Irene Resort Koh Lipe: Hotel Review
Irene Resort Koh Lipe: My honest hotel review
I'm going to be honest, I had never even heard of Koh Lipe until a few years ago. That was until my friend visited and I saw her photos of a beautiful luxury hotel on the island. Turns out, this hotel was the Irene Resort, probably the most luxury hotel in Koh Lipe, and one of the best across the Thai islands.
First and formost, Koh Lipe is a very small island in Thailand, just off the coast of Langkawi, a few hours south of Phuket and Krabi by boat.
The island as a whole has seen a bit of a boom in recent years thanks to its viral worth turquoise blue waters. The island is pretty laid back, much more chill than the likes of Phuket and Phi Phi. It is also oozing in natural beauty and one of the perks is its small size, meaning the island is so easy to explore!
Is Koh Lipe worth visiting?
Koh Lipe is not the easiest island to get to, you can discover how to access it through my guide here. This leaves many people asking 'is Koh Lipe worth visiting?', almost trying to convince themselves as the journey seems a bit of a hassle.
But yes, I can categorically tell you, Koh Lipe is absolutely worth the journey! It is one of my favourite islands in Thailand, and one of the most beautiful in my opinion.
As mentioned, the island is small and easy to explore, you can do a couple of day trips to nearby islands such as Ko Adang, but the appeal is mainly down to the beaches and amazing blue waters.
Picture days lazing on the beach, enjoying seaside cocktails, and watching incredible sunsets from a bean bag. Koh Lipe is all about the laid back lifestyle and the art of doing nothing at all.
Read my full Koh Lipe travel guide if you want to learn more about this beautiful Thai island.
Irene Resort: A luxury hotel in Koh Lipe
Koh Lipe has a lot of accommodation options, from £20 a night hostels all the way up to £500 a night luxury beach villas with private pools. The Irene Resort falls into the latter category and is one of just a few five star hotels in Koh Lipe.
Where is the Irene Resort Koh Lipe?
The hotel is located on a beautiful position on Sunrise Beach, one of Koh Lipe's most popular places to stay.
The beach here is wide and excellent for swimming. It is less affected by the tides and when I visited, there were hardly any long tail boats moored up, unlike the southern section of Sunrise Beach.
As you can probably guess by its name, this particular beach is east facing, meaning the villas have direct sun on them in the morning, with guests waking up to the most beautiful orange skies.
First impressions of the Irene Resort Koh Lipe
I am lucky that I have stayed at many luxury hotels around the world, many of those being in Thailand. I was dropped off to Irene Resort by tuk tuk, the main entrance is via the back of the hotel which is a little underwhelming due to the nature of the roads in Koh Lipe. However, as soon as I walked through the entrance I was wowed by the hotel's gorgeous location right on the beach, impressively large swimming pool, and I loved the open-air reception area and restaurant.
Check-in was smooth, the staff were lovely and eager to help, my bags were taken to my villa so I didn't need to worry about hauling them around. I had previously been staying at The Cliff Koh Lipe and there was quite a difference in the accommodation in terms of the types of hotel.
Room categories
There are three main room categories at the Irene Resort Koh Lipe. Which one you choose largely depends on the experience you want from the resort.
The Tree Pool Villas offer the ultimate private experience, the Sand Beachfront Villas offer a beautiful pool beach villa without breaking the bank.
Lastly, the Sun Beachfront Pool Villa offers the ultimate luxury experience with its own glass sided plunge pool and benefits from the most sunny spot in the resort.
Tree Pool Villas
Firstly, you have the Tree Pool Villas, these are located on a hill behind the main resort, offering incredible views over the resort, beach and ocean.
The expansive windows let in a lot of natural light and one of the main perks is that these rooms offer the most privacy. The beaches in Thailand are all public so the Tree Pool Villas offer guests the opportunity to enjoy a private pool without having the public walk past.
What is the difference between the Sand Beachfront Villas and the Sun Beachfront Villas?
The other two room categories at the Irene resort are both beachfront pool villas, but one is titled Sand and the other titled Sun, so what's the difference?
The Sun Beachfront Villa commands a high price ticket due to its location. These villas are the last ones in the front line of beach villas and benefit from the most sun during the day. The private plunge pools are glass sided, but other than that, the two villas are identical.
Is it worth it to pay for the Sun Beachfront Villa? I'm not so sure... I paid around £30o extra for the 'sun' rather than the 'Sand' and I ended up missing a large portion of the sun because I was out exploring during the morning, the best time to explore the island before it gets too hot.
