TRAVELSIG

+1 on staying for the isolation.

Big C should still have your Bombay and they have opened a new large store not far from the airport.
I also like renting a car on Samui which is relatively inexpensive.

Land-of-Miles

I completely agree. Chaweng and Lamai are the type of place I avoid like the plague. Car hire in Samui is reasonable and roads are in a good state it is best to stay in a decent location and a decent property and drive.

There is plenty of different dining options in the resort and nearby at the Conrad to keep most happy for over a week.

OnTheRocks

So I will be staying from the 23rd to the 27th, I know the hotel is pretty isolated but I was still interested in doing a few activities elsewhere. We were interested in going to the Zip Lines and possibly going quading for a couple hours. I did speak to a couple companies but they don't offer transfers to Conrad. Could anyone recommend the best way to get to these places or if you have used any company that you can reccomend in regards to quad and Zip Lines.

Thanks!

TRAVELSIG

Hi- you may want to consider renting a car? Should be (all in) around $200-$300 USD per week including full insurance etc depending on the car type you like? Quite a bit less if you need only for a few days.

Samui is very easy to drive on- there is one main road that circles the island in about (depending on traffic) 45 minutes to 1 hour. We drove past the Conrad yesterday. Otherwise Mr. Samui in this thread will drive you for a (Samui relatively speaking) reasonable fee.

By the way Zip lines in Samui are good fun- this is a good choice.

OnTheRocks

Thanks for the response travel, Which Zip Line company would you recommend there seems to be a few different ones on Samui.

TRAVELSIG

We did the zip line 2 years ago and I don't recall any choices (only one I think) it was called jungle zip line IIRC?
Fun times in the jungle canopy.

The golf course also is pretty OK and fun and relatively inexpensive- around $60 all in with club rental, cart and caddy pp. Stellar views and fun clubhouse for 19th hole aperitif.

TRAVELSIG

I recently completed stays at both the Conrad Samui and the Four Seasons Samui- here are my takes and comparisons- and also compendium and/or support of the local knowledge here on this forum.

Some background- I have been coming to Samui for a long time (since before there was an airport or a movie or a book called the Beach nor even one chain hotel on the island) and am amazed how much the island has changed in the last few years. Between a visit in January of 2013 and now (so 18 months) there have been so many changes that it is even difficult sometimes to recognize prior landmarks. Also- from an island where once there was no bank machine nor 7-11 to today an international destination with fleets of private jets- is quite a change- not all bad or good however very very very different.


1. Driving from the airport is now very easy as a number of signs have been posted along the roadways. Basically- remember that there is one ring road around Samui- if heading from the airport you turn towards Chwaeng and Lamai and then head always straight- eventually (as in 20 km/30-40 minutes) you will arrive at a stoplight where you turn left and then just follow the signposts. FYI if you arrive at the snake farm after the Green Talay- you have missed the one turn where the sign is not easy to see and you need to turn around and follow the other direction. I realize these directions don't sound very reliable however once you are on Samui it will make a lot of sense.

2. I would rent a car if staying at either the Conrad or the Four Seasons as both resorts are quite isolated. The Conrad is a bit more isolated but I don't think so much so as to be a major issue.

3. The road up and down from both hotels are similar (switchbacks up a mountain). Follow the directions and drive slowly in low gear and you are fine. If you don't like to do this hire a driver although see my point 2 above.

4. As noted earlier in this thread- if you are coming here to experience local culture- forget it- it is difficult in some places even to find someone speaking Thai language. This is a destination resort and could as well be absolutely anywhere in the world. If you want a local island vacation my best bet is still Koh Chang where I sometimes pop down to from BKK when working there. Note you can combine a Samui/Chang trip with a flight from USM to Trat on Bangkok Airways.

5. This trip I rented from Avis as I have a Presidents Club card with them and it was fine. ~200 EUR all in for the week for an automatic Honda including full insurance. Whether your credit card or other insurance method covers you or not- in Thailand and especially "Island" I say get the full coverage to avoid paying for a scratched mirror or similar that will screw up your whole vacation later.

