An expert guide to southeast Asia's best boutique hotels

Times

25-04-2025

I stay at a lot of luxury hotels, reviewing between 30 and 40 a year, mostly around Asia as I live in Hong Kong. This isn't something that I would ever complain about (I realise how fortunate I am to have a job I love) but if I did have a niggle, it's that a lot of the big luxury brands aren't terribly creative or original. They often have a formula that works — starchitect designers, inoffensive decor, a curated art collection, a restaurant run by a celebrity chef and an opulent spa — but it's a modus operandi that inevitably becomes familiar. And what is familiar inevitably becomes, well, sometimes a bit dull.
There are exceptions, of course, but when I look back it tends to be the stays in boutique properties that I remember most vividly. The far-flung resort surrounded by rice fields on Sumba, Indonesia, built entirely from bamboo. That little place in Luang Prabang, Laos, which monks would stroll past unhindered by five-star security. The slick Kuala Lumpur boutique brought to life by a collective of like-minded creatives. The beach resort on the south central coast of Vietnam with way more verve than the £1,000-a-night joint down the road. The remote beachside yoga retreat in Bali that had a resident ghost (a benevolent policeman who would sing in the night). The stylish river retreat in rural Thailand with its own long tail boat and just the local village for neighbours, or Bangkok's most flamboyant hotel with its spicy opium den interiors.
Without big brand budgets, independently owned properties often spread by word of mouth making it tricker for most people to find those wonderful small hotels that sing with authenticity. To help you find the best, here's our pick of the best 25 boutique hotels in the region — covering Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia.
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Koh Russey forms part of an island chain in the south of Cambodia haloed by dazzling blue waters inhabited by tropical fish, seahorses and bioluminescent plankton. Having opened in March 2025, Jati takes full advantage of the wondrous location with a wealth of outdoor activities including a watersports centre, racketball courts, mini-golf, a Thai boxing ring, a kids' club and a beach club serving barbecue food and tiki cocktails for the more horizontally inclined. One and two-bedroom villas are brought to life with chunky bamboo furniture, rattan wall art and colourful Khmer fabrics — the best also have private pools.Details B&B doubles from £126. Fly to Sihanoukville
• Discover our full guide to Cambodia
The Aviary is just steps away from trendy art galleries, independent boutiques, cool cafés and chic restaurants in rapidly evolving Siem Reap, the northern Cambodian gateway city to the ancient wonders of Angkor Wat. Guests are greeted with cold lemongrass-scented towels, glasses of chilled tamarind juice and a collection of specially commissioned artworks inspired by the area's rich birdlife. There are 43 bright, comfortable rooms decked out in teak and cream, most of which come with balconies where you can perch with a coffee and listen to birdsong. The front desk can arrange tickets to Angkor Wat and other tours. Guests also have access to two swimming pools (with one on the rooftop), as well as a gym and small spa.Details B&B doubles from £85. Fly to Siem Reap
Verdant gardens, ponds of purple lotus flowers and a choice of aquamarine swimming pools, all a stone's throw from the Royal Palace, the National Museum of Cambodia and the buzzy Street 240, give the Plantation the feel of a true urban escape. Rooms are split between a low-rise 1960s building and a modern block with city views. Start your day with breakfast by the pool and end with dinner at the fine-dining restaurant La Pergola, which blends Khmer flavours with French culinary techniques — try the goat's cheese salad made with dragonfruit and organic honeycomb, the spicy watermelon gazpacho and the sweet and sour slow-cooked pork belly.Details Seven nights' room only from £599pp, including flights
