Located on the beach on Koh Phi Phi, Thailand - Zeavola is an award wining, sustainable resort that offers a relaxing island getaway.
Both of us have been scuba diving before and knew this was something we just had to do in Thailand. After doing our due diligence and tons of research, we quickly realized the place to go for diving would be the Phi Phi islands.
As part of the Krabi provence, the Phi Phi islands are a maze of several islands and large limestone formations jutting out of the bright blue Thai waters. Since Koh Phi Phi Don is the largest island in the group (yet pretty small with a population of only 2,000 - 3,000) , we figured it would make the perfect home base.
We quickly learned that Phi Phi Don had a lot of resorts sitting on it’s shores. We were looking for something right on the beach and somewhat secluded from the main part of town. We wanted to relax, explore and be able to do it without being in a party atmosphere or overwhelmed with families and kids. After seeing a few pictures online of Zeavola, we knew this was the place for us.
Zeavola is located on the northern tip of Koh Phi Phi on a white sandy beach, yet can easily be missed. The lush landscaping surrounding the property seems to hide the villas, only making way for a few pathways that lead to the individual rooms. We would be sleeping in a tropical forest, with the ocean at our doorstep! It was unreal, I would soon be that girl walking the beaches of Phi Phi, pretending like I was in a scene from The Beach. This was going to be heaven!
The Experience
As soon as we arrived at the island we were treated with typical Thai hospitality, including cold towels, refreshing juice and kind smiles. After a quick check in we were taken to our villa, which was only steps from the beach via a private little walkway. Our villa was pretty large with a large outdoor living space, large bedroom and full bathroom/dressing room, complete with an outdoor shower -- and just steps from the beach, surrounded by tropical landscape. How could this get any better!
As soon as the bellman left, we pulled our swimsuits on and took in the surroundings. Here we were on a small island, birds singing in the distance, waves gently crashing in front of us and beautiful flowers and greenery keeping things private. We were trapped in a screensaver image and it was perfectly okay!
If it starts raining, embrace it! One of my favorite memories of Zeavola was when it started to pour rain on our way back to our room one night. We sat on our porch and just stared at the rain coming down over the trees and flowers. It was beautiful!
“Zeavola is unpretentious, laid-back, private and the best option for those looking to stay on Koh Phi Phi. ”
The Sustainable Way
Many hotels we’ve stayed at have claimed to be sustainable and sure they use energy saving lightbulbs and a few other tips and tricks, but never have we seen a hotel so dedicated as Zeavola. From the moment we entered the property we were shown the ways in which they give back to their environment and protect their natural resources. Zeavola has a water reserve system which includes four deep wells and a reverse osmosis plant to minimize unnecessary water consumption at the resort. They create their own mulch which is then used to feed the surrounding plants and trees.
My favorite part of their long list of achievements is the coral nursery and program they maintain called Coral Freedom, which focuses on reversing the devastating effects of coral bleaching, a consequence of high carbon footprints and increasing global warming. To this day over 10,000 coral fragments have been replanted around Phi Phi that were regenerated in Zeavola’s coral nursery.
Before we arrived at Zeavola, I had read that they had won numerous awards for being sustainable, green, etc., yet I never knew what it really meant. It wasn’t something that I ever paid attention to or gave much though. Now that I’ve seen “being sustainable” in action, Irealized its true meaning. It’s not just changing your lightbulbs to me more efficient, being sustainable is an attitude. It’s an attitude of gratitude for your surroundings and community, it’s a way of life and a beautiful one at that.
Getting to Koh Phi Phi
Most people will arrive by plane for Koh Samui or Phuket and then take a ferry or speed boat to the island. Fortunately the hotel has their own speedboat and does an amazing job of organizing your transfer service. We were actually coming to Phuket from another smaller island and met our driver at one of the Marinas. They then took us to another marina where we boarded our boat for a quick trip to the island. After an hour of weaving around tiny islands and taking in the incredible scenery we had arrived at Zeavola!
“Make sure to contact Zeavola regarding your transfer service. Their private speedboat is much more accommodating than trying to deal with the public ferry.”
For more information about Zeavola Resort make sure to visit their website: