They may look like shipping containers on the outside, but the eight glass-fronted “cabins” at X2 River Kwai (66-34/552-124; doubles from US$155) are as comfortable as can be. Set on a scenic bend of the Kwai Noi River some 15 kilometers southwest of Kanchanaburi city, the resort is the latest outpost of Thailand’s design-driven X2 brand, and it raises the bar considerably in an area better known for guesthouses and backpacker digs. The cabins are positioned above the main lodge (which houses a bistro and library) and feature wood-paneled walls, polished concrete floors, particle-board accents, and suspended terraces that look across the river, whose name was made infamous by Pierre Boulle’s 1952 WWII novel The Bridge Over the River Kwai and its epic David Lean film adaptation. Local attractions include temples, golf courses, war memorials such as the Thai-Burma Railway Centre museum, and the countryside itself, best explored on one of X2’s complimentary bicycles. —Tina Sindukusumo

This article originally appeared in the August/September 2014 print issue of DestinAsian magazine (“X Marks The Spot”)