Originally Posted by
3rdworldresident
Since the beach and breakfast are your priorities, i would strongly suggest Vana Belle. However, their base suite is kinda boring, bland and nothing special. No significant upgrade to be expected unless you paid for it.
I found W samui has lost some of its WOW factors, but still overall a better W resort in the entire folio. I would love to return but its price always seems to be the highest of the 3 and also hard to do the BRG claim.
RC has upped its game so much since the opening so it’s not a bad choice at all. I found the rate at RC quite often lower than the other two (much more rooms). they also treat elites very well (ex. upgrade to pool villa, free breakfast).
To me, as a local who quite familiar with the Island, all 3 properties have equally good service. No one stand out from the others.
Personally, i would choose RC more often than the rest because of its price point (yes, I'm poor). I don't care much about the beach because i would not go to koh samui for that at the beginning. (Much more spectacular beaches in other parts of Thailand and also lower cost.)
Appreciate your response! Definitely some good info here, however may still further cause indecisiveness for me. I can get an upgraded room at the RC for a decent rate, however at VB I can only get the base suite. I'm leaning towards the RC at this point, being able to forgo the nice beach requirement.
I plan to be go towards the end of Oct which I hope is non-peak season which should limit the number of families and kids in the pool. The pool seems like the largest out of the three. Breakfast is quite key as I like to work out as soon I wake up and would love to reward myself with a great breakfast afterwards.
On the other hand, I don't get to travel to resort or beach destinations often. Having a nice beach would really be quite a memorable experience.
First world problems, but still tough to make a choice!