With a lively restaurant overlooking a fine stretch of beach, Sunset offers large wood and bamboo bungalows built into a hill covered in dense rubber trees and palms.

The Thai owners run a tight ship, with an actual logo on the business card and a big red sign along the beach, while maintaining a low-key vibe that many travellers return for each year. Mostly built of dark wood with metal roofs and with a few made of woven bamboo, the bungalows come with soft beds draped in mosquito nets and attached cold-water bathrooms. They’re well kept with some chairs on the attached porches.

Not your average bungalow paint job. Photo: David Luekens

Each bungalow is spread reasonably far apart from the next and shared hammocks are strung between the trees. The setting lends a sense of seclusion despite the convenient location. Sunset is popular with artists; wander to the back of the grounds to see a couple of concrete bungalows done up with beautiful Thailand-inspired murals.

The restaurant doubles as a lounge featuring one of the island’s largest book exchanges, though many of the titles are in French or German. Sunset has a loyal clientele that tends to be more hipster than most of the folks who stay at the larger Cashew Resort down the beach. Next door, Eden is a smaller bungalow joint drawing a similar crowd.