Location: Khao Lak | Rating: 3+ star | Rooms: 49 | Pool: yes
Haadson is a lovely family-owned small hotel, situated on a secluded beach a little north of Khao Lak village. It has a mixture of room styles, from individual villas with a terrace and day bed plus outside bath or rain shower, to 2-storey villas with interconnecting rooms that are perfect for families. They even have luxury tented villas that let you enjoy being closer to nature without sacrificing any comforts.
In fact all of Haadson’s buildings have been designed to combine contemporary Thai architecture with nature, with an emphasis on simple, intimate, stylish and comfortable spaces. They are placed carefully to compliment the hotel’s 19 acres of landscaped jungle, with tropical casuarina trees and a natural salt water lagoon, giving you the space to relax and rejuvenate in a calm and soothing environment. The picture is completed by direct access to Bangsak beach, the longest beach in Khao Lak but almost completely free of commercial activity, where you can enjoy tranquil walks amidst unspoiled nature.
Why we work with them
Haadson is owned and run by a local family and have strong roots in the Khao Lak community. All materials and builders, tours and furnishings come from the local area as well as nearly all the staff. It has a high staff-customer ratio with at least 39 full time employees, who they nurture with skills and language training, and supports them in other ways such as paying children’s school fees and offering extended maternal healthcare coverage. The owner’s family was heavily hit by the 2004 tsunami and Haadson is committed to helping the area recover and financially supporting children who were orphaned in the disaster.
Along with keeping the design of the resort as natural as possible, Haadson tries to limit its impact on the local environment by reusing grey water, recycling, reducing their waste and energy usage on air conditioning and by cleaning the beach regularly. All their food comes from local fishermen, markets and their garden while the leftovers go the mulch the garden and feed the staff’s pigs. They even make their own jam and butter to cut out wastage from the tiny packets!