’s retail block once again. Here we spoke with Khun Tan, the lady who has run a small clothing shop (read: clothes hanging on a pole beside a tree along the roadside) for many years. Over the past few months her revenues have been cut in thirds, and she is improvising with a new Thai sweets stand selling kanom tokyo.

Greg steps into to street-hawker shoes and makes kanom tokyo

Greg kindly showed us how it was done and may have even sold some of his innovations to the passers by. This is a great strip of Bangkok to sample all kinds of street food, from kanom krock (the ping pong ball-looking coconut snack), to moo satay (pork skewers that taste better than they look) beyond the canal bridge, to Isaan-cum-urban dweller favourites, som tam and gai yang (papaya salad and grilled chicken).

Live 3 – Tao Phu Village

From here cut across the street into what looks like a construction site across from the canal bridge over the Saen Seab Canal. Beyond this cement factory is a narrow series of streets that pass through the Tao Phu Village (cement mixer village in Thai, named after the giant factory that dwarfs its sensibilities to the north). This oddly peaceful pocket of Ratchaprasong was a hotbed of activity during protests last spring, and the locals were happy to share their stories and demonstrate that they were ready to step into a fresh new chapter. A few hundred families make up this community, sequestered between the factory, Central World, and the edge of the Centara Complex to the west. Just another one of those places you’d never knew existed in this amazing city…

Tao Phu Village - stuck between a cement mixer and mega-mall

Work 4 – from Tao Phu Village cross back to the boat bridge and meet Mr Lert, the long-time manager of the boat station which serves as a main hub for what is Thailand’s longest canal, Khlong Saen Saeb. Mr Lert runs 60 boats up and down the canals from Bangkapi all the way to the Phan Fah Bridge in Banglampu, near Democracy Monument and Khao San Road. On our SA mini-adventure we hired a private boat to take our guests down the canal to famous Hua Chang Bridge station at Siam Square and the Bangkok Art & Culture Center. It was nice to see the boat business back at full throttle again, and Mr Lert kindly gave a couple of quick interviews before returning to his liquid thoroughfare office.

SA's Bank aboard a canal water taxi towards Siam Square

Live 5 – at the Hua Chang Boat Stop, one exits the boat stand into a small but lovingly cared for garden area run by Khun Rampui. She is the jovial lady who runs the red fridge with cool drinks and snacks for boat passengers. She graciously invited us into her wooden two-story house which precariously lurches out over the water. She has been there for many years and in exchange for rights to live and work in the space, she is also the custodian of the boat pier, hence the greenery and generally nice atmosphere.

Work (and shop) 6 – from here we walked along Rama I Road and checked out work on the rebuilding of retail space around the old Siam Theater. Many of the tenants who lost their space after the spring fires have set up a mini strip mall of canvassed cubicles on Siam Square Soi 4, while work is done to rebuild more formal retail space beside the theater. Life is marching on – and the resiliency of Thais and the smiles on their faces was a positive reminder that indeed The Land of Smiles is back in business! Travel here now!

Pray 7 – We ended the walking trip in an affirming manner, giving alms to monks at the Pathum Wararam Temple. This deep garden sanctuary is cocooned between Siam Paragon and Centara Grand/Central World complexes.

Wat Pathum Wararam's garden walking paths

It was also a safe haven for the fleeing protesters during the sweeping up operations which ended the demonstrations last spring. We thought it was a fitting ending to end this mini adventure on a high spiritual note, and a chance for a nice stroll through the temple gardens, and to use one of the nicer bathrooms in the neighbourhood.

From here along the skywalk all the way to the Grand Hyatt Erawan for a lunch with the TAT Governor and friends to discuss tourism initiatives and how to bridge ties into the social media world. All up – a good morning.

Long table discussion with TAT Governor Suraphon Svetsaranee

There was some positive discussion during our luncheon about how the social media community can get involved in the revitalizing of Thailand’s tourism industry, and more importantly how the TAT can catch the slip string of this momentum and make positive inroads into this exciting medium. Great work from Kae, Bank and Scott in the SA Office to get this mini-adventure off the ground last week, and special thanks to Bank for being a great host and trip leader for our media guests.

Great to have you all on board guys and thanks for the extra photo support, John!

by Scott Coates

When traveling almost everyone stays in a hotel for most of their trip abroad. International hotel brands provide supreme comfort, all the services you could want but often lack local character. Small boutique hotels can be very neat and quirky but sometimes lack the quality and upkeep that one still expects from a hotel and the prices that go along with them. Then there’s the homestay where you bunk down with a local family, usually meaning facilities are very limited and perhaps not comfortable

Smiling Albino adventurers enjoying a break in the Newa Chen courtyard

enough for the average traveler. Enter something different and in between all of these – Newa Chen.

While developing the Nepal Trek & Trail adventure back in 2007, our Nepal Team leader Mads suggested we spend a couple nights in the old capital of Patan and really explore it. A former capital of the country, located in the Kathmandu Valley, it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site where every street, alley, corner and building serves as a living museum. Patan was a center where artisans flourished, specializing in word work, smelting, bronze work and along with it, they spent a good deal of time creating intricate and beautiful homes.

Newa Chen is perhaps one of Patan’s best preserved traditional homes. Owned by the Shrestha family, it’s constructed of brick and timber in traditional Malla style, a period where great importance was placed on art and culture. With modern times many of Patan’s traditional homes and those in the greater Kathmandu Valley for that matter have and are being torn down in favor of modern concrete structures. If you’ve been around intricate wood carvings and wooden homes most of your life it seems concrete seems like progress.

An intricate window frame

With its heritage literally being torn down around them, the Patan Tourism Development Organization along with UNESCO set out to protect and promote historical homes and buildings before it was too late. Many Patan homes are in disrepair due to the passing of time, lack of funds to fix them and Kathmandu also lies on an earthquake fault and is prone to occasional tremors, causing damage to poorly built structures. Often tearing down old homes, subdividing the land and building modern concrete ones is a way to earn money. The two organizations approached local families with what they deemed to be heritage homes and proposed a plan: use a low interest loan to restore your home, then develop a way to showcase it to visitors. Rather than being a financial drain on a family, sometimes crumbling structures like Newa Chen were not only refurbished and preserved but quickly became a significant source of family income.

