The Tubkaak Boutique Resort

I understand what the owners are trying to achieve - but it misses on a lot of points. Pick up from the airport although pre-booked didn’t work resulting in a waste of time. Room was OK - some nice wood effects but the outside pool and tub - not sure what the point is - there is no view they aren’t well maintained and there are slot of mosquitos. Thai restaurant pretty good - didn’t eat in the Italian - but the reality is you are totally dependent on them as the hotel is miles away from anything. I will not be rushing back - as there are many many other resorts with an “eco” natural vibe that far exceed this one. Staff lovely but the service/price balance is not centric - ie it is way to expensive for what you are getting. Read less

We LOVED staying at the Tubkaak for our honeymoon! From the moment you arrive, you are surrounded by nature, beauty, and truly hospitable staff - no matter what room you book. The rooms are styled well in traditional Thai decor, and the outdoor slate bathtub is something I will dream about when we return to the US. All of them are steps away from the resort’s main restaurant - the Arundina - which sits directly on a private beach and offers a huge menu of traditional and affordable Thai meals. We ate almost every meal there for three days and never got tired of the food or the service. We especially enjoyed getting to spend time with servers like Wi Pa, who went out of her way to teach us about her culture and always make sure we had what we need. The beach is truly private - often no more than 15 people around at a time. Sea shells abound, the water is warm, and 13 islands border the property - what more could you ask for? Maybe some fun activities. This resort offers free paddle boarding and kayaking and activities like Tai Chi and Muay Thai boxing - taught by a former Thai boxer! Bucket list activity, check. They also offer an inexpensive shuttle into Ao Nang in case you want to get a taste of Krabi nightlife, and the 1900 baht long tail boat trip to Hong Island is fun, too. We discovered that Tubkaak is owned by a Thai woman, and you can tell because it is authentic and thoughtfully designed throughout. This is a MUST BOOK hotel. Thank you for a wonderful honeymoon stay! Read less

This hotel was just what I asked for - a quiet location directly on the beach where I could lay around, read a book, nap and soak in the sun. But looking back, I found it to be a little too much of what I asked for - there were no other restaurants, shops or anything of the sort within walking distance of the hotel. It was certainly secluded :) but the hotel had two restaurants of its own, one Thai cuisine (which I unfortunately never had the chance to try) and one Italian. My room, villa with a sea view, was beyond my dreams. Spacious, a wall of sliding glass doors which opened onto my personal deck and view of the sea, a bathroom with rain shower and outside tub (which had floating flowers upon my arrival). Everything I could possibly ask for. The bed was amazingly comfortable, with downy sheets and pillows. Lots of English channels on tv for the nights I couldn’t sleep. The biggest drawback which had the potential of ruining my entire stay, was that the air ventilation system circulated air from the attached room next door into my room. And unfortunately the occupants next door were heavy smokers...inside their room. The very first night I arrived, I noticed the pungent cigarette odor filling my room at 7pm. I opened the glass doors to ventilate (which didn’t help) and stuck it out. The next morning, I mentioned the problem at the front desk, and they said they would look into it. When I returned to my room that afternoon, I noticed the smell again at 3:30pm, and called the front desk - they said they’d look into it. Then it woke me up at 11:30pm (really you can’t miss it, my room smelled like I had chain-smoked a pack of cigarettes), and I called the front desk, they said they would have security check it out. Finally, at 6am the following morning, I smelled it again, and called the front desk and demanded someone come to my room immediately. When the person arrived, I allowed him into my room and he immediately covered his nose in disgust at the smell and backed out. I was so sick to my stomach at this time that I couldn’t go back into the room. I sat out on the deck and waited for the couple next door to finish smoking and go to breakfast, then aired out the room. The front desk called me back and said they would relocate me to another room once one was made ready. At 12:30pm, staff helped me move to another room (which did not have a seaside view, but had a personal pool). Unfortunately by this time I was sick with a stomach bug and remained in my “new” room for the next 24 hours until I checked out the following day. Had I been in better health, I would not have been happy with my new room as I had deliberately paid for a sea view which this room did not have, and it was located right next to the Italian restaurant. I would have liked to rate this hotel higher, I really would because it was a beautiful room, with incredible views and presumably great restaurants. However, I detest the fact that the hotel was not willing to demand the people next door cease smoking in their room. I was informed that smoking in the rooms is not permitted, so at a minimum I would have expected the manager to have spoken to those people. And now that I think about it, I would have expected the manager to have contacted me to apologize for this having ruined my entire stay at this hotel, but no one ever contacted me other than to move me to the alternate room. Read less

Overall the place was really great. The rooms are clean and cozy, the hotel compounds are green and well-kept. All-in-all a very positive experience. The only thing that surprised us a bit were the high prices of the food. You can expect higher prices in a high-end hotel, especially in a more remote location like Tubkaak beach. But comparing to other places we visited in the past, we found some items unnecessarily high. Read less

My husband and I booked this resort for 6 nights as a part of our honeymoon. We had an absolutely wonderful time! The room was clean and spacious, the food at the restaurants was tasty, the whole resort is immaculate and well taken care of and the beach is STUNNING! By far one of the nicest beaches I have ever seen. The sunset every evening down at the beach was magical and so romantic! We enjoyed the “honeymoon package” at the spa one afternoon when it was raining and we loved it! The service was wonderful and professional, very relaxing. The resort is quite a long way outside of the nearest town (30ish minutes) so a bit tough to get to other bars/restaurants, however we were looking for somewhere that was quiet, relaxing and away from the party scene, so we found the location suited our needs quite nicely. We booked the Krabi elephant sanctuary one day which was about an hour drive (PHENOMENAL experience: I will write a separate review for this) and another day we did a private long boat to 3 different islands which was great to try something a bit different, and I would recommend both! The front desk has a binder with a bunch of excursions available to book through them; I really wish they didn’t encourage/sell tours for elephant riding. This did not sit quite right with me. I did a lot of research to find a sanctuary for elephants where they are treated ethically, so PLEASE do not book an elephant riding/elephant show tour. My only other dislike is I found the drinks to be quite pricey. A cocktail was around 250-300 baht, which is about 12$ CAD. Even a beer by the pool comes to around 6-8$ CAD. My husband and I had read this on a different review, and got our driver to stop at a 7/11 on the way to the resort. We stocked up on beer and snacks for the week which was definitely a good call!! Would 100% recommend this beautiful, eco friendly little paradise of a resort to anyone, especially couples looking for a romantic getaway! Make sure to bring your own beer though if you want to save some money! Read less