Operating as a boutique hotel and a hospitality training school, Maringi Sumba is one of Indonesia's most memorable stays. It's positioned in eight hectares of gardens and farmland a short drive from the airport and the jaw-dropping beauty of Mananga Aba beach. Tucked between casuarina and eucalyptus trees is a shared swimming pool and nine villas almost entirely fashioned from bamboo, with vaulted ceilings, big netted beds and open-air bathrooms. There's also a welcoming restaurant and above-average spa, while cultural highs include visits to indigenous villages and the chance to ride Sumba's sandalwood ponies along the beach.Details Full-board doubles from £132, including laundry and airport transfers. Fly to Sumba via Denpasar or Jakarta
One of Bali's must-do dining experiences is a visit to the El Bulli alumnus Will Goldfarb's restaurant Room4Dessert. Here you can fill up on 15 courses of savoury snacks and perfect puddings including mango mascarpone cones, lime chocolate bubbles and jamu stradale. What's even sweeter is that guests can now stay over in one of nine rooms, including family suites with bunk beds. It's on the rainforested edges of Ubud, a five-minute taxi ride from the centre of town, and its boho decor channels the 1970s French Riviera with bright blocks of colour, Picasso-esque murals and stripy yellow sunloungers. Shared spaces include a fully equipped kitchen, a library packed with cookery books and a lagoon-shaped swimming pool shaded by frangipani trees.Details B&B doubles from £67. Fly to Denpasar
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Tejakula's mist-kissed rainforest and black sand seafront are off the beaten track but if you make the six-hour journey from the airport — an overnight stay in Ubud helps — you'll find Bali at its most idyllic. This intimate yoga retreat is split between two resorts, one ringing with birdsong in the Abasan mountains, the other rolling onto Pantai beach. Both are welcoming, entirely unpretentious and donate all profits to supporting the local community. In between sun salutations and cut-price massages, you can visit the local shaman, swing by a gamelan music school, admire ancient sea temples and snorkel in crystalline coral reefs.Details Full-board doubles from £59. Fly to Denpasar
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Clustered off the coast of Lombok, the Gili Islands are Indonesia's coolest corner, although accommodation options were fairly grungy until recently. A shimmy from Gili Air's calico beaches and bright coral reefs, Slow has ten private pool villas that artfully mix whitewashed walls with thatched roofs, chunky rustic furniture and local arts and crafts. There's no restaurant but an in-villa breakfast is included in the rate. Scuba, snorkelling, golfing and cooking classes can all be arranged. The spa is great, with a good range of reasonably priced treatments (60-minute massages from £20).Details B&B doubles from £182. Fly to Denpasar then take the ferry to Gili Air
The owner of this dreamy beach resort on the northwest coast of Lombok is one of the most prolific collectors of Indonesian art and antiquities in the country. Much of the collection has gone into Hotel Tugu, which is part hotel, part living museum: winged serpents soar along rooftops, Javanese puppets dance through the lobby and fantastical doorways lead to secret gardens. Each of its 35 rooms and villas is uniquely decorated but they all have reclaimed teak floors, carved wooden beds and a fabulous array of arts and crafts. Elsewhere there's a perfect white beach, a 200-year-old temple and a huge swimming pool, plus two rather romantic restaurants and a bar perfect for sunset drinks.Details Seven nights' B&B from £1,949pp, including flights, transfers and a massage (kuoni.com).
Set on the hillside a mile outside of the Unesco world heritage town, this sprawling estate is part of a former royal residence built during colonial times. Wrapped inside wildflower gardens dotted with mossy Buddhist statues are 32 suites with bone-white walls, glossy teak floors, netted beds and balconies. The Tam Nan restaurant looks as if it's been pulled from the pages of Somerset Maugham, with its rattan chairs, shuttered windows and swirling ceiling fans. The spa is the place to be spoilt with floral baths and massages that incorporate Laotian herbs and plants.Details Seven nights' B&B from £2,759pp, including flights, transfers and one night's B&B at the Siam, Bangkok (elegantresorts.co.uk).