Opened in 1996 after a thorough restoration, Newa Chen welcomes visitors to stay in one of their eight guest rooms. Short doorways force one to bend over or bow when entering, making you pay respect to the home as you enter. Residents share communal spaces, courtyards, dining areas, an attic

Waving from their room

which serves as a lounge and you see family members come and go throughout the day. Gorgeous brickwork, intricate wooden window frames and doors, Patan art and traditional furnishings don’t just share the area’s feel but submerge you right into everyday life. Steep wooden staircases (ladders really) take you through Newa Chen’s three floors which surround the central courtyard which all rooms look out onto. While great attention and effort is put into the preserving the past, they’ve thoughtfully installed such modern amenities as sit down toilets and nice hot showers, ensuring you’ll want to come home at the end of a day exploring.

Newa Chen is one of the most interesting and enjoyable places I’ve ever stayed. I’ve brought my parents there for the experience and we’re thrilled to have it as part of our special Jazzmandu Grand Slam adventure starting on October 28, 2010. In a world cluttered with boring, overpriced, and soulless hotels, Newa Chen is successfully blazing new trails and setting a new standard.

The Sofitel Metropole Hanoi is often mentioned in the same sentence as the Mandarin Oriental Bangkok or Raffles Singapore.

Vintage fleet at a vintage location

The Metropole, built in 1901, is Vietnam’s grand dame of hotels whose famous white neo-classical facade has become one of Hanoi’s primary landmarks.

I have visited and inspected the hotel on many occasions, and Smiling Albino recently hosted European celebrity media for a series of events at the hotel in early 2010. During May 2010 I had an opportunity to experience the fullness of the hotel as an in-house guest, and The Metropole delivers on multiple levels.

Originally built by two French investors at the turn of the 20th Century, The Metropole has been under the management of Accor’s luxury arm, Sofitel, for several years. The original building, known as the Old Wing or Classical Wing, has been lovingly restored and features 3 room categories:

Old Wing Grand Luxury

Luxury Room (32sqm), Grand Luxury Room (37sqm), and The Legendary Suite (70sqm). These rooms are for the romantics, the nostalgia fans, those wishing to celebrate the colonial grandeur of Indochina. Period artwork and photographs line the walls, and the Old Wing gives the air of a luxury French mansion for heads of state, authors, and dignitaries.

The New Wing is a 7-story addition on the opposite side of the pool and garden area. Completed in 2007, it features stylish, neoclassical rooms with brilliant colour and lighting schemes. The New Wing still carries the air of colonial French influence, with internal shutter windows and replica claw foot bathtubs and wide hallways. The rooms feature wood and carpeted floors with fresh, tropical colours, pink, scarlet, mauve. Overall the New Wing rooms feel slightly larger and brighter than their vintage sisters in the Old Wing. Located on the side of the hotel closest to Hanoi’s gorgeous Opera House, the New Wing is also referred to as the “Opera Wing”. New Wing Rooms feature four categories: Premium Rooms (32sqm), Grand Premium Rooms (48sqm), Prestige Suites (64sqm), and the hotel’s top room, the Grand Prestige Suite (176swm).

Opera Wing Grand Premium Room

My favourite in this category is the Prestige Suite, which features fresh colours and a creative room layout, a half-wall separating the bathroom and lounging area, and a large bedroom with contemporary furniture featuring a perfect blend of colonial and Vietnamese styles.

Old Wing vs New Wing

This a “Coke vs Pepsi” debate that doesn’t have a definitive answer, and ultimately comes down to taste. The “Classic Wing vs Opera Wing” debate has gone on in the Smiling Albino office as much as the “Mandarin Oriental Bangkok vs Peninsula Bangkok” debate has. The Metropole’s Director of Rooms commented in fun that, “…the Old Wing is for lovers, the New Wing for artists…”.

Old Wing (also known as Historical or Classical Wing) rooms are located on the original three-story building of the hotel. They feature high ceilings, French window shutters, dark wood and period lamp shades, desks and accessories. There is more of a museum-like atmosphere, with a beautiful original wood staircase, open lobby with oil paintings, and a vintage telephone-booth sized elevator. The New Wing is a dramatic contrast as you exit the lift onto the floors with fashionable designer wallpaper and brilliantly striped carpets and furniture. There is a flair of Parisian hipness in this part of the hotel, and the New Wing rooms are a little more cutting edge, taking advantage of natural light and modern design innovations. The Old Wing rooms are more nostalgic, elegant, and subtle. Neither lacks luxury or class. The beds, bathroom fixtures, electronics are top drawer and the fines level of luxury.

Recommending which room is right for you and for your trip is serious business.

Smiling Albino recommends room types with an eye to our guest’s overall program, taking into account where else they are staying in Vietnam. For example, if guests are also going to Dalat and staying at the palatial Sofitel Dalat Palace , then in Hanoi we’d recommend New Wing rooms at The Metropole as the Old Wing rooms would too closely resemble the vintage colonial feel of the Dalat Palace. Same applies for La Residence in Hue, or Majestic Hotel in Saigon. Both offer an early 20^th Century classical French-style grand hotel. However, if staying at Pilgrimage Village in Hue, which is a modern luxury reincarnation of a traditional Vietnamese village, and staying contemporary in Saigon, then perhaps the Old Wing Rooms at Metropole Hanoi provide the colonial checkmark for the full deck Vietnam hotel experience.

As a general rule:

New Wing:

“Dish me up some designer-cool with a subtle stroke of colonial class. We thought Mandarin Oriental Bangkok was okay, but we’d prefer The Peninsula Bangkok next time around.”

Old Wing

“Forget the fancy contemporary flair as we can do that anywhere, we want to step back into the grandeur of colonial Indochina. Besides, we loved Mandarin Oriental Bangkok and can’t get enough of it.”

Last point, I did notice the New Wing rooms had a slightly younger crowd, there were designer jeans and fancy shoes. The Old Wing crowd featured a bit of everything, but generally a little older, fewer iPhones.

Swimming Pool with a view to the Opera Wing

The pool, spa, fitness room, restaurants are of course in a league of their own in Hanoi. Even if not staying at the hotel, some afternoon drinks in the Bamboo Bar around the pool is a must, as is Le Beaulieu for a quick peak and absolutely Angelina’s Bar for multiple cocktails and Hanoi high society intrigue. This is a local hot spot for events and business gatherings, and fashion shows, etc.

