Kirimaya Khao Yai — Tented Onsen Villas Beside the Fairways on the Edge of Khao Yai Park
When Thai travellers talk about the resort that put Khao Yai's luxury scene on the map, Kirimaya is usually the first name mentioned. It opened in 2004 as the area's first luxury resort, set on Thanarat Road right against the boundary of Khao Yai National Park. What guests come back for is the combination of an 18-hole Jack Nicklaus golf course that doubles as the view from the pool and most rooms, and the 180 sqm Tented Onsen Villas — canvas tents with a private soaking tub set out in the greenery — a setup few other resorts in Khao Yai can match.
Kirimaya opened in 2004 as one of the first luxury resorts in Khao Yai — and for a long stretch it was simply the reference point against which everything else in the area was measured. The name itself translates as 'the magic of the mountains,' and the whole property is laid out to follow the contours of the golf course and the ridgeline that rises behind it. Arriving, you turn off Thanarat Road and the landscape shifts almost immediately: the road narrows, trees close in on both sides, and the main reception — a low timber structure — sits quietly rather than announcing itself. That restraint carries through every corner of the resort. The 58 rooms and villas are spread across the grounds in four distinct categories. At the entry level, the 42 sqm Plantation View rooms look out over the garden and tree canopy; the Horizon View rooms at the same size offer a more open sightline toward the golf fairways and the mountain ridgeline in the distance. Both categories are finished with the same material language throughout the resort — warm timber floors, linen-weight curtains, and the signature bamboo-screen headboard walls that diffuse morning light into the room in a way that feels deliberate. The window daybeds are a consistent talking point among returning guests: a wide seat set right against the glass, stacked with cushions, positioned so that you can lie and watch the green outside without needing to move anywhere. The 84 sqm Terrace Suite steps up in size and adds a private outdoor terrace — useful for guests who want to spend extended time outside without sharing the pool deck. And at the top of the range are the two 180 sqm Tented Onsen Villas: tall canvas structures built over a solid timber and concrete base, each containing a private indoor soaking tub positioned so that you are, in effect, bathing under canvas with the treeline visible above you. The combination of the tent format with a proper luxury finish — stone soaking tub, proper bedding, air conditioning — is unusual enough that it draws guests who have no particular interest in the golf course at all. With only two of them on the property, availability is the main constraint: they fill weeks in advance during the cool season and on any long weekend. A practical note on booking: if your primary reason for coming is the Tented Onsen Villa, check dates well before you finalize travel plans. The resort also has a small number of Dog Friendly rooms across the Plantation View and Horizon View categories, accommodating guests travelling with pets — not a common offering at this price point in Thailand, and something a consistent subset of Kirimaya's returning guests specifically plan around. One final note on the room material: the bamboo-screen headboards deserve a mention on their own. They run floor to ceiling and are the single element that comes up most in long-form reviews from guests who have stayed more than once. In a resort where everything is designed to pull attention outward — toward the fairways, the hills, the tree canopy — the headboard manages to anchor the room inward without competing.
The heart of the resort is the 18-hole Jack Nicklaus golf course, running up to around 7,115 yards. It's designed as a single-track layout so each hole feels private, wrapped by the mountains and the forest of Khao Yai — a UNESCO World Heritage site. Even if you never pick up a club, the course works as a wide green view for the whole property. The pool is a long outdoor infinity pool along the fairway edge, lined with teak loungers and cream umbrellas. Several guests describe the best part of the day as sitting by the water early, before the sun gets strong, watching mist lift off the course.
The main restaurant is Acala, an open-sided pavilion over the water that lights up warmly at night and reflects on the surface — it has become the resort's signature photo spot. Breakfast is a large buffet that guests bring up often, with a wide spread and Thai dishes done well. There's also MAYA Spa for Asian-style massage and treatments, and Maya Bar for an evening drink. One thing worth knowing: weekend breakfast gets busy and noisy, so if you want a quieter table, go down right when the restaurant opens.
One guest recalls opening the curtains to "mist drifting over the fairways and the mountains behind" — and feeling that morning coffee on the balcony alone made the night worth it.
Here's the practical thing to know before you go: Kirimaya covers a lot of ground. The rooms, pool, restaurants, and clubhouse are spread well apart, and you call the resort's golf-cart shuttle to move between them. Reviewers note it's about a 3–4 minute ride from the rooms to breakfast, and over 10 minutes to some of the dinner venues. For a slow-paced getaway that's part of the charm — but if you're travelling with older family members or want to walk to everything yourself, it can feel less convenient than a small hotel.
On scores, Kirimaya sits at 9.0 from 438 guest reviews, with Agoda also around 9.0 across several thousand ratings. Cleanliness, staff, and the peace of the grounds draw the most praise. The honest criticism flags pricing that runs high relative to what you get, and some food and service charges that aren't made clear upfront. Weekends get crowded enough to thin out the quiet. These are real points worth planning your dates around rather than surprises to discover on arrival.
On pricing, Plantation View starts around ฿9,000/night, with the more open Horizon View from about ฿10,000. Dog Friendly rooms for guests bringing a pet start near ฿11,000. The Tented Onsen Villa runs from around ฿25,000/night, and with only two of them they book out fast — especially late in the rainy season into the cool months (November–January) when Khao Yai weather is at its best. Book several weeks ahead if you're targeting a long weekend.
The bottom line: Kirimaya works best for travellers who want a full luxury resort in Khao Yai — golf, spa, and a lot of open nature in one place without driving far from Bangkok (around two and a half hours). The design blends into the forest and hills, service is attentive, and the Tented Onsen Villa is a genuinely uncommon experience. If your budget reaches it and you want a stay you'll remember, the villa is worth trying once.
Summary from Booking & Agoda
- ✓ Expansive grounds, green and genuinely quiet — good for switching off
- ✓ Staff attentive and friendly
- ✓ Infinity pool with golf-course and mountain views is a standout
- ✓ Generous breakfast buffet, Thai dishes done well
- ! Large property — you ride a golf cart between areas
- ! Pricing runs high relative to what you get
- ! Weekends get crowded and the quiet thins out
- ✓ Design blends into the forest and hills — feels like a real resort
- ✓ Jack Nicklaus course praised for its views
- ✓ Tented Onsen Villa is an experience you rarely find
- ✓ Dog Friendly rooms mean you can bring a pet
- ! Some food and service charges not made clear upfront
- ! A few dinner venues are far — you need the shuttle
- ! High-season rates climb — book ahead
- 💡If you'd rather not walk far — the grounds are large and rooms, pool, and restaurants sit well apart, so you ride a golf-cart shuttle → if you're with older family, ask for a room near the clubhouse or restaurant at the time of booking
- 💡If you have your eye on a Tented Onsen Villa — there are only two, from around ฿25,000/night, and they fill quickly late in the rainy season → book several weeks ahead for a long weekend
- 💡If you're coming on a weekend — it gets crowded, breakfast is busy, and the quiet fades → if your dates are flexible, a weekday stay is noticeably calmer