Have you ever dreamt of sipping wine and dining on gourmet dishes while enjoying a bird’s eye view from the top of a tree? Sounds absurd, right? Then you should take a trip to the Soneva Kiri eco-resort in Thailand. This venue has taken the jungle-themed dining experience to the next level, where the guests enjoy their food being seated in a treepod restaurant, elevated and nestled among the treetops. The surreal trance of enjoying the pristine panoramic view only breaks when a ziplined server comes to the levitating booth with food and drinks.
The Location
The secluded Soneva Kiri eco-resort is located on the island of Ko Kut in the Trat province of Thailand. Debuting in 2010, the treepod restaurant of the resort earned international attention and acclaim. The restaurant provides a place under the lush canopy to people seeking direct and deep contact purely with food and nature. Many travelers visit the island solely for the luxury treepod dining experience. The resort also provides charter flights and boats to bring their guests from Suvarnabhumi Airport.
The Dining Experience
The diners lounge on the canvas-cushioned seats of a bamboo booth of the treepod restaurant, while a host pulls a lever to raise it. While they get busy enjoying an airborne view of the Gulf of Thailand, a dinner server, attached to a harness, swiftly ziplines and lands on a wooden footboard nestled into a nearby tree. There he starts gathering plates to serve in the booth, which is dangling mid-air. Safeguarded by harvested bamboo, the dining table is sturdy enough to keep the tableware in place. Then the trained server comes through the zipline in a perfect Indiana Jones style, dodging branches and towering trees. He lands on the pod and starts plating wooden canisters full of gourmet picnic dishes and glasses full of fresh juice. The diners enjoy the feast overlooking the pristine coastal view, savoring the dreamy experience.