The Banyan Tree Koh Samui opened during the summer 2010 and was only mentioned a couple of times before on the forum. We visited mid December 2010. We then went to the Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui. In a nutshell, the FS is a much better option, especially if you travel with children. IMHO, the rate difference does not justify the drop in service quality. The BT shares some of its design issues with the FS: both are built on a very steep hill which makes walking difficult. In both, the rooms are designed somewhat more for effect than for efficiency and comfort. But problems are worse in the BT. For one thing, the hotel is built on a horseshoe so buggy rides are even more roller-coaster-ish than in the FS: depending on where you are and where you want to go, you may have to go down first (to beach level) then up again...

Room

The other thing which is not immediately obvious from the web site and pictures is how dense the resort is. It would have been a lot better with half of the villas. It would have allowed a lot more privacy as well. If despite my report you go and book a beachfront villa, ask for 1 to 4. 6 and 7 really front the pool and are right on the path from the beach to anywhere (we had 7). Also, the bathroom has rolling shades on its windows, but it's not very opaque at night (when there is light in the bathroom but none outside). The effect is not entirely dissimilar to what you get with those new airport scanners (we tried).

Service

Service is OK, people are friendly and try their best -- but I cannot escape feeling some amateurism in the design effort: there's a kid's pool but no lounger next to it. The empty restaurant allocates us 3 a single table already too small for 2 (considering the large and nice tableware). The buggy path were being improved to allow crossing areas (who thought people would walk?). Some parts of the villa already looking dated 6 months after opening. The luggage closet is miniature (the villa is not that big in the end - the room is bigger at the FS). And for the grand finale: the steam iron clearly visible in the "closet" when using the designer bathroom

Pool

I cannot report on the beach or the pool because we did not stay long enough. On arrival, the hotel tried to get us to sign a liability waiver for 6-year-old son, something like "I have been informed the resort is dangerous for kids below 12 and will not hold the hotel liable... blah blah blah". Now, we had booked via the best pro travel FSPP agent lurking around this forum, the hotel knew from the start we were coming with a 6-year-old... but did not mention their policy before checkin (in our villa - which BTW had no extra bed ready for our son). There's no mention of this policy on the website, but the kids club (and pool) *are* mentioned. Huh?  

Overall

Needless to say we talked to GM who informed us this was standard procedure. The same apparently happens in the BT Phuket, and apparently again everybody signs. We didn't and arranged to check out the next morning heading for the FS (which had no forms and a bed (and more) ready for our son on arrival). For the record, the hotel understood our decision and managed everything with style and professionalism. As for the FS Samui, it's not perfect and, yes, Trisara is a better resort. But the food was good, the beach very useable for us, the buggy service efficient, the service immaculate and friendly, and we did not want to leave...

I considered staying at Banyan Tree Samui a few times in the past but the fact that this property does not participate in the Accor program had been a turn off up to now.  However with many hotel chains extending status into 2021 (including Accor), now was the perfect time to give it a try, especially since all other 5-star hotels in Koh Samui were closed anyway.  The Banyan Tree brand is sometimes considered to be a notch below Ritz Carlton and Luxury Collection (Marriott) but in my opinion in Koh Samui it’s actually the opposite.  This particular BT is one of the best resorts in Samui, which is already a hot bed of luxury hotels to begin with.  BT’s level of luxury might be part of the reason why they do not feel much of a need to participate in a loyalty program to attract premium guests - this is similar to Ritz Carlton Reserve hotels which are a higher category of luxury than the regular Ritz Carlton brand, and RC Reserve hotels similarly do not participate in the Marriott loyalty program.

