Phanom Bencha Mountain Resort in Krabi City

Phanom Bencha Mountain Resort is a place you will not quickly forget. If you prefer quiet, rustic settings where you can share the experience of locals in Thailand as opposed to the city or touristy beach stays, stop looking and book a stay. Son and Joop will make you feel like family. Home cooked meals, personal care (Son even checked in on me to make sure I made it back from a day trip) and down to earth company with great people. You won't have to deal with loud, boisterous guests here. The clientele are here to get away from the noise. It's an opportunity to meet like minded people from around the world and share time away from the busy day to day many of us endure in our daily lives. There are many opportunities to explore Krabi from the resort. A local national park, Tiger Cave Temple or other customized trips can be arranged via Son. One caveat, if you are skittish about rustic living, meaning that you are sharing your space with local fauna, you may find this isn't for you. If the thought of listening to the gentle calling of house gecko's, presence of the occasional snail or insect sounds like fun immersion in rural, Thai life, you will leave with lifetime memories. Mosquitoes. Let's get that out of the way. I stayed in October, toward the end of the rainy season. I was shocked that I saw a maybe two mosquitoes (one did score a meal...but met her end) the entire time. The rooms do have netting to keep you protected while you sleep but again I saw very few insects in the cabana. Perhaps the gecko's helped keep me insect free! So if you want to experience a bit of what living in rural Thailand is like, albeit while being pampered by your hosts, this is a no brainer. Experiences like this are few and far between. Thank you again to Son, Joop and family for making me feel like part of yours!

We had a fantastic stay at Phanom Bencha Mountain Resort. Son and his wife treateds us like family guests. An associate picked us up at the airport on New Year's Eve. Son greeted us warmly and showed us to our bungalow. Our luggage was carried for us, which was good. I do not think we would have made it up the hill in the dark if we had to carry our luggage. I would characterize this place as a bush resort, but it was the first bush resort I have stayed at with hot and cold running water. The bed was excellent and the veranda was beautiful. The resort is tucked into a narrow mountain valley on the back side of Phanom Bencha National Park. The sun was shining on a massive limestone bluff when I awoke on the morning of New Year's Day. The place is gorgeous. The restaurant was a covered deck beside a small impoundment on the valley's principal stream, where you can watch fish and birds and large water monitor lizards. The food was always fresh and well presented. We explored the menu for 11 meals and found a few things we did not like, but most of it was excellent. We encountered cigarette smoke a few times, but mostly we were able to avoid it by sitting near the edge of the deck where there was open air. Our daughter took advantage of the free wifi on the deck between meals. I was surprised to find the rock pool near the top of the hill, rather than on a permanent stream. The water was very clear when we first arrived, but it was beginning to get green with algae a couple of days later. They have to clean it out every few days. Nevertheless, it was a beautiful swimming hole. We avoided the centipedes that were living on the largest boulder. The other emergent boulders were good places to sit. My wife and I enjoyed bird watching throughout the valley. The bill for our stay was surprisingly low. I did not have any Thai baht when I arrived in the country, and Son only accepts cash. That was not a problem. Son trusts his associate who drove us to our next destination. We just stopped at an ATM machine. I was able to get enough cash to pay for our lodging, meals, transport, and a wildlife tour that we had taken. It was a convenient ending to a very good stay.

This is a true jungle experience with the nicest hosts ever. The food is exceptional and we were treated like family.

Lovely family running this place😊Helpfull,friendly, very good food and really not much to complain about😊👍 Thank you to Son and his family for making this a very good stay for us😊

Beautiful Phanom Bencha.
Great place for getting away into really natural surroundings. It is set back in jungle territory and the accommodation is basic mountain bungalows. This is not the type of place with all mod cons but that’s what makes it special. No TV. No Air con. No fridge. No kettle but what you do get is a very warm welcome from hosts Son and Mama Joop. The place is family run and really has that family vibe. You don’t feel like a guest in a resort but a friend. Food is cooked fresh onsite and is so very tasty. Every meal I had was spot on. You may have a frog in the bathroom and a few lizards living in the ceiling but again that’s what makes the place special. I will definitely be back there again in future.

Amazing place in nature, extremely warm and friendly people. Beautiful hikes, peace and tranquility and really incredibly amazing food. Everything was so good. We will definately come back when we come back to krabi.

Very nice people and quite lovely place. an ultra welcoming family affair, smiling, the place is very quiet, The meal was excellent and especially in a family atmosphere.. the small chalets are very simple but effective, thank you Khun Son for this beautiful evening, see you soon 🙏🙏

We stayed one night, on our way to Lanta after arriving at Krabi airport. It's a 30 minute drive from the airport. We could as well have stayed a week. The bungalows are beautifully spread on a hillside with an amazing variety of plants and trees. In the morning you wake up surrounded by great views of high mountains and high cliffs around you. Son is super friendly, and serves great coffee. His garden with a little river around it can entertain for hours!

I may be a bit biased, I've been visiting this wilderness resort for the past 8 years now and I know Son and his family well. I would rate this unique location 5 stars whether I knew the people who manage it, or not. Do yourself a big favor and stay for a couple nights and completely UNWIND.

The accommodations consist of nature bungalows spaced widely apart, and yet convenient to the restaurant and information center. There are lakes, fruit trees of all sorts, and hundreds of varieties of flowers and wildlife species so you can get close to nature.

Thailand is often visited for the islands, the city of Bangkok. This amazing little nature resort in Krabi Noi, just outside of Krabi Town, is an oasis of peace and wonder.

I have never had a bad experience staying overnight in the bungalows, or adventuring on mountain hikes at this location. If you want a place to either get back to nature, or just forget about your life back at home - this is the place!

Vern Lovic
Krabi Resident