Anantara Mai Khao Phuket Villas: The Art of Tropical Luxury in Phuket

As part of its annual international project WOW Magazine — Top Hotels of the World 2026, our editorial team continues its journey across the world, discovering exceptional destinations and experiencing first-hand the hotels that are shaping the modern meaning of luxury hospitality.

In 2026, the WOW World Hotel Tour takes us from Europe and the Middle East to Asia, bringing together remarkable properties defined not simply by five-star standards, but by character, atmosphere, service and the ability to create an experience worth remembering.

Our next destination is Thailand.

Anantara Mai Khao Phuket Villas joins the WOW Magazine selection of Top Hotels of the World 2026.

Set amid tropical greenery on the quieter northern coast of Phuket, the resort reveals a completely different side of the island — private, sophisticated and wonderfully unhurried.

Review by Igor Sergeev, Founder & Editor-in-Chief of WOW Magazine

A Different Side of Phuket

There are hotels that impress with their scale. Others try to surprise you with spectacular architecture, restaurants or extraordinary service.

And then there are places where, after only a few hours, you stop analysing individual details and simply realise that you have switched to a completely different pace of life.

For me, Anantara Mai Khao Phuket Villas belongs to the latter category.

I travel extensively and, over the years, have experienced many different interpretations of luxury hospitality around the world. As a result, I am becoming less interested in the number of stars next to a hotel’s name or even the size of the room.

Today, I look for something else.

Does the hotel create a feeling of its own? Does it have character? And most importantly — would I want to return?

With Anantara Mai Khao, my answer is yes.

Located on Phuket’s northern coast at Mai Khao Beach, the resort feels far removed from the image many travellers associate with the island.

Phuket can be energetic, crowded and intense — filled with traffic, restaurants, beach clubs and an almost endless flow of people.

Here, everything feels different.

The resort is surrounded by lush tropical vegetation, with villas arranged around a tranquil lagoon and architecture inspired by the traditions of southern Thailand.

You don’t feel as though you have arrived at a conventional large-scale resort. Instead, it feels like entering a secluded tropical world of its own.

And perhaps what I appreciated most is that the luxury here never tries too hard to prove that it is luxury.

You experience it through space, privacy, nature and silence.

The Ultimate Luxury Is Privacy

One of Anantara Mai Khao’s greatest strengths, in my opinion, is its approach to private living.

The resort offers an extensive collection of pool villas, pavilions and suites, with accommodation ranging from intimate options for couples to larger residences designed for families and groups.

The signature Pool Villas start from an impressive 186 square metres and feature private pools, terraces, dining salas and outdoor bathtubs.

But numbers only tell part of the story.

What matters is the feeling that you genuinely have your own space.

You can wake up and step almost immediately into your private pool. You can have breakfast without leaving the villa. You can spend several hours doing absolutely nothing and never feel as though you are missing something elsewhere.

For someone whose everyday life consists of meetings, messages, flights, events and an almost permanent flow of people, that feeling becomes a luxury in itself.

And perhaps this is what modern luxury is increasingly about.

Not showing more.

Having more space to yourself.

A Place Where You Stop Making Plans

Normally when I travel, I want to see as much as possible. I want to explore, meet people, visit new places and understand the destination.

At Anantara Mai Khao, something interesting happens: very quickly, you begin to want the opposite.

You stop wanting to rush.

A morning can begin with yoga or Muay Thai, followed by several hours by the pool or on Mai Khao Beach. The resort can also arrange experiences around Phuket and beyond for guests who want to explore.

But there is no pressure to constantly entertain yourself.

And I like this balance.

Anantara does not disconnect you from Thailand. In fact, many elements — from the architecture and landscaping to the food and wellness philosophy — constantly remind you of where you are.

At the same time, everything has been interpreted through the standards of contemporary luxury hospitality.

It feels unmistakably Thai, without becoming theatrical.

Gastronomy as Part of the Experience

Food is always an important part of how I experience a hotel.

At Anantara Mai Khao, dining is not limited to one restaurant or one format. Different concepts create different moods throughout the day.

Sea.Fire.Salt. focuses on seafood and grilled dishes, while other dining experiences explore Thai and international cuisine. Sunset drinks, relaxed lunches and more intimate dinners all become part of the rhythm of the resort.

But what I particularly appreciate is the idea that dinner doesn’t necessarily mean simply booking a table at a restaurant.

You can create a private dining experience, have dinner in the privacy of your villa or turn an ordinary evening into something much more personal.

For me, this represents one of the most important principles of great hospitality:

the guest should not constantly adapt to the hotel; the hotel should know how to adapt the experience to the guest.

That distinction may sound small, but in luxury hospitality it changes everything.

Wellness Without the Rush

And, of course, it is difficult to imagine Thailand without its wellness culture.

The Anantara Spa is surrounded by tropical greenery and designed as a place to genuinely disconnect. Treatments, massages, wellness rituals, yoga and other experiences naturally complement the atmosphere of the resort.

I believe a great resort should give you the opportunity to physically slow down — not just to take a holiday from work, but to change your internal rhythm for a few days.

And the entire environment at Anantara Mai Khao encourages exactly that.

There is something increasingly valuable about waking up without immediately thinking about the next meeting.

About having breakfast without checking the time.

About spending an afternoon without having to be anywhere.

It sounds simple.

In reality, for many of us, it has become one of the rarest luxuries.

When Luxury Doesn’t Need to Be Loud

Luxury hospitality is changing.

For many years, the industry competed through excess: bigger suites, bigger lobbies, more restaurants, more marble, more everything.

Today, I think the definition is becoming more intelligent.

True luxury can be silence.

Privacy.

Nature.

Personalised service.

The ability to disappear from the outside world for a few days without sacrificing comfort.

And Anantara Mai Khao understands this very well.

Nothing here needs to shout for your attention.

The resort gives you space and allows you to decide how you want to experience it.

For me, that is a much more sophisticated form of luxury.

And a Touch of Hollywood

There is also an interesting pop-culture connection.

Anantara Mai Khao Phuket Villas was among the Thai locations featured in the third season of The White Lotus, bringing the resort to the attention of an even wider international audience.

It is a beautiful detail and certainly adds another layer of interest to the property.

But, surprisingly, I would not make it the main reason to come here.

Because the real strength of Anantara Mai Khao is not its screen appearance.

It is its atmosphere.

My Impression

After years of travelling, I increasingly judge hotels according to one very simple question:

How do I feel when I am there?

For me, Anantara Mai Khao Phuket Villas is about privacy, nature and the possibility of switching off the noise of the outside world for a few days.

You don’t have to constantly search for something to do here.

You can simply be.

And perhaps that is becoming one of the most valuable forms of luxury today — space, time and the freedom not to rush anywhere.

If you know Phuket primarily as a vibrant and busy holiday island, Anantara Mai Khao may introduce you to an entirely different side of it.

A quieter Phuket.

A more private Phuket.

And, perhaps, a Phuket you will want to return to.

WOW Magazine Rating

Top Hotels of the World — 2026 Edition