On Phuket, made famous by the splendour of its beaches, Nai Harn Beach stands out among the beauty queens – for two reasons. First comes geography, which has been especially generous by placing this 660 metre strip of sand in a deep bay with a towering mountain at one end, undulating hills off to other side, and a picturesque coco island in front. Buddhism can be complimented for the next stroke of luck, because all land directly behind the beach was occupied long ago by monks in need of a quiet meditation centre. With the land now monastic property, commercial developers are permanently locked out, and trees continue to dominate everything the top of the sand. When walking along Nai Harn Beach we thus see only a single building, The Nai Harn (originally the Phuket Yacht Club Hotel), built rather unobtrusively into the western hillside.
Nai Harn is thus the only one of Phuket's stunningly beautiful, sandy quintuplets that remains quite natural, with a plethora of beach umbrellas the only real scar on its face. The other four tropical beauties that helped make Phuket world famous with their soft coral sand and calm, crystal water – Patong, Karon, Kata, Kata Noi –all suffer from various degrees of concrete constipation.
Having so little beachfront accommodation here helps the beach, but limits visitors' choices. The Nai Harn occupies one of the most magnificent locations on Phuket, and was the island's premier hotel in the 1990s. Following a refurbishment in 2015 it will be trying to reclaim some of its former glory. Nearby Baan Krating Phuket Resort is a beautiful getaway for those seeking real privacy in a natural environment.