Just two and a half hours’ drive northeast of Thailand’s capital city, Khao Yai has captured Bangkokian hearts with its blend of natural beauty, local culture, wildlife, hiking, biking, wineries, galleries, markets, and gastronomy.
However, despite boasting Thailand’s oldest and third largest national park, a world-class winery, and a dozen or more world-class golf courses, lodging has tended to be rustic or of the inconsistent Airbnb variety.
This changed in 2022 with the opening of the Inter-Continental Khao Yai Resort on 19 hectares of lush tropical landscape with over 30,000 trees and five lakes.
Sprung from the fertile imagination of award-winning architect and interior designer Bill Bensley, the extremely unique escape takes historical inspiration from Khao Yai’s role as a hub for rail transportation along trunk lines steaming towards northeast Thailand beginning in the late reign of King Rama V.
Bensley and associates managed to find 19 Thai vintage railway carriages in various states of neglect and disrepair around Thailand, and to completely renovate them into state-of-the-art accommodation while preserving the look and the ambience of late 19th- and early 20th-century railway culture.
Sixteen of the cars became guest suites and villas, while two were converted into fine dining venues Poirot and the Tea Carriage. Another car houses Back on Track Spa, which uniquely showcases a boarding foyer presumably in the state in which it was found, with a dramatic entangling of strangler fig roots and branches.
Real railway lines are installed alongside the cars so that while walking in the area, one might truly feel as if one had stumbled upon an historic rail junction in the forest. Adding to the exotic atmosphere is a stand of baobab trees from Madagascar and three varieties of wild swans living in the five lakes.
Arriving guests are received in a wooden building designed to resemble the ticketing lobby of an old Thai train station, complete with ticket windows, a stationmaster bell, and other railway memorabilia, ranging from vintage travel trunks to old tickets and timetables. The resort promotes a background story in which “Somsak,” a train conductor and railway aficionado, has built the resort to express his love for train travel in Thailand and beyond to neighboring Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, and Singapore.
Each of the railway villas and suites boasts a huge, comfortable bed at one end of the car, a bathroom and walk-in wardrobe in the car’s middle reach, and a kitchenette and lounge at the other end. Wallpapers evoking rolling countryside vistas and strategically placed ambient backlights complement rich wood paneling crafted to emulate original carriage windows.
Bespoke loom-woven textiles from Jim Thompson Fabric adorn the upholstery. All villas and suites come with attached outdoor spaces, whether a balcony, terrace, or a private plunge pool.
The very popular Planet Trekkers Kids Club is also housed in a heritage railcar and boasts its own private garden. A sizeable outdoor pool on the grounds is available for recreation, exercise, or just cooling off, and for serious workouts, there’s a well-equipped 24-hour fitness center.
When it comes to cuisine, executive chef Khun Nirut, a native of the Khao Yai area, approaches dining in much the same way as Bensley did the accommodations, with one eye on tradition and authenticity and another on creature comforts.
Somying’s Kitchen (named for “Somying,” the fabled train conductor’s wife) offers an eclectic selection of Thai and international culinary experiences with an emphasis on farm-to-table concepts. The restaurant sources ingredients from the hotel’s own organic farm as well as from local farmers.
Somying Saab, a signature dish which should not be missed, presents a grilled whole free-range chicken, splayed on a banana leaf alongside Korat-style somtam (spicy shredded green papaya salad with fermented freshwater fish sauce), Laap Moo (minced spiced pork), and sticky rice with local-recipe dipping sauces.
Another menu choice well worth trying is Yum Som O Goong, a spicy salad of shredded pomelo served with grilled prawn and coconut oil essence. For those ready for a deeper Thai food culture experience, there’s Nam Prik Kapi Platoo, a pungent shrimp paste-and-chili dip served with shrimp paste served with salt-preserved mackerel, and steamed seasonal vegetables.
The international side of the menu at Somying’s Kitchen ranges from sumptuous salads to pasta and steaks. Tagliatelle with Lamb impresses with fresh pasta and lamb shank stew, topped with blue cheese and mint.
Chef Nirut hosts a regular chef’s table near the open kitchen, designed to provide diners with more insight into the culinary skills and authentic ingredients used in the restaurant.
The attractively displayed daily breakfast buffet offers a range of both Thai and western dishes, including moo ping (pork BBQ skewers) with sticky rice, tom yum scrambled eggs, omelets with northern Thai sausage) and Khao Pad Rod Fai (Train Fried Rice, a simple yet classic dish associated with the early years of the Thai railway that has almost completely disappeared from Thai tables).
The pride of the resort’s train theme is Poirot, a formal French dining experience reminiscent of the golden age of first-class train travel, located in a restored heritage train carriage. The vintage railcar is named for Hercule Poirot, the fictional Belgian detective hero of Agatha Christie’s famed 20th-century mystery novels.
Signature dishes include Soupe à l’Oignon, classic French onion soup simmered from beef broth and caramelized onions, and served with grilled bone marrow and Gruyère cheese; Boeuf Bourguignon, a standard of French cuisine elevated here with Australian Wagyu beef tenderloin (marbling score 8/9) braised in rich red wine gravy and served with potato purée, pearl onions and smoked streaky bacon; and traditional Savarin Cake given a Poirot touch with macadamia, vanilla ice cream, 70% dark chocolate sauce and a Cognac flambé.
Every three months, Poirot hosts a “Murder Mystery Dinner on the Khao Yai Express,” by reservation only, in which guests enjoy at 5-course dinner while working together to solve a mock Christie-inspired mystery in which one guest is revealed to be a killer.
A short stroll away is Papillon, an impressive bar ensconced in another restored vintage railway carriage and serving both bespoke and classic cocktails. Daytimes favor Lakeside Tea Carriage, where traditional high tea is laid out from 11am to 6pm daily alongside one of the resort’s lakes. Aside from curated teas or coffees, one can enhance the experience by adding champagne or wine pairings.
A trip to Khao Yai isn’t complete without a visit to the area’s premiere winery, GranMonte. Family-owned and operated, GranMonte produces international award-winning wines from 100% estate-grown wine grapes by oenologist Nikki Lohitnavy, the daughter of estate owners Sakuna and Visooth Lohitnavy.
The main estate lies in a valley 350 meters above sea level with vineyards covering 100 rai, with an additional 200 rai elsewhere in the Khao Yai region. GranMonte successfully registered “Khao Yai Wine” as a Geographical Indication in 2018. Among the vinifera varieties produced here are Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Durif, Grenache, Chenin Blanc, Verdelho, Viognier, Sauvignon Blanc, and Semillon.
Visitors may join the Vineyard and Winery Tour, a fun and educational tour that runs approximately one hour and 15 minutes. In a comfortable tour trailer, visitors explore the vineyards, where viticulture techniques, climate, soil, and grape varieties are explained by a friendly multilingual guide. In the Asoke Valley Winery, visitors observe the winemaking operation, including winemaking equipment, fermentation tanks, and the barrel room filled with fragrant oak barrels.
The tour ends with a tasting of four premium wines accompanied by local Thai cheese and snacks. During the harvest months from January to mid-March, the winery arranges special harvest tours to observe late-night grape-harvesting.
From French cooking in historic train carriages to a close-up look at new latitudes winemaking, Khao Yai offers plenty to occupy the weekend gourmand