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Set high up on stilts with knobby logs composing the exterior and inside walls, each of the rooms in a duplex is accessed by a single stairway and then private entrances on either side of a landing. Scuffs on the hardwood floors and weak spots in the old spring beds hint that more than a few travellers have stayed, but you get more than enough space to juggle cats.

Designed for the view. Photo: David Luekens

Though we’re not keen on the metal floors on the porches, we like how they bag you loads of space and a couple of lounge chairs for taking in sunset. The porches extend alongside both rooms in a given duplex but metal dividing walls ensure privacy, even when your neighbours are lounging a few feet away.

The rooms also come with portable fans, mosquito nets, desks and spacious hot-water bathrooms showing some grime. Side-facing windows can be opened but those facing the sea are unfortunately glass panes that can’t be moved; we slept with the porch door open to let in a breeze. Below you’ll find concrete patios with tables and hammocks that are shared between the two rooms.

Rooms are quite spacious inside. Photo: David Luekens

The design provides affordability for families and groups renting out both rooms in a building. Those with strangers staying next door should try to keep quiet late at night, as muffled sound carries through the walls and floors. On the last night of our stay, a big group of Russians renting out several rooms decided to take over the whole terrace below our room.

Should this be the case, you can always pop over to the large pavilion where decent Thai food is served along with beer and WiFi to tables and corner nooks with hammocks and floor cushions. The Thai owner has a laid-back attitude and he does a great job of making guests feel at home.

Not Ko Mak’s best strip of sand. Photo: David Luekens

You’ll pass nothing but forest for the last few hundred metres on the way here, so Pano is best suited to those renting a motorbike or bicycle to get around. Fronting the resort is a rocky coast with only a little slice of sand—fun for watching crabs but not great for swimming. On the other side of the long and narrow property stretches a lagoon and we enjoyed strolling beyond the rooms on a lawn draped in trees that ends at a rocky point.

Pano’s owner has earned a great reputation among travellers and locals, and the rooms do fill up at times during high season. They’re available on booking sites, meaning that you might be out of luck if booking in for a night or two and then trying to extend your stay in person.