The Enchanting InterContinental Khao Yai Resort

Thailand's Unique Resort

Farah and I could not have had a more perfect stay than the three days we spent at InterContinental Khao Yai Resort northeast of Bangkok, writes Floyd Cowan

When Farah and I walked into the enchanting lobby of the InterContinental Khao Yai Resort, it put a smile on my face. The attentive and helpful staff, along with the refurbished railway carriage suites and the 19 lush acres of its grounds, kept that smile there for the duration of our stay. Designer Bill Bensley invested absolutely every idea possible into creating this imaginative railway themed resort. The lobby is like railway station, not a modern station but a colourful creative, quirky creation that has you checking out the smallest things so as not to miss any of the delightful details.

More than Railway Carriages

After editing the story for the December – January 2024 issue of Asian Journeys about how Bensley came up with and executed the train theme for the resort I was highly anticipating staying there. You can find the story on-line (https://asianjourneys.com.sg/magazine) or in print. The actual stay was better than anticipated and the resort is much more than carriages and the railway focus.

To get to Khao Yai from Bangkok, depending on where you are in the city, should take about 2 ½ hours. As we were coming from Pattaya it took close to four hours. When you enter Khao Yai the scenery becomes more interesting, at times captivating as you pass large airplanes, large golden Buddhas, replicas of the Leaning Tower of Piza and fields of flowers (depending on the time of year). In the April-May 2018 edition of Asian Journeys I wrote about a Tourism Authority of Thailand familiarization trip that took us to wineries, farms, religious sites, hotels, restaurants, markets and a variety of tourist attractions.