6. We didn't eat at the Green Talay and while it does look lovely it does not look that different from hundreds of other restaurants on Samui. No offense but this is just my opinion- I am not saying there is anything wrong with it- however for example Sweet Sisters just down the road which is the organic cafe has been operating there for many many years and feels a bit more authentic from my point of view only.

Resort and Conrad:

1. I usually see Conrad as a big city hotel- I use them in Singapore, in HK, in Chicago, from time to time in BKK- I don't think of this as a resort group on a whole.

2. The app for the iPad seems a bit contrived to me and while I may use it to book a taxi in Chicago- I wouldn't bother with it again here.

3. The F&B while good at the hotel seems somehow lacking- it is good but it is not amazing. There is a wow factor missing which I would expect from a 5 star resort on Samui. Also- the signature restaurant and bar are closed two days a week in peak season? On Samui? Weird.

4. The resort seems very heavily geared to Asian clientele- nothing wrong with this- just understand that this is how I interpreted the hotel and where the emphasis seems to be. Also- this resort seems like it is working a lot more with tour operators etc as compared to the Four Seasons- but again this may just be my point of view.

5. Gold card recognition excellent. HH membership means something here and is really impressive to see this.

6. Band on the terrace at sunset is lovely. Great idea.

7. All the staff we met without a fault were genuinely friendly. Definitely not yet at the level of polish as the Four Seasons however the friendliness factor is good.

8. Tiny minibar in the rooms- really small- why on an island like this in a private villa have a minibar that is more likely to be found in a Sofitel at CDG? Missed opportunity here. Four Seasons for example has two minibars in each room with a wine cellar with about 10 bottles to choose from ranging from entry level Australian/Chile up to vintage Champagne.

9. Bathroom gorgeous. Sinks though are not very functional and tend to end up with a lot of water all over the marble floors. FYI a marble floor in a resort beside a swimming pool is somewhat of a strange design choice as well.

10. HVAC works well as do all the electronics. No complaints here at all.

11. Private villa- yes it is- note though that your neighbors can see into your pool and you can see into theirs- which is a big departure from the FS where the privacy is absolute.

12. Beach- it is there- it is rocky- OK for a walk with shoes/flipflops/aqua socks on- a lot of coral though.

13. Boat excursions- Great! Very well done and I think the Conrad stands out here with this. Excellent value, very good staff, and good boats. Do this.

14. Island excursion- While we did love the boat excursion- the island needs better execution- a few broken plastic chairs and a table held together with beer caps are not quite on par with the whole experience. Not the fault of the hotel- but something here can be done I think.

15. Breakfast- as with the rest of the F&B- good- not memorable though- I can't place my finger on just what it is- but it does not stand out as wow! Staff though very attentive and again very kind.

Definitely plus of the Conrad vs. the Four Seasons- the sunset. Stunning at the Conrad.

Where the Four Seasons stands out clearly as the winner:

1. F&B- quite a few wow moments at the Four Seasons. Note the F&B costs are almost identical between the two hotels.

2. Restaurant on the beach- Pla Pla at the Four Seasons and the beach dinners twice a week on the private beach at the FS are wonderful. Even if you don't stay here book a dinner and head over.

3. Walkability- you can walk around the whole resort at FS even if they have buggies available all the time. While we had no trouble walking around the lower part of the resort at the Conrad- it is not very practical to walk up to the arrival area.

4. Staff- at FS once you tell someone your room number or name one time- it is remembered for the rest of your stay. At the FS, similar to some Aman, things just happen without you asking for them- very very impressive. I didn't see this level of intuition at the Conrad. Small example- when you head for breakfast at the FS, they radio to the cleaning staff to go tidy up your villa, and then radio to them when you are headed back to your villa so they are gone when you arrive. At the Conrad- it was 15:00 before our villa was cleaned and they came at the one time of the day we were spending only in the room. Not a big deal, but not at that level of "Wow!" service.

5. Little Details- at the FS when you get your car to go out there are always two freshly chilled water bottles waiting in the cupholders. Such a small detail- but at least we didn't see Conrad executing to this level.