Smiling Albino was recently selected by Clarins Cosmetics Co. to host a retinue of top French media in Vietnam during their orientation to The Metropole’s Le Spa, which features Clarins’ wellness products. The spa is world class and deserves a visit for a treatment. One of the best in Vietnam.

Meet us for a drink in Le Club!

There are some outstanding top end hotels in Hanoi, not forgetting the sleek new Intercontinental Westlake, and the Sofitel Plaza, as well as old favourites the Hanoi Hilton and Sheraton. In addition to being the most storied hotel in town, Metropole Hanoi is right in the heart of the action just a few blocks from the lake. The Metropole has no equal in Hanoi, which comes at a price, but the overall experience can’t be discounted.

Smiling Albino can arrange rooms and services at Metropole Hanoi at competitive rates, and as part of your customized Smiling Albino adventure in Vietnam.

After much fanfare during the launch phase of Soneva Kiri, Six Senses group’s latest ultra-luxury resort concept in Ko Kood, I had the pleasure of a visit to check things out with a Smiling Albino fine-tooth comb.

Soneva Kiri viewed on approach from Cessna Caravan

Soneva Kiri is an all pool villa, ultra luxury retreat on one of Thailand’s lesser developed islands in the Gulf of Thailand, Ko Kood. There are only 24 suites plus 3 special concept suites, ranging from approximately $1,000US per night up to a multi-room, utopian family beach retreat for 10x that per night. The eco-wonder structures of the rooms themselves are simply gorgeous. Massive tropical hideaways with world-class service and intelligent luxury.

Part of the science in custom designing Smiling Albino adventures is knowing which resort or room is right for which client. Soneva Kiri isn’t right for everyone. Some may find it too fantastical, too luxurious (possibility exists), or too removed from the outside world. But for those keen on an innovative and memorable luxury beach hideaway, Soneva Kiri is in a world of its own.

The Approach – Part of the Soneva Kiri experience is the private flight on their custom Cessna Caravan from Bangkok. The 1hr flight is a low hop over the Gulf of Thailand, with spectacular aerial views of the island groups between Ko Chang and Ko Kood. There are usually 3 flights each way per day, and the schedules are arranged to provide as minimum a wait as possible for guests arriving. Landing on the private airstrip on an island across the bay from the resort is a fun welcome, followed by a drink and greeting from your personal butler. From here you take a short boat trip to the wooden dock at the resort’s entrance and are escorted to your suite.

Soneva Kiri's private landing strip across the bay

A few nice touches to note: 1 – from check-in at the Bangkok airport you don’t see your bags until you arrive in your room – nor do you feel the need to pay attention. And, like all Six Senses Hideway or Soneva resorts, there is a magical arrival-to-room seamlessness. No questions, no queues, no breaks in rhythm. From the private check-in desk at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport, you are smoothly transported into a wonder world of exotic Thai luxury.

At the resort dock you are met by your own personal butler, or “Friday” as they are known, ala Robinson Crusoe. Your Friday takes care of everything from arrival/departure details to packing a breakfast to go for you when you decide on a last-minute snorkeling outing in the morning. Your Friday is at your service and appear to stop at nothing to make sure you gain maximum jollity from this unique resort experience.

The Rooms – From a distance the rooms appear as wood-over-water fantasy structures covered with canvas re-creations of the 1972 Munich Olympic complex. Simply spectacular is just one of hundreds of possible descriptions.

Beach Villa Suite

I stayed in a Beach Villa Suite. With a total size of 403 sqm, you have a feeling of total privacy by way of a wooden footbridge and exterior gate, followed by an enormous outdoor terrace/lounging area, which leads to your private pool villa, and lush garden surroundings with a private footpath down to the beach. The rooms feel like a luxurious private beach house, not a suite in a resort. Your Friday is always a phone call via your complimentary cell phone.

The bedroom is surrounded by floor to ceiling windows, appointed with lovely tropical hardwoods and fine leather furnishings. Cabinets, the TV console and closets are custom-made in the form of vintage steamship trunks, leather-bound with brass buckles and fittings. If you’d rather escape the reality of TV (yes, I did just write that), then simply fold the flat-screen down into its trunk, and it makes a nice end table at the foot of your bed. Every detail in the room was designed within the exoti-sphere concept of the resort.

Great views for breakfast in bed

The dressing room is large indoor/outdoor canopy-topped pavilion (perhaps Olympic Village inspired), attached to the bedroom. Oversize steamship trunks turned on their ends provide double vanity stations with brass and porcelain sinks, wood and leather drawers, stand-up mirrors, hanging racks, etc. There are towels and bottled water stands at various locations in the suite, including tropical lounging beds to rest if the journey between the two of them is too far. The room is enhanced with a Bose sound system with hidden garden speakers, an iPod port, personal wine cellar, free-form pool surrounding your bedroom, multi-level wooden decks, stylish rattan furniture, a designer coffee-machine, and no less than three unique locations to have a shower, ranging from tropical rain shower in your garden to a glass-brick enclosed shower cove, to a poolside shower. These are the kinds of rooms you never need to leave. Large parties could be arranged on your spacious deck, or private dinners or family BBQs. There are chess sets, reading nooks, and inviting lounge chairs nicely placed throughout your super suite. Even a family sharing a suite like this can escape one another and spread out. A family of 3 or 4 could convert the Beach Villa Suite with Library into a two-bedroom Family suite. There is of course the Private Beach Reserve, which is a multiple bedroom tropical resort unto itself.

Out and About at Soneva Kiri – Soneva Kiri is a “buggy resort”, meaning buggies are used to get from dining area to suites, to the tennis courts, spa and gym, etc. I’ve commented before that I’m not a fan of buggy resorts, but unlike most resorts where you need to ring your butler or front desk to call a buggy, at Soneva Kiri you are given the keys to your own golf cart for the duration of your stay.

go easy in the wine bar

This makes getting around a snap, and there’s even a traffic official making sure incoming carts from the Cliff Villas don’t crash into carts leaving the spa/fitness center or wine bar. Your suite has its own parking lot and the convenience of the personal golf cart is a major plus, not to mention adding to the sensation of total personalization and convenience.