On the riverside in the historic centre of Luang Prabang, the Burasari Heritage Hotel was meticulously converted from a 19th-century French colonial mansion into a 21-room hotel bursting with charm. The interiors never let you forget where you are, from the lobby with its cobblestone floors, iron candelabras, celadon plant pots and billiards table, to the teak-clad bedrooms, the best of which have balconies overlooking the Nam Khan River. You can also enjoy the view over drinks and meals on the restaurant deck. You're within strolling distance of the morning market, the stately National Museum and numerous gold-topped temples.Details Six nights' B&B from £1,210pp, including flights
Staying in the splendid 1930s Lee Rubber Building, you've got the historic Central Market, the Skittles-coloured Sri Maha Mariamman Temple (the oldest Hindu temple in town), Chinatown and one of KL's top food streets, Jalan Petaling, right on the doorstep. It's hip without feeling like it's trying too hard. Guests are greeted with a muted colour scheme, sunken living rooms, designer furniture and airy skylights. Each of the 49 rooms has chalky walls, warm parquet floors, slouchy sofas and a scattering of modern art. The mid-century-looking Raw bar and restaurant is a great place to hang out, as is the rooftop bar.Details B&B doubles from £109. Fly to Kuala Lumpur
• Read our full guide to Malaysia
Now best known for its electrifying food scene, the island of Penang was once one of the world's most profitable trading ports, swapping everything from nutmeg and cloves to rubber and tin, to textiles and opium. This lavish 19th-century mansion was built by a Chinese merchant along feng shui principles using some of the most expensive materials of the day: geometric-print floor tiles from Stoke-on-Trent, Glaswegian cast iron, German stained glass and the prized Indian indigo paint that gave the building its unique stain. Five stone courtyards are surrounded by 18 individually designed rooms, suites and townhouses that delight at every turn, with high ceilings, elaborate Chinese woodworking, porcelain lamps and rosewood writing desks. Happily the food and service match up to the very special surroundings.Details B&B doubles from £105. Fly to George Town
This sleek spot on the up-and-coming edge of Kuala Lumpur delivers five-star style at three-star prices. Geometric lanterns and Malay art hang in the open-plan lobby which doubles as a popular bar and restaurant serving curried seabass, brussels sprout sambal, and mee goreng noodles laced with chicken and prawns. Upstairs, rooms have gentlemen's club vibes. Extras such as hair conditioner and body lotion have been cut back to focus on high-quality fixtures and fittings, including wooden beds, hand-knotted rugs, thick velvet curtains and powerful rain showers.Details Room-only doubles from £48 (mrandmrssmith). Fly to Kuala Lumpur
Stripy cabanas line the swimming pool at this brilliant beachside hotel on Boracay, an island surrounded by dozens of tiny uninhabited isles, crystalline coves and luminous blue lagoons. The 71 rooms keep it simple, but welcome touches include handwoven Mindanao fabrics, sculptural Bertoia chairs and plump white beds. Cha Cha's Café serves up exactly what you want at the beach — ceviche, grilled corn cobs, seafood platters overflowing with mussels, swimmer crab and king prawns dripping in sriracha cocktail sauce — as well as a hearty breakfast menu of fruit smoothie bowls, eggs benedict and fried chicken and waffles. Details Seven nights' B&B from £1,599pp, including flights and transfers (trailfinders.com).
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This OTT spot on neon-strewn Yaowarat Road puts you in Chinatown's fat belly of food stalls, family-run diners and fashionable bars and restaurants. Walking into the atrium lobby of this 80-year-old building feels like walking onto the set of a Wong Kar-wai film — the bubbling koi pond, the colourful birdcage lanterns, the jewel-toned velvet furnishings. If anything, the rooms are even more camp in vibrant reds and purples with ornate Ming beds, carved screens, lotus flower lamps, and electric blue and lime green silks. There's no pool but there is a spa with singing bowl rituals, foot reflexology and massages. Details B&B doubles from £60. Fly to Bangkok
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Inside a row of converted 1950s shophouses on a corner near Khao San Road, this eight-room hotel appears unremarkable from the outside. But cross the threshold and it's a whole new world, one that pays tribute to the owners' history in publishing. Floating iron walkways flank the atrium lobby, which is filled with vintage magazines, printing presses, typewriters and aged leather chairs. A scissor lift transports guests upstairs to rooms that have been individually designed with antique furniture, kitschy artworks, tasselled lamps and wooden floors. At the end of a hard day's sightseeing, head to the rooftop to soak in the outdoor hot tub. Details B&B doubles from £200. Fly to Bangkok
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There are two ways to reach this family-run hotel perched above the Chao Phraya River, either by taking the Chao Phraya Express ferry or passing through the sacred grounds of Wat Pathumkongka temple. In a 100-year-old former godown, the hotel has one restaurant and six distinct colour-coded rooms, with original teak floors, antique furniture and wall murals. Some rooms have mesmerising views of the river, those that don't are just a few steps away from breezy verandas, where you can kick back with a glass of chilled lemongrass tea. Details B&B doubles from £91 (loylalong.com). Fly to Bangkok
