Six Senses Yao Noi
Vegan Food Quest boarded a private speedboat, and set off across the Andaman Sea with one thing in mind – to experience a slice of vegan luxury at Six Senses Yao Noi.
With private beaches surrounded by jungle, villas made from natural materials, plantation and sea views to choose from; every guest gets their own taste of private luxury at Six Senses Yao Noi.
The villas offer total privacy and relaxation with individual pools, huge decks and outside lounge areas
We loved the huge bath with plantation views and floor to ceiling sliding doors that opened up directly onto our pool, as well as letting fresh air and natural light into our room.
The pool at The Hill Top Reserve offered the most amazing view, truly breathtaking and definitely one of the coolest places in the resort, although competition for that title was stiff.
Another contender was The Den, which was home to a chilled out library and an outside dining area with tables sunken in between lotus ponds, or the glass floored restaurant area where water from a waterfall can be seen gushing underneath.
Choosing the coolest place at Six Senses Yao Noi was very tough indeed…
Yoga lovers (like us) can enjoy the daily classes in the outdoor ‘Living Room’, it was a totally memorable experience to practice yoga at Six senses Yao Noi, surrounded by the trees and overlooking the beautiful ocean below.
The Vegan Food
What better welcome gift could a vegan guest want than delicious plant-based snacks left in their room for them to nibble on?
Another favourite spot for a to find vegan food at Six Senses Yao Noi, was the ice cream parlour. It served a choice of 11 different (complimentary) sorbets all day long – yes, that’s right, unlimited free vegan sorbet!
They have vegan toppings too, including dark chocolate chips, flaked and crushed nuts and coconut cream coated peanuts, we only managed to work our way through 3 of the flavours and will have to learn to live with this regret.
Vegan breakfast at Six Senses Yao Noi offered an extensive buffet with fresh fruit and salads (grown in the Six Senses garden), fruit juices and vegan granola (they have a choice of plain soya milk or soya milk with black sesame).
We ate vegan ‘Pad See Ew’ from one of the live cooking stations; made from soft, wide, flat rice noodles seasoned with soy sauce, sesame and garlic and crammed full of crunchy fresh vegetables and fried, firm tofu cubes. We indulged in the freshest of fresh vegetables, lightly wok-fried to preserve their goodness and seasoned with soy and garlic, garnished with crushed peanuts, sweet pickled chillies and dried chillies.
Never wanting to miss out on eating some vegan Indian food, we took the chef up on his offer of making us a vegetable curry. We were so glad we did as he made us a rich and sour curry packed with tomato flavours, full of vegetables and spices and with a nice chilli kick.
Western style vegan cooked breakfast options included homemade baked beans, grilled tomatoes and potato wedges. With a slice or two toast (made from freshly baked vegan bread) we had yet another delicious breakfast option available.
Six Senses often welcome guest chefs to showcase their talent and we were fortunate to be staying when chefs from the renowned Bo.Lan restaurant in Bangkok were presenting a communal meal, featuring dishes from their restaurant.
The standout dish that we got to eat was a vegan ‘Lon Salad’ drenched in coconut milk and flavoured with lemongrass, shallots, chillies, ginger, white turmeric and fermented yellow bean. We also loved the ‘Durian Sticky Rice’ served for dessert, not only for the sweet and pungent flavours but for the talking point it provided on our table with all the other guests.
The Vegan Essentials
Six Senses has an extensive pillow menu, allowing vegan guests to happily select an animal free pillow from a choice that includes buckwheat, air and water pillows, we also had the choice of essential oils to scent our pillows at turn down.
The shampoo, conditioner and body wash that were provided in our villa were mainly full of natural plant based products but did have a few ingredients that may or may not have been derived from animal sources. We couldn’t get confirmation that they had not been tested on animals so can’t give them the vegan all clear.
The spa uses a lot of natural products from the surrounding plantation in their scrubs and other body treatments plus thee make their own organic coconut oil (which smelled and felt amazing). The Six Senses Spa brand shampoo and conditioners available for purchase in the spa weren’t vegan (contained silk amongst other things) but they did have a vegan lemongrass soy candle available to buy.
The Vegan Food Quest Verdict
Check-in here for your own slice of private, vegan luxury. Eat freshly made vegan food, including unlimited vegan sorbets, in amazing surroundings where nature is all around.
If they have a visiting chef preparing a special dining event, be sure to book your place for what is guaranteed to be a memorable meal.
We were guests of Six Senses Yao Noi but please rest assured that their generosity in hosting us didn’t influence our views
Six Senses Yao Noi
6 Moo 5, Tambol Koh Yao Noi
Amphur Koh Yao
Phang Nga 82160
Thailand
Telephone: +66 7641 8500
Email: reservations-yaonoi@sixsenses.com
Cost From: £380 / $760 per night (May 2015)