Dining – Like Six Senses Yao Noi and other ultra luxury destinations, the dining experiences at Soneva Kiri are world-class. Starting with the pool bar and futuristic tropical wooden breakfast pavilions, or glass-stool cocktail bar, dishes are top notch, the selection both creative and practical, and service outstanding. Many staff members have worked for other Six Senses properties and there is a genuine Thai warmth in the air.

Recently for some Smiling Albino guests we arrange a private sunset cruise with cocktails and canapés, followed by a fully-serviced gourmet beach BBQ on a lovely nearby island for dinner. Other musts include Khun Benz Restaurant. It is interesting to note that the Six Senses group had been wooing Khun Benz, the chef, for many years to join their properties in the Maldives or Middle East. Finally with the opening of the Soneva Kiri property on Ko Kood she agreed to launch the restaurant in her name a little closer to home. Another fun new addition in 2010 is dining in a tree house “pod” under the high canopy of palm trees.

Dine like a gibbon in style

There are also numerous creative spaces to dine, such as a private BBQ at Cinema Paradiso, the outdoor amphitheatre designed from the resort’s fresh water reservoir, or a customized BBQ of your choice in your villa, or a fantastic beach picnic (Crepes Suzette and omelette’s) for a day out snorkeling.

For my first of many great meals, I had a club sandwich – as is my custom – and it came with enough extras and sides to feed a friend. Gourmet cheese, arugula and other aromatic greens, homemade mustard, etc. As a club sandwich connoisseur I was more than impressed, and sufficiently stuffed. From a sommelier’s choice wine list to steamed sea bass and homemade ice cream, a chocolate station and cooled cheese pavilion, the dining opportunities very much live up to their ambitious price tag.

Spa-Gym-Beach – A pavilion up above the fitness center is an inspiring place for a yoga or Pilates session. The gym, while small, is very well-equipped and well-staffed by people that clearly spend time in fitness rooms outside of just work hours. Soneva Kiri is a spa-lover’s paradise. The tranquil setting, stone footpaths, elevated wooden bridges and expert treatments are world-class. Six Senses is a spa and wellness focused company, and the spa at Soneva Kiri incorporates a variety of Indian, Thai, Western and holistic treatments in their signature SLOW-LIFE Spa Journeys.

There are a couple of beach options for guests at Soneva Kiri. The main suites overlook the Bay, which during high tide is a great swimming hole. The beach is cresent-shaped with fine, manicured sand. The rugged cliffs around the edges of Ko Kood have sprinkled the beachfront with scattered rocks, but this is very much still a fantastic beach lover’s cove. The south beach is operational as of spring 2010. This is a groomed beach oasis ideal for sunsets, BBQs, and family beach fun.

The Den beckons

What to do – Of course there are lots of things to do at Soneva Kiri – ranging from a very nice snorkeling trip with picnic by private boat, etc. to jungle trekking, visits to waterfalls, eco-discoveries with the resort’s own pharmacologist (yes). There are the standard resort experiences – if the term applies to Soneva Kiri – such as wine tasting courses, cooking, Thai language and history, etc. The beach of course is a draw – and I went for a couple of great swims. The November-May time frame makes the beach/swimming experience more enjoyable, and while it is certainly doable in the wet season (June-October), it wouldn’t be as idyllic.

For some upcoming guests Smiling Albino has arranged a deluxe helicopter adventure from Soneva Kiri to nearby Angkor Wat, Cambodia. This trip involves a private meal in a remote Angkor temple, an overnight at Amansara in Siem Reap, and a day-and-a-half expertly hosted discovery of Angkor’s epic monuments.

For kids, as if the rooms weren’t enough fun, The Den is a giant bamboo and rattan wonder-cove full of educational discovery. There are astronomy classes at the resort’s observatory, or PADI dive instruction, or private movie nights, or trips to honey and pearl farms. Once you’ve done all that you might just have time to open your book and remember the real reason you came to the resort: to take a vacation.

a swing in an eco villa

Everything appears to work in sync – engineered in part by the resort’s own time zone, set an hour ahead of the outside world. Potential inconveniences could be the flight itself if the proposed times don’t match your international or regional arrival. The resort makes efforts to match their daily flight schedule according to the needs of the guests, but of course it is possible that you may have a wait of a couple of hours. Having checked through various Trip Advisor reviews it seems that most people are genuinely impressed with their experience. For some guests we have recommended other locations, even knowing that budget wasn’t necessarily the issue. Soneva Kiri is a special kind of escape and we’ve had several Smiling Albino guests overjoyed and grateful for our recommendations.

Take-Away – Soneva Kiri is an inspiring, concept-driven destination resort that ranks with the finest luxury properties in the Maldives or Caribbean. The creativity and sense of humour behind a resort like this – fantasyland really – makes staying an absolute pleasure.

Ideal for couples, families, groups of friends, those with golf cart driving experience.

Perfect for anyone who wants the best of the best – mixed with fun and tropical bliss.

As experience design specialists, we make a point of being as close to the final product as possible, and that includes having an intimate knowledge of accommodation options we propose to our valued guests. Anyone can book a resort, but knowing which resort is right for which guest in relation to their larger SA experience involves some science.

Last week I stayed a couple of nights at Six Senses Hideaway Yao Noi, one of the flagship properties of the luxury-wellness resort group, Six Senses. Having stayed at Six Senses Evason Resort in Phuket, and also recently at Soneva Kiri on Ko Kood, I had equally big expectations for Yao Noi. In short, the resort is absolutely stunning.

view from the suites

The Approach – I’m a fussy traveler and hate multiple transitions to get to the beach, but the Six Senses people make the transition relatively painless. I landed in Phuket at 0900am, and was met by the resort staff, then transferred 25 minutes in a BMW 5-Series to the Ao Po pier (ride was enjoyable but some ambient music would have been a nice addition to get you into island mood, or perhaps a piece of lemongrass to gnaw on for fun.) At Ao Po pier the resort staff pack your bags on to the large, comfortable speedboat, and then a nice 45-min ride brings you to the resort.

The view of the resort from the water doesn’t do justice to the tropical luxury therein. Mostly covered by dense foliage, the views of wooden rooftops scattered over an expansive hill are all you can see beyond the long, wooden pier. Turning your head 180 degrees however enables the stunning view of Krabi and the hundreds of karsts dotting the distant sea.

