Amora Beach Resort, Phuket. Thailand Elevates Iberian Beach Club Cool To New Heights.

Michael Edwards road tests bars and spa at the Amora Beach Resort, Phuket

“At least it’s Friday,” one bronzed Adonis ironically sighed as he reached for his mojito. He had only just sunk into his cabana at the Nora Beach Club after morning yoga and an exhilarating jet-ski ride. He had his eyes on one of the dining pods sunk into the beach club pool as his table for lunch. Placing him in in pole position for the regular Friday evening Fire Show of pyrotechnic acrobatics and dancers’ flaming headdresses.

An aroma of coconut sun lotion, frangipani and mint-laced cocktails hung in the air. You could bottle it, brand it “Tropical Paradise” and make a fortune in bleak Britain.

Back home in the UK it may have been sub-zero miserable, compounded by Dry January – but here on Bang Tao Beach, Phuket’s, second-longest strip of soft-sand, it was an Iberian summer. Hotter in some ways. Cooler in others. Briefly, for the merest nano-second, a paraglider cast a fleeting shadow, from an otherwise cloudless sky.

“Another day in paradise,” as Phil Collins may have crooned – if he’d been sufficiently hip to make the Nora DJ’s chilled-vibes playlist.

As guests arrive at Amora Beach Resort, usually after a 30-minute taxi ride through a traffic frenzy of ageing pick-ups and milling mopeds, the resort announces its serenity. Porters and receptionists smile, place the palms of their hands together in a prayer-like gesture that combines warmth and hospitality. Cool coconut water and a chilled flannel complete the welcome.

As the guests explore, they discover that Amora Beach Resort, unlike many hotels along the coast, has direct barefoot access to the beach. Surroundings hills give way to a coastal plain of casuarina, palm and sea almond trees, before egg-yolk yellow sands slope into the blues and turquoises of the Andaman Sea. Amora’s estate stretches over many rai, the Thai equivalent of acres. It is so spacious that the Nora Beach Club and the Aqua Kids Club co-exist, largely unaware of the other’s existence.

Returning to Adonis, I ask about his plans, “OK, so tomorrow may be the weekend. But I thought you planned to go island-hopping through the Andaman Sea?” Sparing him the dream itinerary of the Phi Phi islands, James Bond Island and beyond.

“No, Saturdays are for taking it easy. Not even a gym session,” he added, casting a disdainful glance towards a glassy pavilion of a gym: an exertion of bikes, treadmills, weights and fortunately air-conditioning. His girlfriend applied more suntan lotion before once more losing herself in 700 pages of medieval fiction. Amora gives the gift of time, freedom to spend days as you choose.

Although many consider Phuket a fly-and-flop destination, especially if they’ve arrived from Bangkok or Singapore, it’s hard to establish where spa treatments sit on the holiday activity continuum that ranges from sun-lounger sleepy to beach volleyball competitive. Certainly, Thailand takes the soft power of spa very seriously, treatments fall under the remit of a government ministry.

At Amora the LOM Talay Spa is inspired by traditional Thai healing and the soothing sea breeze. If Thailand ever appoints a Minister for Spas, little change will be required to LOM Talay’s menu of massages, body scrubs and treatment therapies.

A £10 m refurbishment, complete at the end of 2024, as well as creating the Nora Beach Club, reconfigured the resort to feature 264 spacious rooms. Our pool view room, with wide balcony, has a bed large enough to sleep four or more. Whilst the bathroom has space for a free-standing roll-top bath and a separate shower.

Amora’s Isla restaurant has serious competition, restaurant shacks on the beach, local food courts and it responds with outstanding Thai food and excellent service. Though Western dishes, like a seafood linguini taking advantage of locally sourced superb shellfish, are available too.

At lunchtime, a light lunch in the air-conditioned Isla Restaurant – perhaps satays or Thai fish cakes or shrimp rolls – is a tempting break from the sun. For dinner, through the week, the restaurant rings the changes with a steak night, a Thai buffet and a seafood buffet.

Of course it is hard to leave paradise. The Elephant Jungle Sanctuary, arranged by Amora’s concierge services, is a top temptation. A taxi collects guests for a 30 minutes’ drive to feed elephants, who need a minimum of 200 kg of food per day, and shower them too. For another trip out, come evening, the colourful extravaganza of the FantaSea show delivers a spectacular presentation of Thai storytelling taking in acrobatics, culture, dancing, elephants, music and dinner.

By the time sun slips away and the last embers of the Fire Show fade, Amora Beach Resort has won over yet more fans. Amora has brought Iberian beach club style to Phuket but softened with Thai grace. Whether your perfect day is choreographed with yoga, jet skis and DJs, or topping up the tan by the pool, Amora simply enables you to make the most of Phuket. Your Phuket.