Intercontinental Samui Baan Taling Ngam Resort
Were you (or for multi-stayers are you generally) happy with the hotel/stay?
Yes
Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?
Booked Panoramic Ocean View room and received +2 cat Ocean View Terrace Suite
How are the rooms?
Room was large and comfortable, outside balcony / seating area was large with plenty of seating and a nice view which was one of the main reasons I choose this room type however I found the bathroom setup a little odd in the end and did not really like the way it is separated from the main room by screens. Also there was a lack of a practical area to store luggage despite the size of the room which was a slight annoyance.
How is the exec. lounge?
They have a new location for the lounge which used to be the serene lobby lounge area which is a prime location for taking in the view there is also a room just off the lobby where they setup a small cold buffet during evening cocktails. Breakfast is also now offered in the lounge although this only consists of a couple of set menu options but is much more relaxed than the main restaurant we tended to get something to eat in the buffet restaurant and then head up to the lounge for coffee and juice after to relax and take in the view. Staff were very attentive and very engaging and we were impressed with the level of service from the team. As a whole we were quite impressed with the new lounge setup even though they do allow kids during cocktails (Please don't hate me lol) especially as the Air is a bit of Zoo sometimes at sunset with guests from outside the hotel.
Did you receive a welcome gift?
Sarong and some thai sweets
How was the minibar?
Nothing special just the basics really, the wine fridge is a good idea in theory except for the high prices you are subject to in Thailand and the fact that nothing was cold when we arrived in either fridge and the wine fridge never really cooled down even though we adjusted the settings to try and chill a bottle of Champagne we had with us.
What was good and what was bad?
-Good
Received very good RA recognition even from the restaurant staff in Flames and Amber
All the staff we interacted with were great
View is amazing
Flames and room service food was very good and they were flexible with ordering off menu
-Bad
Only real negative was that all the cocktails we tried bar one were very flat tasting no real zing or alcohol hit including paid for at the beach bar / restaurants and an Irish coffee in Flames that was lacking the Irish.
Food and beverage are very expensive even though the food we had was very good and tasty.
Value for $ or Priority Club Points?
Very expensive compared to the other IC's in Thailand and even though the view is amazing I don't think some of the prices and room rates during the year are worth while. I booked during a sale but in general the rooms seem to for 4-5k thb more per night than I paid which would not be worth it in my opinion.
Would you return?
Yes we would if the price was right because as a whole we did enjoy our stay but they do play on the view.