When I visited Krabi, Thailand way back when, I bunked in a tiny guesthouse owned by a German and his Thai family, and walked along the main road late at night to the only open store nearby to procure dinner, which ended up being canned tuna and a cold Singha.

Clearly, the Krabi of today offers a far different experience. Case in point: the opening of the luxe 276-room Sofitel Phokreethra Krabi Resort. Situated on the Adaman Sea’s Klong Muang Beach, the resort is one more property to appear and raise the area’s profile from a common transit stop en route to other destinations like Ao Nang to full-on tourist destination (which may make it appeal more to some, less to others). Upscale amenities like wi-fi, 24-hour room service, three restaurants, five bars, tennis courts, fitness center, swimming pools, a sauna and additional perks like onsite dry cleaning and spa services deliver the high-end resort experience in spades.

As you’d expect, room rates are comparable to what you’d pay at a Sofitel anywhere. I plugged in a few nights in February 2007, and rooms were going for $181-337 USD depending on the room and restrictions (it’s cheaper if you forfeit your cancellation option).

Sofitel Phokreethra Krabi