Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts Group has opened its newest five-star property. Banyan Tree Krabi is the first luxury resort to open in Krabi, a province on southern Thailand’s west coast, in more than a decade.

The 72-key resort sits on a hillside location that delivers views of a dozen limestone cliffs rising from the sea. It opened its doors on October 24 at little-known Tubkaek Beach, a 45-minute drive from Krabi International Airport.

Its location backing onto a national park and the roller-coaster Naga Crest Hill, gives all 13 beach villas and 59 suites—each of which has its own private pool—a westward-facing view of sunsets over the Andaman Sea. A natural spring flows from one of those naga crests and winds its way downhill into the resort where it is transformed into a flower-fringed canal ferrying springwater to the sea.

The centrepiece of the resort, and one of the first things guests see as they walk through the Buddhist temple-like entrance, is a circular water feature in the lobby cascading downstairs into a cavernous meeting room area. With a backdrop of emerald sea and karsts, the spectacle is shaping up as one of the resort’s signature images.

“Water and nature are the predominant themes here at Banyan Tree Krabi,” said Robert Sexton, the resort’s new general manager. “You are never more than a few steps from a canal with quaint wooden bridges or within earshot of fountains and cascading waterfalls among the gardens.”

Facilities at the resort include two restaurants and a beach bar; a kids’ club; fitness center; meeting center; and — in keeping with Banyan Tree’s wellness branding — a rainforest-themed spa. Accommodations at the resort include five suite options (Deluxe Pool, Deluxe Garden Pool, Partial Ocean View Pool, Premium Ocean Pool and Two-Bedroom Ocean Pool) as well as Beachfront Pool Villa, Two-Bedroom Beachfront Pool Villa and Presidential Beachfront Pool Villa.

The property is Group’s fourth hotel in Thailand, following in the footsteps of Banyan Tree properties in Bangkok, Phuket and Samui. The Group is owned by Asset World Corporation Plc.