fdem

stayed at W last year and they definitely dont have kids club and in fact dont encourage due to the nature of the resort, ie chilling, but unlike W Maldives will accept them, but I think if travelling with kids you can find better resorts with larger pools, not so much walking etc where there are Kids clubs, but perhaps not with Starwood - have booking at Vana Belle and somehow doubt they have a kids club but you could email the hotel. know they dont do upgrades as it is an all suite hotel.

TRAVELSIG

If you are travelling to Samui with your daughter I strongly recommend the Four Seasns which has a very good childrens program. W is really not set up for young children.

rynoshark

Thanks for the tips. How can there be THREE Starwood properties on Koh Samui and NONE of them cater even the slightest to people with kids? Not a single Kids Club on any of the three properties!? Hmmmmm... I'm at 27 nights at Starwood properties already for 2013 (and already have 26 more booked over next two months)...I'd hate to break this streak and stay at the Four Seasons.

remymartin

Just a heads up - Vana Belle is going for 14250++ on Starpicks with plenty of availability.

TRAVELSIG

Samui isn't really all that much of a childrens destination- far better to head to Phuket I think.

yoshida_101

I'm stay at pool villa now! Superb view! Hug pool good beach but everyone can see your swimming pool from outside ! I think this is alot better than beach front villa at w retreat samui! Excellent Thai food at kiree! Price 300-500B++ per dish,as platinum u will get one drink per person per stay at lobby lounge,4p laundry per stay ,breakfast and Internet and also can choose between local gift or 500points no room upgrade but you can pay upgrade from cheapest type to grand suite 3500B net, villa 6500B net ,ocean pool 8500B net and I recommend villa and ocean front and I think it's not worth for money if u stay at standard or deluxe room ! See my photo at http://www.flickr.com/photos/yoshida...7632813004734/

3rdworldresident

Thank you very much. Cant wait to go there in april.

remymartin

Thanks for sharing your very nice pictures, yoshida_101!

Certainly a more Thai feeling to the property than at the W Retreat. But, I just love that sunbed on the W terrace!

3rdworldresident

i just called the hotel,

Upgrading from classic pool suite to grand suite costs 3500+++ THB per night (4155 THB nett).

is it worth to pay the extra?

(tropical pool villa and ocean view pool suite are not available on my dates.)

fdem

Great to see all those pics, we had a 10 day booking in Feb which unfortunately we needed to cancel due to husband having back op - we had a great opening rate of 12k plus 2k dining credit, but hopefully we ll go back nextyear. One thing that seems disappointing is the upgrades as have beenfollowing tripadvisor and everyone seems to be upgraded except plats, not good customer loyalty.

schoflyer

I will visit for 2 nights in April. Will comment in this thread.
My questions is regarding the wifi/wired Internet experience.
Basically...how is it.
Thanks.
Scho

yosithezet

Spent last weekend at Vana Belle. I used the opening special so my rate included Breakfast and the 2K / day F&B credit.

Finding the property was pretty straightforward although the signs aren't so easy to see. I think this is a general issue with Koh Samui as most properties seem to not have signs that they are close until you are right on top of the entrance.

Airport transfers were quoted as
I rented a car from Hertz for THB 1500 / day. So for 2 days it came to about the same and the car was available for getting out and about.

Getting out of the car I was greeted by my name. This would actually become a theme throughout the entire stay. I'm assuming my Ambassador sent them my picture and name recognition was consistent.

I'd made the booking for a few weeks earlier but due to some issues had to change the date. The cancellation/change period is up to 7 days before arrival so I needed to as my Ambassador to work some magic in order to get this done.

I booked a Classic pool suite and was upgraded to a Deluxe pool suite, 7xx. We were driven in a buggy from the lobby area to the room which actually meant we were making a circle back to the entrance and then just a few meters to the building. The property is built on a hillside and the room was the equivalent of 2 stories upstairs. This is a property where you'll want them to call you a buggy to get back and forth from the beach/pool to your room.

As a Plat I got drink coupons for one drink per guest per stay.

The room was great. The room is one large space focused on keeping the view of the sea in front of you at all times. Towards the back of the room you have the toilet and shower. Both are surrounded by frosted glass. You will see the outline of the people using them but you can't see them.

