3 days was definitely too short for me. I feel that 5 days would be ideal. The first 2 days that I arrived was pretty much on and off rain (mostly on) for the entire day and night. My last day I had a photoshoot on the property, but I really didn't get soak in everything. I missed out on the complimentary cruises and activities the resort was holding. I think having 5 days is a good buffer for me personally, that way you can give extra time for enjoyment if the weather doesn't cooperate.

Today I am at Vana Belle actually and love their a la carte, more variety and some signatured dishes, while Conrad only offer standard breakfast. Have they always offered only standard? I don't remember, it's been a while since my last stay here, and majority of the hotels/resorts I have hopped through since last year did better in terms of selections, so it's a surprise for me.

I have been cruising through hotels for quite a while and understand how quickly things can change here, breakfast, lounge, state of the rooms, surrounding area and garden/pool, and services. One day it is one thing, the next day it isn't, depends on local laws, which also changed as quick, and of course occupancy rate. Hotels can suddenly decide what they would do today, and tomorrow it could be another. They also close down parts of the hotel and let it kind of unattended, so I understand it could look a bit deserted. I won't judge any hotels regardless how underwhelm anything is, since it is a strange time we are in now, and hotels are struggling to even be afloat let alone function at their full capacity. Most hotels only have 1/3 of their staff, so services could be very slow. By the way, I was told Conrad actually only have 1/10 of their staff left, but since there isn't many guests, services are still great. Their service soul is still intact, staff are the stars there, and I left with a big smile cuddling their signatured bears. Whatever I mention is in no way negative, I only state the fact how the condition is at the time I stay, and of course things can turn around quickly. The main factor is the number of guests, I believe the more they get the better they can afford to perform. This time of year supposed to be high season and sardine packed. Weather is nice now, but very less people. If anyone could make it here, I would recommend to take advantage of of it. :)

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...b466b6ebb7.jpg

Maybe some 50k/night promos would do the trick! :D

Nice review, escape4

I am sure it would help, but I doubt they would be able to fill more than half the hotel. Vana Belle normally charges about 12k THB per night on average or something in that range? I paid only 3.5k THB per night as VB is one of the hotels discounting the most aggressively in today's conditions. In comparison, perhaps Conrad normally costs 15k THB on average (not sure?) and right now is discounted to 9k THB so it's a more modest discount than VB. Yet VB is far from crawling with people at the moment :(

Vana Belle is min 7,000 Baht. Where do you get the 3,500 baht rate from?

I booked VB for 5.2k++ THB a few weeks ago, perhaps prices have been inching up recently if you see 7k THB now. Combine that with Megatix vouchers, 5.2k THB / 1.70 = 3.1k THB. Add taxes to get 3.6k THB.

As far as I know the Conrad KS sales on Megatix have not been nearly as juicy as some Marriott properties.

Wow, 3.6K THB even for a jungle room is still an awesome rate. I would move to Samui for a long stay if I could get that rate lol. It's about 11K THB for the lowest room now. Another fun trick that I know of is playing a guessing game with the Sheraton nearby (same owner as VB). They tend to randomly shut their door and move all the guests to VB. Many people do their best guesstimate and book Sheraton for 1-3K THB, then got moved to VB. :D

how many days are you going to stay there and when? I think you should just stay for 3 months until you feel like going to the city.

Booked a 5 day stay towards the end of this month. Anybody recently stay here? What can I expect? Any advice?

Ms Chang wants to take a speed boat and go to Koh Nang Yoan Island. She say's it costs about 3,000 baht for two including food.

Flying Bangkok Airlines, on their website advertising a sale for Koh Samui from Bangkok starting at 2,000 Baht ($64.27 US): Actual price when booking departure 2,100 Baht ($67.49 US), return 2,300 Baht ($73.91 US). Then in the final price unexplained hidden fee of 3,600 baht ($115.69 US) So the total Cost to fly from Bangkok to Koh Sumui for 2 is $402.00 US contrasted with flying AirAsia first of July Bangkok to Phuket and paying for first row seats for 2 $239.00 US total. I just love those hidden fees!

I was there a few weeks ago. Let's say that it was so quiet that the security guard at the entrance was under the impression that his hotel was closed - I'm guessing that I was the first guest in some days or weeks.

Beautiful place, good food and you'll have at least a receptionist, a couple of people to carry bags and some F&B people look after you. I had the charming Deputy head of F&B drop by to talk me through their commitment to organic food and to see what I might need.

You do sort of need buggies to get anywhere and bearing in mind that the pool is closed and that there's not much of a beach, I found it meant that you will spend basically all your time in your villa. Nothing wrong with that as it has probably the best view of any on the island, but it is a bit less spacious and easy to stroll around than some similarly priced alternatives. I suspect 5 days will begin to feel like a long time.

That Koh Nang Yuan price looks like it must be for a group trip which is rarely if ever going to be running at the moment - so I would check it out early. A private speedboat day trip will probably set you back something closer to 40,000THB. I'm off to Koh Nang Yuan myself tomorrow, as it happens.

The Bangkok Airways fees also look a bit odd - did you perhaps buy a load of extra luggage or buy some expensive version of their insurance? I'll often take 2-3 Bangkok Airways flights a week and haven't had any issue with hidden fees.

Thank you EuropeanPete for your timely information. May I ask what sort of room upgrade did you get if any? Could you please post about your Koh Nang Yuan trip?

We plan on just enjoying the pool villa mostly. I am leaning toward renting a car for the duration of the trip. Ms Chang ran a business on Koh Sumui for several years.

Bangkok Airways: I declined the extra insurance and no extra luggage. Originally wanted to go to Koh Sumui a week earlier. But, only arrival flight available was the evening flight. The flight we got the following week is almost full.

I rented a Toyota Yaris from Budget for just over 4,000 baht for the stay.

I will rent a motorbike when I go. Must be fun ride the bike up and down the hill in the woods.

Bangkok Airways notified me today that my departure flight had changed the arrival from 15:34 to 17:45. I did not see the email until after their call center hours. Looked at the early morning departure price and it was the same as the afternoon that I had originally purchased. I changed our arrival flight to the morning flight. Bangkok Airways charged me 800 tbt person for a total of 1600 tbt or $51 US. I paid, expecting the worst. After a call and a call back the 1,600 Baht is being refunded to my CC.

I rebooked my lost vacation from June of this year for late May 2022. I've got one flight booked on Cathay Pacific First Class coming in. So I have a week at the Conrad to look forward to. If i'm lucky, the Cape Fahn hotel will open up with points at some point. My plan is stay on Koh Samui, Koh Tao, and Koh Phangan. I got Open Water certified, so I will go diving. I found a super deal on Travelzoo where I found a pool villa at the Panviman for 9 nights-really looking forward to that, too! I'm sure the whole trip will be awesome!