Zenith Choose: COMO Level Yamu & COMO Metropolitan Bangkok, Thailand

As somebody who’s all the time on the highway, I’ve lengthy thought-about COMO Inns and Resorts my good friend. The model’s concentrate on each sense of place and holistic wellness are soothing respite from the frenetic power of fixed motion. Nevertheless it took a stellar keep in COMO’s Thailand locales to formally inaugurate the model into my Zenith Choose column. Right here’s why.

COMO POINT YAMU I’ve by no means really needed to go to Phuket; by all accounts it represents each unappealing stereotype of mass-market Thai tourism. I went anyway, on the beckoning of Como Level Yamu. Or did I? The lodge, perched on a peninsula removed from the hub of economic Phuket, is mostly a world unto itself—a world I used to be blissful to get misplaced in for just a few days.

Encircled by verdant mountains and cerulean seas, COMO Level Yamu has an Alice-in-Wonderland really feel to it, its vivid, whimsical designs by Paola Navone a playful but elegant twist on Thai traditions. 79 palatial rooms and suites have a deliberate shade scheme: blue mirrors the waters of the Andaman Sea, burnt orange references robes of Buddhist monks and Phuket’s distinctive Peranakan heritage. 27 personal villas embody a few of the most gorgeous infinity swimming pools possible.

The meals is divine with out being gluttonous—no straightforward feat within the culinary capital that’s Thailand. For breakfast I ate an egg-white omelette like none different: fluffy as a merengue, with native asparagus inexperienced goddess dressing. For lunch, lounging on the obscenely snug day beds by the expansive pool, I ordered from La Sirena, which serves up a profitable mix of Mediterranean and native eats: steamed native sea bass, Moroccan spiced curry, pumpkin risotto, pizzas, phad Thai, myriad Thai soups (to not point out recent watermelon juice, a number of wholesome smoothies—and 5 flavors of mojitos). However the spotlight was nightly dinner at Nahmyaa, maybe essentially the most inimitable Thai delicacies I’ve ever loved. I assumed I’d died and gone to heaven upon tasting Hor Mok Pla, fish souffle in banana leaf. The curried lemongrass salad, the wok-fried banana coronary heart with tiger prawns and prawn oil—and the record of palate-energizing delicacies goes on.

I’d deliberate on getting off the resort. There have been choices, in spite of everything: mountaineering, crusing to a close-by island, taking a cooking class, exploring historic Phuket City. And COMO Journeys are a factor: one-of-a-kind retreats and residencies with a concentrate on motion, journey and cultural immersion—suppose boxing with the professionals in Bali, perfecting padel with the Rafa Nadal Academy within the Maldives, photographing the landscapes of Bhutan.

As an alternative, day after day, I obtained mesmerized by mountains whereas perched on these good day beds. At some point I made a decision to take a stroll to the seaside. “There’s no seaside,” stated the safety guard as I exited. Oh, however there was. Not a seaside for the vacationer hordes however an excellent stretch of empty sand reaching out to a good looking bay, topped by the three most completely located swings on this planet. I spent hours on them, soaking within the blissful magnificence. Then I returned to my room, took a lemongrass-scented bathtub in a large saucer (so I dubbed the funky bathtub), and watched because the solar set crimson and the low tide made the ocean, stunningly, disappear into itself.

Days later I arrived in Bangkok, which could as properly be one other universe: a concrete jungle whose bushes are skyscrapers, caressing the clouds. Enter COMO Metropolitan Bangkok, simply essentially the most serene setting within the metropolis—particularly on condition that it’s within the coronary heart of the hectic Central Enterprise District. My stylish, minimalist room felt like a yoga studio. The COMO Shambhala City Escape spa beckoned with all method of therapy.

However the crown jewel was nahm, COMO Metropolitan Bangkok’s storied restaurant, for the final seven years awarded a Michelin star. Impressed by trendy Thai delicacies, Chef Pim serves up such delights as natural scallop and roselle blossom, kam pachi ceviche with white turmeric and inexperienced mango on betel leaf, tom yum of prawn, mushrooms and chili jam ,and smoked duck soup with sago palm tapioca. If the meals wasn’t sufficient to make me overlook the city grit outdoors, the beautiful setting was: amber-colored décor and brick columns are intentionally harking back to Ayutthaya temples, divinely inspiring as COMO likes to do.