From the bed you can see out to the sea but in this room you can't see other rooms or people on the beach from the bed. Walking out to the private pool you can see down to the beach and see where people would be leaving their room. But you can't see the other guests' pools, either in other buildings or above/below/beside you. Once you are in the pool you can't see anyone/anything but the sky and down towards the beach if you go to the edge.

The pool was amazing. A ledge inside to sit. Long enough to swim back and forth a bit. Wide enough that at 180 cm I couldn't sit at one end and have my feet propped up on the other end. This was an awesome pool and even at night the temperature was good.

In the room was a plate full of bananas (Ambassador in action), and a sticky rice desert with what seemed like some Mango juice. Didn't taste it till the next morning and obviously was bad by then.

The wifi was good. Very robust and available everywhere. Room. Pool. Restaurants.

Because of the F&B credit, the first dinner was in the Italian restaurant at the beach. Nice menu. Good food. The waitress initially didn't bring me tomato salsa with the bread. She said that she understood that I have a dietary issue and she wasn't sure she should bring it. This is something that is about a year and a half old and not an issue now. But it shows that they really made a great effort to review and digest the profile.

Breakfast is a bit of a challenge for this property. Amazing presentation. Wonderful choices. But it takes a long time to get your order. When the executive chef is cooking, it is a bit better, but I think they are just too fancy at the expense of reasonable wait times. Portions are smallish, so you may want to order multiple dishes. This is what others were doing. Great buffet spread and interesting choices like Thai-style spicy eggs benedict.

The day was spent at the beach. This was the first time that I ever understood why people like the beach. The water was so clear I could see my toes through the water. The sand was smooth. Spectacular. I spent a good deal of time in the jacuzzi at the pool which is very cool. The pool and jacuzzi are sunk below the surface of the swimming pool area. But the water is filled such that the surface is above both of them. So you walk on water to get to the jacuzzi. Pretty cool. The pool tiles are dark, however, so the water in the pool was too warm for my taste. The jacuzzi temperature was better when it was running.

While chatting with the exec chef the first day, he suggested that joining the evening beach seafood BBQ may be nice. They would also be celebrating Earth Hour by planting trees and turning off the lights during this time. The waitress had mentioned it the night before as well. At roughly THB 2750++ it wouldn't be cheap. But it included cocktails and canapés in the lobby lounge, then tree planting, then a 5 course meal with live entertainment. And I had the 2K F&B rebate.

There were two different cocktails offered and 4 different canapés. Spring rolls, larb moo, fish or shrimp cakes and something else I think. The lobby lounge reached capacity and through had some people sit on the couches near reception.

They led everyone down to an area to the southern edge of the property past the pool. There are some villas down there. We planted duck-something plants. The resort has healthy foliage already since building started many years ago. But this will be a nice grove in a while. The villas looked nice by the property next door seems to have a disco with loud music. I'd be hesitant to stay there unless I knew the sound proofing of the room was good. But even then, what about when you sit in your private pool?

Dinner was good. Large selection of seafood. Some hor mok talay and some other dishes. The sticky rice desert was great. Everything served was stuff that would have been available on the island 100 years ago. The utensils were made of coconut shell. Food was served in coconuts and on banana leaves. Very ecological for Earth Hour.

After dinner they lined up kum loy lanterns on the beach. Everyone was able to float lanterns. This always makes for a beautiful sky.

Back in the room, I got a call asking if I'd like to extend my checkout. I requested 2:30PM and it was no problem. This should be noted as they do not need to provide late checkout as they are a resort.

The next morning breakfast was pretty much the same. Great presentation. Delicious food. But the time it takes is too long. Some more beach time. One more dip in the private pool. Slower moving do to severe sunburn. Then checkout.

After checking out the FDM met me to give me a gift of some chocolate covered coconut caramels. Delicious!

I'd love to visit this property again for a longer stay. Price will be the only thing that keeps this from happening. Time to watch Starpicks.

travelswithmyself

Thanks for an excellent review. Decided to go in June

A tip: The Eat Drink & More card gives you a free night and a one-for-one at Vana Belle too. No points/stay credit but excellent value.

travelswithmyself

Funny. I made my booking. Now they've emailed me to tell me that I won't get an upgrade, and platinums aren't eligible for upgrades.

Funny part is, I haven't made any request to be upgraded . I haven't contacted the hotel before.

Proactive denial of "benefits" - that's a new one . Though of course as a villa-only resort suite upgrades are not applicable...

yosithezet

My Ambassador warned my of all the things not to expect, and they delivered them anyway.