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Glamping on Koh Yao Island

7,748 viewsBy Willy Thuan · Living in Phuket since 1994

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9 Hornbills Tented Camp is a set of spacious luxury tents built high on the hillside of Koh Yao Noi, just above Six Sense Hideaway Yao Noi and part of Koyao Island Resort. Each tent stands on a vast piece of land, with a large and warm private pool and jaw-dropping views of Phang Nga Bay cliffs in the distance. The tents include many sitting areas, an open-air shower and a beautiful bathtub with ocean views. The experience is truly relaxing and unique, with such panoramic views and settings.

(89 reviews) #10 of 16 hotels in Ko Yao Noi

Hotel Summary
Location	Koh Yao Noi, hillside location above Six Senses, part of Koyao Island Resort
Beach	630m to the beach. Elevated hillside setting with jaw-dropping Phang Nga limestone cliff views
Hotel	4-star luxury tents. Spacious safari-style accommodation with large private pools and multiple sitting areas
Facilities	Private warm pools in each tent, open-air showers, bathtubs with ocean views. 2 restaurants, 1 bar
What’s Around	Tropical hillside setting. Local island villages are accessible. Part of the larger Koyao Island Resort grounds
Who is it for	Couples and honeymooners want a unique glamping experience with luxury. Not for beach proximity or families with young children
Worth Noticing	Exceptional panoramic bay views. Unique tented glamping with full luxury amenities. Large private plots ensure complete privacy
Price	Upper mid-range

Enough vegetation and wooden walls surround each tent to offer total privacy, a rare luxury considering how vast and open the land surrounding each one is. Each plot feels like its own small estate. There are fans and a light cooling system just for the bed, but it gets hot during the hottest months of the year, even in the pool. Don’t bring a drone either. You will not be allowed to fly it.

Remember that this is glamping, not a traditional hotel stay. The tents are spacious and well-designed, with canvas walls, polished wood floors, and proper furniture throughout. The open-air shower is set into the hillside vegetation, and the bathtub sits right at the edge of the deck with an unobstructed view of Phang Nga Bay. The private pool is heated, which sounds unnecessary until you arrive on a cool January morning.

I took all my meals at the front of the tent, which added a real sense of escape. The service is fast and discreet, and the food is genuinely good. You can eat in the pool from a floating tray if you want, though I preferred a table under the fan. The views in the morning sun, with the limestone cliffs of Phang Nga Bay in the distance, are the kind that stay with you.

Later I rented a small motorbike to drive around the island and try local restaurants. The island is small and traffic is minimal, which makes it easy and safe. Koh Yao Noi hasn’t changed much in the past decades and has kept a true Thai identity. The beaches are nothing spectacular, but the atmosphere is charming. There are a few fishing villages around the island where you can eat excellent fresh seafood at very local prices.

Getting to 9 Hornbills requires a bit of planning. From Phuket, you take a boat from Bang Rong pier on the north-east coast of the island, which takes around 30 minutes to reach Koh Yao Noi. The camp organises transfers from the pier. It is part of the Koyao Island Resort complex, so the check-in process is handled at the main resort before you are taken up to the tents.

This is a place for couples who want something genuinely different. The combination of full luxury inside the tent and the raw, open hillside setting around it is rare. I have stayed in many places across Thailand, and this one is hard to compare to anything else.