6. Visibility of staff and particularly management- at the FS from the GM to the F&B manager- every day management came, greeted us, asked us what we thought, what we were doing. At the Conrad while again I stress the staff were all super friendly- with the exception of the marine excursion team we did not see this.

To be fair, I cannot fault anything with this hotel really except a few points of room design- the resort feels much more strongly geared to couples and honeymooners which at least from Korea and China are huge businesses. Somehow the resort does not come across feeling as exclusive nor intuitive nor private whereas the Four Seasons Samui is at Aman level. Both hotels will end up costing somewhere around ~50K THB per night all in with some F&B- so at this price in Samui you are clearly at the upper end of the range for Samui- with some polish and management I think the Conrad can arrive at the wow point as well.

zombietooth

^Outstanding report, TRAVELSIG.

Dead on target concerning the Conrad. I neglected to mention the heavy Asian bias, but you are correct, it is definitely present.

I am very selective in my choice of food since I have stayed there many times since it first opened, and know already what I like. But, I agree with you that there doesn't seem to be a "Wow" factor with the cuisine. Some dishes are just way too bland, and may in fact be tailored to Chinese/Japanese taste. Some things are excellent---the ones that I repeatedly ordered. But, I was almost universally disappointed with anything professing to be Thai cuisine at the Conrad. Many of the Western dishes are very well done, however. The pizzas are pretty darn good, especially the 3 Cheese, and the Thai Chili and Pepperoni.

We had our mini-fridge emptied on arrival so that we could stock it exclusively with things we actually like e.g. Coke Zero, Manao Soda, Schweppes Tonic, Pellegrino, etc.---all of which we acquired on the way to the resort at Tesco in Lamai.

Agree completely about the splashy sinks, you really need to set the water pressure low or you will have a mess when washing your hands, brushing your teeth, or shaving.

TRAVELSIG

This is a great idea. I don't know why though given the amount of space available- they didn't do something similar to the FS where you have two large fridges (one fridge and one wine cooler) outside on the deck in a large well built cabinet. In any event- if you had the fridge emptied than I can see there being some limited space- if though for example you have a bottle of white wine you want to keep chilled- once you have opened it there is nowhere to keep a 750 ml bottle upright so it won't leak. A bit of a design hiccup I think.

While we didn't test out the pizza- we were really impressed to see a proper pizza oven at Azure.

For local restaurants I still think a good bet is to head over to Bophut and the Fishermans Village- not quite authentic (well not even close) but still will do in a pinch for good Thai food- otherwise the "authentic" Thai restaurant KOH at the FS comes pretty close and the staff team there are absolute magicians.

pricesquire

Just read 88 pages.

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

Cliff notes version of the whole thread: the resort is almost a 10/10, the only knocks being:

1) Food isn't WOW;

and

2) Prepare for isolation.

zombietooth

IMO, this is the best resort in the world for gorgeous views and sunsets with very good privacy (I think the views on clear days are equal to those on Bora Bora). The facilities are excellent and the service staff have been improving greatly under the new management of Stefano Ruzza and the very personable and competent operations manager, Simon Bender.

There are lots of jet flights that give you excellent options for connections out of BKK---I recommend Bangkok Airways to get there because it is cheaper and a nicer experience than Thai, but avoid the ATR-72s.

The isolation is bliss.

Management info link: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/simon-bender/28/48a/875

bamboola

+100. Both are among my favorites.

pricesquire

I actually like isolation...and coming from 4 days in hectic BKK (flights already booked), it may be a nice change of pace.

Going to Virtuoso Travel Week and meeting the GM of Phulay Bay (Ritz-Carlton) in Krabi, just to hear I "made a mistake" by going to Koh over Krabi, was kind of disheartening. I know she had an angle (i.e., wanted me to stay at her place), but it was still kind of an 'uh oh' moment..

raekwonse

Is there a consensus on whether the HDMI on the TVs in the rooms are locked down? I read through the thread and it seems like there is an HDMI input, but it is difficult to switch the TV input.

Thanks.

TRAVELSIG

Not difficult at all to switch and as well there are Apple TV in the room.