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This hotel resembles a fantasy Thai village, with thatched roof salas, candy-coloured borsang parasols and a turquoise swimming pool between rice fields. Sitting in a lush valley on the edges of Mae Surin National Park west of Chiang Mai, there are just 21 wooden bungalows built in the local Shan hilltribe style, sparingly decorated with comfortable wooden beds and dressers. Hike, bike and birdwatch for green leafbirds, black-hooded orioles and great hornbills before flopping with a good book (there are no TVs). Food is hyper-local and prepared by Karen people from nearby villages. They make up most of the staff as part of the hotel's community-based tourism initiative. Details B&B doubles from £41. Fly to Mae Hong Son via Bangkok
Ayutthaya, a 90-minute drive from Bangkok, was established as a royal summer retreat in the 17th century, before being destroyed by Burmese invaders and then rebuilt with a fairytale collection of red Chinese pagodas, purple Swiss-style chalets and bejewelled Thai mansions by King Rama IV in the mid-1800s. Just downriver, set between coconut palms and banana trees, Sala Bang Pa-In adds a modern spin with a range of chic white-on-white rooms, a pulse-slowing spa, a riverfront infinity pool and a Thai restaurant serving the best prawns in Thailand. Details B&B doubles from £92. Fly to Bangkok
This stylish small hotel is a hit with Bangkok's 'hi-so' (high society), thanks to its farmhouse-style villas and location: on the feathery pampas grass skirts of Khao Yai National Park in central Thailand, where wild elephants roam. Stone paths lead through courtyards and tropical gardens to 12 clotted cream villas decorated with driftwood tables, raffia rugs, macrame cushions and huge bathtubs. All have outdoor space overlooking the rippling mountain scenery; most also have swimming pools. There's nowhere else to eat within walking distance but the restaurant won't disappoint with its selection of tasty Thai classics made from organic local ingredients. Details B&B doubles from £200. Fly to Bangkok
Traditional Thai design has been pushed into the 21st century at this boutique hotel designed by the Bangkok-based studio Department of Architecture Co. Resting on the bamboo trimmed banks of the Ping River in Thailand's second city, the squat asymmetric building is clad in pearly wood shingles that shimmer like fish scales in the sun and appear to glow from within at night. There are just 14 futuristic rooms, decorated with delicate ceiling murals that refract onto mirrored walls, as well as monochrome tiled shower rooms and river view balconies. Fiery northern Thai cuisine is on the menu at Sip@Ping restaurant. If you need to cool down, there's a slimline outdoor swimming pool. Details B&B doubles from £85. Fly to Chiang Mai
Ninh Binh in northern Vietnam is known as the 'Inland Halong Bay', thanks to its pretty puzzle of jagged limestone karsts laced with meandering tributaries of the Red River. Pleated into foothills, surrounded by rice fields, with barely a tourist in sight, Tam Coc Garden feels like a slice of paradise. Sixteen rooms are immaculately decorated with exposed brick walls, patterned floor tiles, pre-loved furniture and pots of wildflowers. Shared spaces include a banyan-shaded swimming pool, a mountain view spa and an alfresco restaurant serving excellent Vietnamese food. Details B&B doubles from £176. Fly to Hanoi or Thanh Hoa
• Read our full guide to Vietnam
Absorb Hoi An's eclectic history at this peaceful resort, equidistant from the beach and the historic old town. A reconditioned American Jeep whisks guests between the two or, if you're feeling more energetic, you can grab one of the hotel's fleet of free-to-borrow bikes. The 17 large rooms have a cheerful assortment of cooling tiled floors, carved wood panels and citrusy soft furnishings, as well as indoor-outdoor bathrooms with stone tubs and verandahs. The restaurant comes with rice-paddy views, as does the rooftop swimming pool. Details B&B doubles from £57. Fly to Danang
The spacious private villas at Mia Resort punch well above their rates, mixing clean-lined contemporary styling with drystone walls, platform beds cocooned in muslin and terrazzo bathrooms stocked with fancy Thann toiletries. Floor-to-ceiling glass doors slide open onto pretty gardens, some with beach access, some with swimming pools, a few with both. Adding more value are complimentary yoga classes, tennis courts, a watersports centre and free shuttles into high-rise high-energy Nha Trang for shopping and eating.Details B&B doubles from £109. Fly to Cam Ranh
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Art deco buffs will adore this streamlined hotel built around the 1930s-era mansion that was once the residence of the French Resident Superieur. Reserve mornings for visiting photogenic dragonfruit farms, salt pans and mountain monasteries; afternoons are for lazing by the infinity pool, which overlooks three miles of white beach sweeping east towards Hon Ba Island's historic lighthouse. The 57 large suites and villas have soothing contemporary interiors warmed with blond woods, elegant indigenous prints and cosseting bathrooms with big tubs. A new highway means you're just a 2.5-hour drive from Ho Chi Minh City. Details B&B doubles from £137. Fly to Ho Chi Minh City or Cam Ranh