Arrival at Six Senses resorts is always smooth – it is one of the highlights. Your ‘Butler’ and the rest of the resort team greet you right from the boat, attend to your bags, feed you a drink, and whisk you away on a golf cart to your hideaway. For the duration of your stay your personal butler attends to your needs, arranges dinner reservations and activity excursions, and personally takes care of your check-in/check-out. This simple in-room check-in process could easily be done at virtually any resort, but oddly it isn’t. There is value in it and the Six Senses folks have it down to a science.

For those with no time for the BMW and boat trip to the resort, a helicopter transfer can be arranged approximately $1,000US per way from Phuket. This would be a lovely way to arrive with the hundreds of islands and karsts dotting the approach.

Pool Villa Suite

Rooms – I’ve been spoiled here in SE Asia with the opportunity to stay at some of the finest resorts in the world, and the rooms at Six Senses Yao Noi rank up with the best of them at their price range. My room was #51, a Pool View Suite, on the nearest side to the pier and water sports area (perhaps they knew…).

The master bedroom is a spacious, full-windowed suite with tropical hardwoods and state-of-the-art gadgetry and audiophile treats, a steam room, and so many nooks and crannies and places to hang things that I’m sure I donated half of my clothes unknowingly to the resort. Below the room is a spacious pool deck, your private pool, and the 2nd bedroom in the case of the suites. There is also a nice wooden deck bridge that leads to a garden area and sala for afternoon chess or quiet reading. No steal beams or concrete pillars or platforms – the entire room and surrounding area is hardwood and exotic, tropical furniture. The rooms are gorgeous, offer total privacy, multiple bathing/showering/lounging options, and eclipse the private tropical villa fantasy image.

Living Room in the Pool Villa

Some other rooms to note:

Slightly closer to earth are the entry level rooms, Pool Villa and Deluxe Pool Villa, which are the same in virtually every respect as the Pool Villa Suite less the 2nd bedroom.

Ultra Luxury Suites

The Retreat is the resort’s 2nd highest room category. There is only one of them, and it features two separate master bedroom villas, an enormous private pool with panorama views and Olympic-sized deck, as well as a large common room for entertainment, meals, etc. This would be brilliant for a couple of small families, or a pair of couples. A few kids could be set up with extra beds in the common room (200sqm or so itself). Fabulous private hideaway surrounded by lush natural surroundings.

Aerial shot of The Reserve upon approach from the clouds

This room is fit with extra rooms for nannies and bodyguards, has a full conference room and wine cellar, gym, sauna/Jacuzzi and an enormous indoor/outdoor common area with multiple tables and lounging facilities, a water slide (great for kids, or adults after enjoying the wine cellar). The grand, tropical luxury of this super suite just might be worth the price. The view alone from opening the front doors has to be one of the most magnificent panoramas in all of Thailand.

Out and About Six Senses Yao Noi - Getting around the resort is easy with multiple buggies whizzing back and forth. My room was one of the furthest from the dining area but I found the 5-minute walk quite nice through stone pathways and wooden bridges. Ordinarily I don’t like buggy resorts where guests are left in sequestered corners of massive resort complexes, but the size here at Six Senses Yao Noi is very manageable on foot, or, as is the custom, just call your butler for a buggy. A short walk out the back gate leads you to the tennis court and a small local village if you’d like to briefly re-connect to the rest of the planet.

There are only 56 units at Six Senses Yao Noi, so the distances to the spa, gym, restaurants, beaches, etc. are all very doable without the buggies.

Service - This isn’t a 5-star resort, it is an ultra luxury resort, so the expectations one would have for service could make evaluating it rather severe. The service was very good – although at breakfast I did wait longer than I like to for someone to offer coffee on the 2nd day, and the milk wasn’t warmed as I’d requested on the first day. A very minor detail, however ultra luxury resorts should get this right.

The spa and fitness center were well attended with spiffy, knowledgeable staff. The butlers are the real stars here, and as they are commissioned to attend to your every need, the result clearly is that the service is excellent. The beach staff vanish when not required, and magically reappear out of nowhere (from the forest I think) when needed.

Food/Beverage – This is a great place to eat! I started with my customary club sandwich (Dan’s gold standard starter for any hotel). It may have eclipsed the supernatural club sandwich I had at Soneva Kiri, though it was 30% more expensive, but perhaps wasn’t as heroic as my personal favourite at D2 Pattaya. Either way, it paved the way for several more great dishes, salads, burgers, Greek sides, Italian pastas, and spontaneous off-menu Thai dishes as well. Everything was outstanding in accordance with the cost of each dish.

Happy Hour at The Den

Dining at The Den and the The Dining Room are both cool experiences. The Den is a large wooden, two-story house with ambient music, massive couches with pillows and coloured cushions. You could slurp cocktails here all night and never tire of the groovy, chill-out vibe. Again, very nice, well-trained staff.

East Beach

The Beach – The resort is built on a hill that slopes onto two different beaches: front beach and back beach. The back beach beside the pier is the water sports area – again well attended by attentive staff. I went kayaking at sunset to some remote beaches around the bay. Very user-friendly. The front beach is gorgeous – a great stretch of manicured beach sloping into clear water – the postcard image of idyllic sandy bliss. Sunsets here on the east side are fantastic as the trees and umbrellas cast long shadows into the water – creating pockets of sunshine and shaded swimming holes. The beach is wide enough to stretch out and have a full game of Red Rover, but it is doubtful this occurs very often. There are a series of deck chairs on a white sand bluff, attended by staff that seem to float in and out from the sky.

The Crowd – During my stay in April the guest mix was nicely eclectic. Young couples, Scandinavian families, retired couples, plus a few middle-aged single travelers. It was a healthy-looking, smart crowd, part of the extended Six Senses fan club of which I’m becoming a member (smart notwithstanding in my case).

Take-Aways - From tennis to snorkelling to wine tasting courses, there’s no shortage of things to do here. Those who fear being locked-in to a resort and prefer the freedom of strolling out into the real world might be claustrophobic. However, most Six Senses guests tend to indulge in the resort itself and intentionally shut off the outside world, so it is doubtful that this would be a drawback for any potential guest. The ‘Hideaway’ series of resorts in the Six Senses repertoire certainly make hiding away a pleasure.

Minor annoyances are the need to make dinner plans in advance. This is due to the intimate seating arrangements at each of the funky restaurants. You can always choose in-villa dining, or splurge for private BBQ or private beach dining, so this may only be a drawback for indecisive types like myself.

