Anantara Si Kao — the 5-star Andaman resort that closed by court order
If you searched Anantara Si Kao Resort & Spa in a list of Trang hotels and fell for those Andaman sea views, read this first. This was once one of Sikao's most talked-about 5-star beachfront resorts — but it has been closed since 2018, after the Supreme Court ruled that its land title overlapped protected forest and Hat Chao Mai National Park and ordered it removed. So this is a look back at what it was, with an honest heads-up that several booking sites still list the name even though you can no longer stay there.
First, the part that matters most: Anantara Si Kao Resort & Spa is closed. The building dates to around 2003 and opened as Amari Trang before Minor Hotels rebranded it under the Anantara name in 2008. The land then became a long-running legal case after the national park authority argued the title overlapped protected forest and Hat Chao Mai National Park. It went through three courts until 2018, when the Supreme Court upheld the cancellation of roughly 37 rai of land title and ordered removal. The resort shut its doors and boarded up its entrance that year.
While it was open, this was a rare thing in Trang: a genuine 5-star beachfront resort. It sat on a promontory at Changlang Beach in Maifad, Sikao, a few minutes from the better-known Pak Meng beach. It had 138 rooms and suites, almost all facing the sea or the tropical gardens landscaped by the renowned designer Bill Bensley. The Sea View rooms were famous for sliding bathroom walls that opened the view right out to the Andaman, even from the bathtub — a detail guests mentioned again and again.
"The sea and island view from the room is what set this place apart from anything else nearby. Such a shame there's nowhere to stay there now."
Facilities in its heyday were full. There was an outdoor pool (including an adults pool), a spa where staff led guests across a lily pond to the treatment rooms, and three restaurants — Leelawadee for the garden breakfast buffet, Acqua for sea-view Italian, and The Beach House for Asian and Western dishes by the sand. A favourite in many reviews was the beach club on Ko Kradan, reached by the resort's own speedboat, since the resort's own beach was better for strolling than swimming.
Location was both the draw and the catch. It was quiet, private and looked out onto uninhabited islands — but it was also remote, with little to do off the property, so most guests stayed in or took boat trips to Ko Kradan, Ko Mook and the Emerald Cave. The Emerald Cave was about 15 minutes away by boat, and a shuttle ran to Pak Meng for a few baht. It suited people who wanted to switch off, not those hoping to wander into town in the evening.
On scores, Anantara Si Kao earned steady praise while it was open. Its aggregated Google rating sat at around 4.6 out of 5 from 213 reviews, with more than 140 of them five stars. The most-praised points were attentive staff, beautiful sea-view rooms, and the food. The most common gripes were limited off-resort activity, beach water that sometimes looked cloudy and foamy, and pricing on par with European or US luxury hotels.
One clear warning. Even though the resort closed years ago, several booking and price-comparison sites still list Anantara Si Kao with 2025–2026 rates. Those are mostly stale SEO pages, not real availability. If you see the name in your search results, the safest move is to skip it entirely and pick another place around Sikao–Pak Meng or on a nearby island.
The bottom line for anyone planning Trang now: Anantara Si Kao is a kind of legend of luxury Andaman stays that once defined Sikao — but in practice it is no longer something you can book. For a beach feel around Sikao–Pak Meng on a real budget, look at Pakmeng Resort; and if you want to sleep right by the sea on an actual island, Ko Mook and Ko Kradan have resorts that are still welcoming travellers.
Summary from Booking & Agoda
- ✓ Private Andaman beachfront with island views (when open)
- ✓ Attentive staff, consistently praised in reviews
- ✓ Beautiful sea-view rooms, gardens by Bill Bensley
- ✓ Food and spa were highlights for many guests
- ! Closed — you cannot book a stay
- ! Limited off-resort activity, remote location
- ! Stale listings make it look as if it's still open
- ✓ Once the most renowned 5-star beach resort in Sikao
- ✓ Sea View rooms opened the view right into the bathtub
- ✓ Beach club on Ko Kradan with speedboat transfers
- ✓ Genuinely quiet and private setting
- ! No longer operating; review data is from before closure
- ! Beach water sometimes looked cloudy and foamy
- ! Rates while open were very high vs international luxury
- 💡If you're about to book Anantara Si Kao for an upcoming trip — the resort is closed → switch to another stay around Sikao–Pak Meng or on Ko Mook or Ko Kradan instead.
- 💡If you see 2025–2026 rates on a comparison site — they are mostly stale SEO pages, not real rooms → don't pay or enter card details before confirming the hotel is genuinely open.
- 💡If you want the same luxury beachfront feel — Trang's mainland has no current equivalent at that level → consider staying on an island, or look at luxury resorts in nearby Krabi or Phang Nga.