InterContinental Khao Yai

Within the Khao Yai National Park — a UNESCO World Heritage Site in central Thailand whose primary rainforest supports one of Southeast Asia’s last viable populations of elephants, tigers, and the siamang gibbon — InterContinental Khao Yai Resort occupies a hillside position at the park’s boundary that gives it direct access to one of Thailand’s most pristine and least commercially developed protected areas. The resort’s 108 rooms and villas are designed in a Bill Bensley aesthetic that draws on the theatrical design language he has applied across Southeast Asian luxury properties — fantastical murals, collected antiques, layered textile and craft references — in a setting whose jungle and mountain backdrop gives the theatrical interiors a grounding in landscape drama that more urban Bensley properties lack. The wildlife of the park’s boundary zone, including elephants, gibbons, and the hornbill species that characterise the primary forest, provide a naturalist dimension to the resort experience.

Guided wildlife walks in the national park, elephant observation at the park’s salt licks and water sources, birdwatching in the forest for the great hornbill and the park’s remarkable diversity of forest birds, and the night safari programme focusing on the nocturnal wildlife of the boundary zone provide the primary natural history activities. The resort’s restaurants and the Thai cooking class programme draw on the culinary traditions of the Nakhon Ratchasima region and the remarkable diversity of Thai cuisine’s central and northeastern regional variations. The Haew Narok waterfall and the Pak Chong agricultural landscape surrounding the park provide day-trip context for guests wishing to extend their understanding of the region’s human geography alongside its natural history.

The InterContinental Khao Yai’s conservation relationship with the national park includes the resort’s support for the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation’s elephant monitoring programme and the community ranger training initiative that builds local capacity for wildlife protection in the communities surrounding the park’s perimeter.