Both room categories come with comfy chairs by the pool as well as sun loungers and an umbrella on the beach. Most guests were relaxing on the beach sun loungers rather than by the pool as it was less shaded and sunny all day. All room categories get a little shaded after lunch time, but I don't think this is a bad thing, the resort's position on Sunrise Beach is one of the best.
I recommend comparing room prices through booking.com here as it will show you the availability and price of each room category all at once.
For this portion of the hotel review, I will discuss the Beachfront Villas as one category, because inside they are the same in size, layout and furnishings.
If you are looking for a Maldives style experience for less money, this is it. each villa is detached, so you get no noise from your neighbours (although this isn't the type of resort guests will be partying or blaring music).
There is a floor to ceiling window at the front of the villa, meaning you wake up to one of the most beautiful views on the island, the beach really is as pristine as it looks in photos and the pool is the perfect place to cool off.
The large beds are extremely comfy with plush pillows. There is a small living area with a desk which I found useful as I had to get a bit of work done whilst I was staying there.
The bathroom is located behind the main bedroom and benefits from a beautiful free standing bath, double sink area, and separate toilet. The bathroom gave a nice indoor/outdoor vibe and felt pretty big!
There was a nice outdoor entrance area and an upstairs snug which guests can enjoy private massages or dinner.
Dining at the Irene Pool Villa Resort
Breakfast was in the open-air restaurant at the front of the resort, once again overlooking the beautiful beach. There were a number of set menus to order off. Personally I would have preferred an a la carte menu as I don't have a huge appetite and I'm quite fussy, but the food was really good and there were many options of menus to choose from.
I also enjoyed dinner at the resort's outdoor restaurant, Bok e’tto. This is one of the highest quality restaurants in Koh Lipe and I would highly recommend eating here. I know I have said it a million times, but the location is so stunning and dinner was right on the beach with my toes in the sand, perfect for a romatic dinner or just something quite beautiful! The food at Bok e’tto is Mediterranean and Asian influenced.
Beach picnics are available to book too, these are super cute but sadly something I didn't experience as I was just staying here on my own. This option would be idea for couples who want to enjoy a special moment and it is something a little different to what other hotels on the island offer.
Lastly, the floating breakfasts! When I booked in 2024, one floating breakfast was included per booking. I am not 100% sure if this was a specific promotion or if it's something they continue to offer but it wasn't highly publicised, so make sure you enquire. I really loved this experience and Sunrise Beach is quiet in the mornings, it was the perfect wake up and way to enjoy the beach.
Resort Facilities
The Irene Pool Villa Resort is very much a boutique hotel in Koh Lipe with a small number of rooms. If you are looking for an all singing all dancing large resort, this isn't the one, you can find these on Pattaya Beach in the south of the island.
Instead, guests can expect a small, intimate experience such as private massages in room, and a small fitness centre with a good selection of modern equipment.
The hotel offers a few different experiences such as private longtail boat tours, as well as offering snorkelling and paddleboarding equipment straight from the beach.
Each room comes with its own bike, this is a great way to explore the island. The other option is exploring on foot, but you can certainly take more in if you opt to cycle instead.
The resort also organised my homeward transfers, something that took a lot of stress off my plate because by that point, I was board of figuring it all out by myself! The resort's tuk tuk took me to the pier on Pattaya Beach and a member of staff handled all my luggage which was a huge help!
Is the hotel worth the price?
Koh Lipe isn't the cheapest island in Thailand. It is small and quite far away, everything needs to be imported and it has little competition in regards to neighbouring islands to keep prices down. Therefor, hotel prices in Koh Lipe are higher than in more popular areas like Phuket, but the price tag is 100% worth it. You can read my more in depth cost analysis for a holiday in Thailand here.
Irene Resort Koh Lipe is on the higher end of the scale in comparison to other hotels on the island, but it is also a step above in quality, service and design.
I booked my room through booking.com, I find the best way for me to save money when travelling is to remain loyal to one booking platform. I am the highest level of Genius on booking.com which gives me good discounts and made it cheaper than booking the hotel direct.
A villa at Irene Resort can cost anywhere between £260 and £600 a night depending on which season you travel in. It's certainly not cheap but when compared to similar hotels in the Caribbean or the Indian Ocean that offer private beachfront villas with pools, I think the price is worth it. I especially recommend it if you are wanting to flop and relax, or if you are celebrating something special like a honeymoon or anniversary!
Learn more or book here
Check out more of my Koh Lipe articles below:
Wow looks beautiful, I am weighing up whether to stay here or at serendipity
Another great choices! I’ll be staying at Serendipity in February so will be sharing my thoughts in a separate post x