I just completed three nights here. Overall a really nice stay.

I initially booked a base seaview room, then after inquiring about upgrades to the Andaman wing, negotiated a confirmed upgrade to a deluxe suite for an additional 3000 THB per night.

I was assigned a suite on the top (6th floor). There was a really nice welcome amenity, which included some very tasty chocolate truffles, cheese, crackers, and cold cuts, and a plate of fresh fruit. Quality of all items was high.

The room itself had pluses and minuses; overall I was not that impressed.

I'll start with the view. Andaman wing is closest to the beach and it's not far at all from the surf. View from the balcony:



What you can't really tell from the pic is that you're also closest to the main road here. Fair bit of traffic noise during the day, but the room is well insulated and it's not really noticeable from inside.

The room is listed at 84 sqm but that's a lie. I'd guess more like 60. The rooms were recently renovated; unfortunately, they did it on the cheap and the rooms are very sparsely furnished and the furnishings are Ikea quality. Here's a view into the bedroom from the living room:



If you look carefully, you will see that there are no nightstands. There is literally no surface next to the bed to store a drink, your phone, or anything else. Lame.

They've also, oddly, put the desk right behind the bed. Here's a closer view:



What makes this layout really odd, as you can see from the photo, is that when you open the sliding door dividing bedroom from bathroom, the view from the bathtub (which should be out to the water) is blocked by chair and desk. Someone should get fired for this.

The bathroom design overall is not very good. It's a small space and feels cramped. The worst thing is the all glassed-in toilet, which I really would not be cool with if I was not traveling solo.



Finally, here's the living room. Talk about sparsely furnished . . . .



I was surprised to discover that the suite did not have any of the extra amenities you might expect – e.g., no Nespresso, stereo, or upgraded toiletries (rather, the generic Peter Thomas Roth).

Overall, I'm not sure the suite was worth the extra money, and suspect that the play here (at least for me) might be to book cheapest room and request upgrade to a junior suite in a building other than Lotus wing. Though I will say I enjoyed the sea view and Andaman wing did feel pretty exclusive – there was no corridor noise at all.

Breakfast was a mob scene (Chinese tour groups) unless you get there prior to 7 a.m. Food quality and selection were mediocre for an Asian breakfast buffet. Selection of fresh fruit was particularly disappointing.

My feeling overall was that there's been some serious cost-cutting here, which is perhaps understandable if they're catering mostly to tour groups. The good news is that the grounds are spectacular (72 acres), and it's not hard to escape the crowds and feel like you're in a real tropical paradise. Moreover, the spa is particularly nice. It’s in a beautiful setting in the midst of the lagoon with treatment rooms in private bungalows. Massage (to the sound of running water) was excellent and IMO well priced for the quality of the setting and treatment.

Finally, the staff is marvelous. Literally every interaction was a pleasure, and I was sorry to leave.