Sunset from The Reserve

We have sent several Smiling Albino guests to Six Senses resorts around Thailand, including Yao Noi, and the reviews are always exceptional. Our guests have high expectations – which is why we feel comfortable putting those expectations into the care of the Six Senses team. Often we supplement their experience there by offering our own value-added features like customized paddling outings to remote caves and islands, eco-discoveries with recognized experts, etc.

All in this is a spectacular tropical luxury experience. The transfer in and minor commutes within the resort are quickly overshadowed by the luxurious chill-out vibe the villas and grounds create. Food, while expensive even for a high-end resort, is quite outstanding, and the overall services and amenities are fit for the price tag. Per one of the Six Senses mottos, it redefines experiences….

Ideal for couples, honeymooners, families, those able to make advance dinner plans.

by Scott Coates

Smiling Albino (SA) thrives on creating one-of-a-kind, total quality, seamless travel experiences. We’ve never been in the business of offering the cheapest hotel rooms or airline tickets. There are plenty of websites that do that. Instead, we enjoy working with and recommending a handful of properties in respective categories that we’ve personally visited, if not stayed at, and represent great value for money.

Rather than being a bit-and-piece ‘tour company’ we excel at creating

Seamless fun that works like a symphony

flawless experiences from start to finish. In many ways what we do is like the conductor of a symphony. All instruments must be present, in agreement of the song, tempo and manner in which the composition will be executed. If one instrument is not on the same page then all is lost. When everyone plays together, it’s magical.

Hotels are an area we specialize in recommending, picking the best ones based on guests’ budget and style, and building them into an overall travel experience. We put a good deal of time into personally visiting properties we work with once-a-year and maintaining strong personal relationships with the general managers, ensuring our guests are truly treated like VIPs.

Sometimes when we make trip proposals, potential guests search the internet and simply add up the prices of hotel rooms they find online and compare that number to our proposed rate. We understand that comparing

All it takes is one bad connection and all is spoiled

online hotel rates and the rates we offer can at first be confusing. In many respects it’s like comparing apples and oranges. Smiling Albino isn’t a business that simply buys and sells hotel rooms – we provide ‘extraordinary experiences’. This includes consultation, recommendations and deep thought into how to deliver the best experience based on your interests and style. Hotels and rates we build into our trips are always no more expensive than you would find yourself online when you include all elements (often there are two sets of taxes on the final payment page of online hotel sites: ++) and initially stated rates don’t include breakfast. Also, they often advertise rooms/rates that when it comes time to booking, actually aren’t available during your desired dates. Everything we propose is done in real time, at real rates with everything included. All of our hotels (and air tickets, events, etc) pitched include everything you would need and expect: all taxes, breakfast, guaranteed room, possible upgrade, reconfirmation of your room before you check in by our office team, to ensure a seamless and total quality experience.

Essentially, the hallmark of our business is the guarantee of quality and service, 100% of the time, no exceptions. Occasionally buying direct with suppliers can be cheaper in SE Asia, however the rules of Caveat Emptor certainly apply. Often tickets purchased online have hidden restrictions or change penalties that buyers may not be aware of. We don’t take those chances when booking things for our guests. All of the tickets we purchase and rooms we book come with options to change last minute details, move times and dates, with minimum penalty, as often happens in travel. To be

All you should think about during you trip is having fun, leave the rest to us

sure, we don’t offer the cheapest programs and services, but instead offer a comprehensive package that seamlessly fits all things on an SA program together with an eye to service and hassle-free fun. As a result we take full responsibility for guaranteeing all components work together harmoniously, every time. The value of the program is achieved through the collective sum of the entire experience. It only takes one missed flight, dirty room or missing airport pickup to spoil your entire trip.

Let Smiling Albino manage your entire experience so you can arrive, relax and enjoy it all from start to finish with no unpleasant surprises. That’s the way travel should be. It’s what we’ve become experts at over the past 10 years and dedicated our lives to delivering.

by Scott Coates

It had been some time since I’d been to Ko Samui. One of Thailand’s best known islands, it’s been a tropical paradise destination for travelers for the last 20 years. Once entirely coconut plantations and jungle, word got out, people took boats over, beach bungalows were built and groups slowly grew into crowds.

Fast forward a bunch of years, renovations of original bungalow complexes, many of those turned into simple concrete huts, then proper buildings and now world class resorts, an international reputation and airport and there you have it – Ko Samui 2552 (2009).

The plane touched down at 06:50, I was in my rental car by 07:30 and

Ko Samui is paradise

searching madly for coffee by 07:50. There were no coffee shops open. All closed. I guess no matter how big and island gets as a destination, some habits die hard and not even in swinging Chwaeng Beach was there a place to grab some hot roasted beans in the early morning. In paradise and no basic elements to start my day – I would have to grab a cup at the first of 11 hotels I was to inspect that day to put together Ko Samui Beach Escapes.

The first hotel was supposed to be 5-star, hip, cool and new-concept but tanked. The manager missed our appointment; I sat for 20 minutes and was not offered a coffee (when would I get one in my system!) then after asking to be shown around by someone, was sent out with a girl on her second day working there. How can I recommend this place to guests even if the rooms were pretty nice? Not on our list!

Second stop: new, sleek, trying to be a back-to-nature property that is quite nice. Still held together with a lot of concrete, but lots of bamboo and they don’t really have a good beach at the resort, something that is surprisingly prevalent in places like Ko Samui and Phuket. It’s almost like the more you spend per night, the smaller the beach or further away your room is from it. Nice, will work with this second property as it’s in a nice price-point, but I still don’t have a coffee.

Montra's comfy bedroom

Montra Samui was a pleasant surprise and I was offered a coffee within a couple minutes which by now is what I was really interested in. Breakfast was offered (very appreciated and wanted) but declined (due to time constraints to get everything done), the staff were shining and I had a coffee in my hand while seeing the property. I was impressed. Just eight rooms make up the Montra, it’s a 15 minute walk from Lamai Beach, there’s not much outside its walls but it’s nice, run with style and by friendly people that care. If it’s a nice place to sleep, relax and enjoy some meals but you don’t want to blow the budget and don’t need to be on the beach, then this is a good option.