Location

Banyan Tree Samui is an all-villa property with all guests having their own private pool, similar to Conrad Koh Samui and Vana Belle (Luxury Collection).  Those three are generally considered a step above Ritz Carlton where entry level rooms do not have pools and are not villas either.  The BT resort is located in a secluded part of the island near Lamai.  In my opinion it’s one of the better locations; I personally do not like the location of Conrad or Four Seasons much because they are too isolated and far from everything.  BT has the advantage of being close to Lamai where there is a nice beach and some action, and not far either from the most famous beach and nightlife in Chaweng.  So there is a lot to do nearby, yet BT is in a totally private area for the hotel guests only, sufficiently removed from the main road.

The resort is located a mature wooded area with lots of greenery everywhere and the villas are in perfect harmony with nature, unlike some recent resorts in Samui where vegetation has been razed during construction making such resorts feel a bit artificial for the next few years.  BT is set on two hills facing each other so you can get panoramic views of the sea from two sides plus a view of the hill in front.  I guess if the resort had been full of guests we could have seen people on the opposite hill in front of us but since only 3 villas out of 88 were occupied we could only see maintenance staff on the other side, once in a while.  Even if there had been guests, the opposing hill is a bit far so I do not think privacy is impacted all that much.

Room

Before arrival I had an e-mail exchange with staff to enquire about special rates and the various room types, and I mentioned to them that it was unfortunate that they are not part of Accor.  Some Ritz Carlton Reserve hotels are known to upgrade elites even though they are not required to do so, therefore I had nothing to lose and I gave my Accor Platinum number and hoped for an upgrade particularly since I expected the resort to be quite empty due to covid.  I booked an Ocean View Pool Villa and received an upgrade to the Horizon Hillcrest Pool Villa which I was quite pleased with. 

Upon exploring the resort I concluded that there are considerable differences between villas, not only between room types but also within room types.  The exact physical location of each villa has an impact on the view but also on privacy because some villas can be somewhat close to a neighbor or might be a bit exposed to the pathway behind.  Our villa was in an ideal spot on the resort by being at the far end of the pathway and was on the very top of one of the hills.  The views from our villa were absolutely stunning and better than resorts where you get nice views of the sea only – I personally like the combo of hills/mountains and the sea.  I would note that Vana Belle is set on low terrain so it cannot get the same views as BT; Ritz Carlton is hilly but the views are a bit less dramatic than at BT. 

The BT villa itself is built to a high standard with a grandiose feeling not only because of the view but also because of its very high ceilings (over 3 meters?) and is long but narrow.  The shape of the villa maximizes natural light because the entire outward facing wall is a window from floor to ceiling; even at the far end of the villa, the shower has a glass door to allow you to go straight from the swimming pool into the shower if desired.  The back of the villa was also designed to ensure good lighting everywhere because there was a frosted glass behind the rain shower, another frosted glass high on the wall above the toilet, and one even in the closet.  For our villa this was great, but I would note that some villas had their frosted glass a bit exposed to the pathway so it might feel less private as it can allow to see a silhouette in the shower from the outside.  The rest of the shower was visually pleasing – not only it’s very large but I liked the shiny black brick wall along with pebbles on the side which covered the drain.

I don’t mind hotels which follow the green movement by eliminating plastic bottles of bathroom amenities, as long as they do not replace their products with cheap generic stuff in the dispensers.  I was pleased to find the Banyan Tree signature smell from bathroom amenities as they are among my favorites.  We also had an incense by the bedside with a different scent every evening which was a nice touch.

From experience in Koh Samui the resorts which are set on hills tend to have fewer mosquitoes because there is not much stagnant water for breeding.  Banyan Tree was no exception – we were not disturbed much by mosquitoes during our stay.  Being on the top of the hill rather than right in the vegetation at the bottom probably helped too.

The infinity pool was very large (4x9 meters) and was much larger than the simple plunge pools found at some competing resorts.  Having the fantastic view from there meant that we had no desire to go to the main swimming pool and spent most of our time from the privacy of our villa. 

While we did not have neighbors behind or above us, there were villas below us, but due to the sharp angle of the hill all we could see were the roofs and not the patios or pools so if there had been guests there, they would not feel like people were watching them from above. 