A few uninspiring places (no offers of coffee either), mainly due to being by run by staff that have not been trained in running higher-end establishments or ones pretending to be, cheap finishings all around, and the quick impression to the trained inspecting eye that they’re nothing more than a $60US/night room with a calming slap of paint, some nice bath foam next to the shower and the word ‘spa’ tagged on the end of the name. Certainly not worth the $200US+/night they were asking. Off the list.

Bring on Poppies, a property I’d heard of from friends that write guidebooks,

Poppies is very comfy

long term residents and those in-the-know. It’s been around for nearly 20 years, is small but has class. The lobby is old-school and really unimpressive. I almost wanted to leave after having trouble finding someone to help me. I then met the manager, had a nice chat and he walked me into the grounds which are in the back along Chwaeng Beach. Twenty-something tasteful units are set amongst lush gardens, their restaurant’s popularity has swelled due to extremely good taste and the beach is exquisite. And, all in the heart of what is supposed to be noisy, overrun Chwaeng Beach. Not at all – sign me up!

Each room is unique

Relais & Chateaux (R&L) is a unique property brand I only came to know since working in Thailand. Their Chiang Mai property, the Rachamankha is one of our favorites in the kingdom and one we love putting our guests at. Truly a one-of-a-kind, steeped in tradition and class. Karma Kamet became an R&C member in November 2009 and why is obvious. No R&L property is like another R&L property and great attention to design has taken place here. Each of the 12 rooms are unique, obviously furnishings hand-purchased and you’re not sure where you are – certainly not in a small building on Ko Samui’s north shore. A really neat vibe for the author penning her next work liberally splashed with dips in the ocean.

It’s neat to see locally grown brands make it. The Anantara seems to be

One of the island's nicest pools

doing just that. Started by the country’s most famous foreigner-come-Thai-come-business man, William Heineke, the Anantara struck to provide 5-star, truly Thai services and experiences throughout the kingdom and they’re doing it. Their Golden Triangle location has been a long favorite, there’s another handful around the country and they’re sure to become a well known name worldwide soon. Their Ko Samui location is no exception. One thing that really stood out during my time on the island is that things are overpriced compared to other beach destinations like Ao Nang, Ko Phi Phi and Railay Bay, Krabi, Ko Chang and Ko Samet. You pay about 50% more here than other spots, but close to the price at Phuket. When you calculate service, room quality, environment, quality of beach and others, the Anantara is a no-brainer if you have about $200US/night to spend and want to be comfy. I wish I could go for a week right now.

Luxurious through and through

Tongsai Bay was first brought to my attention by a friend writing a travel book when I asked about sure bets on the island some years ago. It’s one of, if not the original luxury property on Ko Samui. Time has served it well, unlike so many beach hotels I drove past, the lobby wreaks traditional beach charm, rooms are timeless and well-appointed, and the amenities/facilities top-drawer. They even have regular and adults-only swimming pools. And the beach is very nice too.

What else could I expect from the absolute best from the Four Seasons? I

Simply the best

couldn’t envision a beach hotel from them as I had to date experienced their city and mountain properties in Thailand, but they nailed it. From the moment you arrive at their purpose-built reception area atop a cliff overlooking the ocean, you know you’ve arrived. A buggy ride down a super steep path and across the hill brings you to the villas. And boy, are they special. Everything has been thought of, included, procured and at your disposal. Beach – incredible and private. Rooms – exquisite. Spa – wild. Fitness center – tops. You name it, it’s here. No reason to leave at all, ever. But I still had more places to see.

The aforementioned properties were listed from least to most expensive, but not necessarily from least to most admired by the writer.

Let us arrange your Ko Samui Beach Escape.

By Daniel Fraser

On a recent trip to Pattaya I was intrigued enough to to and stay at the very new D2Baraquda.

D2 is the new hi-touch, design hotel fleet of the celebrated Dusit group from Thailand. Branded as chic and refreshingly hip, D2 Pattaya is a nice change of pace in Pattaya. The city itself is going through a bit of a subtle face-lift, with some sleek new bars, restaurants and hotels competing with the voluminous buffet of mediocrity which has made the town famous since the last days of the Vietnam War.

D2 Baraquda Pattaya is a nice slice of this new wave of goodness splashing into Pattaya. Located on the 2nd road from the beach right in the heart of town, D2 is withing walking distance to walking street and all of the other bright, shiny objects that compete for our attention in town.

As soon as you walk in to the high-ceiling, airy lobby, you feel as if you’ve been delivered from the commercial grime of coastal Thailand into a energized wellness chamber. D2′s GM Mr Paolo, or ‘Guru’ as his business card reads, has a swift an efficient operation run by enthusiastic and pleasant staff.  Small touches like a welcome cappuccino or latte in the cool and airy corner of the lobby made for a pleasant welcome. Rooms are hip and spacious and overall they do a great job of making limited spaces seem very large with giant windows and gargantuan mirrors, curved lines, glass panels and wave-inspired fashionable furnishings. The Deluxe Rooms feature a glassed in bathroom area with rain showers and intelligent places to hang things like towels and shower kits. These bathrooms are designed by people who understand good bathrooms.

Very large mirrors feature Deluxe Rooms beside them

Settling in, I ordered a club sandwich – my initial gold standard of how even the most basic food from the kitchen is. It was outstanding. A gourmet Club2 sandwich made by people who clearly understand what a good sandwich is (maybe sourced by the same company who sourced the shower people above).

Seeing who is staying at the hotel is also a barometer of what kind of place it is. It was nice to see a broad cross-section from young Thai families, healthy western couples, fashionable gay travelers and respectable-looking city folk. This was a nice jolt of comfort in Thailand’s coastal city of neon and beer bars.

it was so groovy i expected dolphins to join my swim....

The other facilities, like swimming pool, restaurant, fitness center and spa all work together nicely. They are functional and practical, and though neither of them win a category award on their own, there is an undeniable freshness and good value vibe in every corner of the hotel. I had a work-out, massage treatment, a good meal, and a nice swim with a little sundeck time and a book while feeling a million miles from Bangkok, and the cluster of Pattaya itself, for that matter.