As can be seen on the resort plan, I would also note that our villa A15 was connecting with A12 via an external door that you can open to link the two patios if needed.  Two couples travelling together would find it useful to book villas A12-A15 together. 

Dining

Not having a breakfast benefit as Accor Platinum at Banyan Tree Samui would normally be a drawback but I believe most rate types (if not all) at BT include breakfast anyway so it makes the Accor breakfast benefit a moot point.  Aligned with luxury standards (and even more important during covid), breakfast was offered entirely a la carte and guests also had the option of ordering from the comfort of their villa.  Given that we had so much outdoor space and the great views from our villa, this is where we had breakfast on most mornings.  The quality of the food was excellent and they allowed us to order pretty much whatever we wanted: we could order off the menu and they would ask the chef if they had the proper ingredients.  We enjoyed dishes such as stir-fried vegetables, pad krapow gai, pad thai, fried rice with shrimps, noodle soup, etc.  The fruits were also varied and included upscale options such as mangoes and passion fruits. 

The restaurant itself is not that big considering the number of villas on the property but I guess they don’t need a big restaurant if many guests have their breakfast in their villa.  The restaurant is near the beach with sea views so guests without views from their villa might enjoy a change in scenery.  There was another restaurant set up high on the resort but it was temporarily closed. 

Pool

The main hotel pool is not very big and is not the highlight of the resort.  This is aligned with other resorts where all villas have a private pool: the main pool is not used by many guests.  The same argument can be made as for the restaurant: guests without a sea view from their villa might find the main pool to be more of a draw since it has some water views.

Beach

The beach is entirely private for the use of hotel guests only, and is set in a cove with shallow water without big waves.  The sea floor was not entirely sand however therefore some places were not easy to walk in the water and the sand on the beach was not as soft and fine as other beaches in Samui.  Consequently, other than being private I would not say that the beach is a strength of this hotel.  Interestingly with the lack of guests in Thailand recently, sea turtles have been beneficiaries and have started nesting on beaches for the first time in years.  Banyan Tree recently had several hatchlings. 

Service

Service during our stay was excellent, from the pre-arrival e-mail exchange to the service during our stay.  There was no sign whatsoever of cutbacks in staff due to low occupancy on the resort, in fact if one afternoon was a bit windy with leaves and branches falling on the resort, soon after we would observe staff clearing the grounds and paths.  Housekeeping was done exactly when we requested, and if we ordered breakfast in our villa at 9am, then staff would show up at 9am on the dot. 

Wifi

Nobody will complain about wifi here, I measured speeds of 50-75 Mbps. 

Overall

Bottom line, Banyan Tree is an excellent resort with varying degrees of privacy and views between villas.  The lack of participation in the Accor program is a minus which can be broken down in a few pieces.  First, not earning points only requires a mental adjustment in the price tag relative to chain hotels so that does not disturb me at all.  Second, breakfast was already included so it was a non-issue.  Status renewal might be a consideration in normal years depending on circumstances, but for now that leaves room upgrades.  They have shown willingness to upgrade us as Accor elites, so personally I found the drawbacks of being outside Accor to be manageable and I would consider returning in the future.  That said, the best fit for this resort would be occasional travelers who do not have membership in any hotel program and who are looking for a luxury experience with nice mountain and sea views with a large private pool and good dining.  BT is probably among the top 5-10 best resorts on the island - I will be interested in returning to Banyan Tree but I will choose the timing depending on whether I must get on the loyalty program renewal treadmill or not, because competitors which are part of a loyalty program offer more generous elite benefits and competition is not lacking in Koh Samui with its very high concentration of 5-star hotels on the island.  For Accor loyalists considering where to stay in Samui, then it’s really no contest because all Accor has to offer is a couple of Ibis and Mercure.  The equation might change once the construction of Sofitel So Koh Samui is completed.