The Deep Bar, located upstairs on the 3rd floor, is definitely among the hippest lounges in town. It felt a little like a coastal Bed Supperclub with an aquarium-like cool twist. Good drinks, hi-tech touches and trendy staff make it an excellent meeting place before or after a night on the town. Further up, the cool open-air lounge on top has great views of the rest of the town while giving you the luxury of being away from it, with zen-like music and breezy cocktails keeping you occupied. I arrived late, but assume it to be a fantastic sunset lounge.

chilling out in style in D2's Deep Bar

After a late check-in and a nice night in D2, I woke up feeling rather effervescent. In my 10 years in Thailand I can’t recall feeling quite like that in Pattaya before.  On an upcoming motorcycle trip across Thailand we will be using D2Baraquda for a final night before our group departs. Great choice.

Conclusion: How refreshing! While it is possible to lose your soul in Pattaya, refreshingly hip places like D2 give it a nice space to breathe.

by Scott Coates

One of Smiling Albino’s (SA) prime focuses has always been to provide supreme service. From the moment you arrive in the country you’re traveling with us, to the final “goodbye”, we strive to exceed your expectations.

The entire SA Team from those in our Bangkok office that answer your initial emails and phone calls, to the talented people who book the hotels/guides/air tickets/motorbikes/elephants/etc, to the group that hand-produce your customized Adventure Handbook to the guides and Team on the ground who personally host you, we never stop learning, training and trying to make each trip better than the one before it. Hopefully we hit-the-mark and then some!

The Serenade of the Seas

Recently my parents took me on an eight-day Alaska cruise for my birthday. Friends and guests cautioned many times that perhaps I would not like a cruise do to the nature of the trips we lead and our many personal trips that tend to be quite adventures and spontaneous in nature. I must admit the idea of a cruise was semi-appealing but I did wonder if I’d be bored or tire of playing BINGO on the Lido deck.

August 8, 2009: my parents and I arrived at the Ballantyne Pier in Vancouver, BC about 12:30. Our bags out of the taxi, a team of porters were on them and promised they’d be waiting in our staterooms shortly (pre-printed baggage tags with our names/room numbers were provided by mail prior to the cruise).

A speedy line was already in full swing with the 2,400 guests boarding the Serenade of the Seas, a 962ft long ship, part of the Royal Caribbean fleet. A few minutes later and we were guided to a check-in counter, gave an imprint of our credit cards, received a Stateroom Card which opens your room door and is used for charging all purchases during the trip, which you pay at the end. Up the gangway, through US Customs (as we would be visiting ports in Alaska), we scanned our Stateroom Cards at the ship’s door and we were in!

The moment we stepped on board smiles abound, more people said “hello” in those first 15 minutes then in the first 15 years of my life. It seemed the entire Serenade of the Seas crew had taken some serious Happy Pills just minutes before we boarded. We slowly made our way to our staterooms, stopping to “oooh” and “aaaah” at the amazing lobby, many bars, cafés and on and on and on. Upon arrival at Stateroom 3132 our Stateroom Attendant Linda, from Peru, welcomed us and made sure we were happy and settled-in.
I was expecting a small room like you’d get on a train but this was not the case – the room was quite large with a full double bed, love seat and good, small bathroom with shower. Wow!

The next eight-days were thoroughly relaxing in every sense of the word. Being in the travel planning/execution business, I have realized over the last couple years that when I really want to relax, nothing does it better for me than not making decisions or plans. Royal Caribbean totally took care of that department. Wake when you want, eat incredible food literally anytime you want, gaze at amazing scenery from the outside deck chairs or one of the many indoor lounges with huge windows, play pool, BINGO, partake in an art auction, work out in the gym, run outside on the track, try your luck at the casino, take your kids to the Kids Camp and on and on it goes.

Whether we were eating breakfast in the Windjammer Restaurant, snacks in a café or a multi-course, top-drawer, nightly dinner in Reflections, plates were cleared, glasses never empty, second and thirds accommodated (I made a point of eating some beef everyday), crumbs scraped from the table and on it went. There was simply nothing missed. Waiters sang, danced and made sure every meal was not only delicious but an event.

Entertainment was a really neat part of the experience. Every night in the Tropical Theater there was a pre or post-dinner show. Sometimes it was comedy, other times song/dance, magicians, gymnastics, but every night it was something entertaining and a fun way to start the evening. The theatre had a full sound and light system and was world class. Drinks were on offer at any moment too – something I enjoyed – and they had Guinness!

In short, everything on the ship happened like magic and clockwork. I left my room, came back and it was all clean, regardless of time of day or night, with a neat towel animal on the bed. Sit down around the pool and an attendant handed me a towel and took my wet one. Finish a cup of coffee and it’s removed and a new one offered.

Many meals later (too many to mention here), one game of The Weakest Link one evening (which I won), a few sessions in the hot tub, a couple onshore beer in Alaska, a couple workouts and a paperback later and suddenly it was Day 8. How do you get 2,400 people off a boat smoothly? There was a system for this too. On Night 7 everyone received tags for their bags which are color/number coded which you place on your bags and leave outside your room. These tags also tell you the room on the ship to wait to disembark and at what time. Sure enough the system was flawless with us disembarking early, every cruise member said “Goodbye” on the way out, we went through Canadian Customs and there were our bags waiting at the end. Taxis were waiting and we were off.

So, should you or should you not consider a cruise? It’s not for everyone, but is an awesome experience if it’s what you need. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

A glacier at Tracy Arm

Do Go:
•    If you want don’t want to move hotels.
•    If you want to totally relax.
•    If you want to eat as much or as little as you like when you want (they have room service which is free) anytime of day or night.
•    If the purpose of the trip is not to meet locals and experience authentic area experiences.
•    If you like to wake up anytime, roll with it and partake in fun/silly games/events/shows.
•    If you’re traveling with a diverse group and want to be sure there’s something for everyone.
•    If you’d like to see some areas/coastline that you wouldn’t see by car (Alaska being a prime example).

Don’t Go:
•    If you want to get out and explore.
•    If you don’t want to stay put, slow down, and really unwind.
•    If you don’t want to be around other travelers.
•    If you can’t stop yourself from eating (the food on offer is tasty and abundant).
•    If you want to be out and about all the time.

A cruise certainly isn’t for everyone but the service experience Royal Caribbean provided was world-class. From start to finish every detail had been taken care and every need anticipated. The training program must be extensive and the entire crew on the Serenade of the seas gets a huge hats-off from me. I like to think SA offers some of the best service on the planet but there are a few things I learned from this cruise that will be incorporated into the SA experience.

See some photos from my Alaska cruise.