Koh Samui, Thailand Hotel Decision
 

Having a hard time deciding between Conrad and Four Seasons. Any thoughts?

I would definitely opt for the Four Seasons as I find the pavillons much more charming than the ones at the Conrad. The resort is itself more stunning as well, at least in my opinion.
One thing that might be annoying though is the fact that you almost constantly rely on buggies to move from your villa to the beach or to the reception or the restaurant. They come nonetheless rather quickly (never waited more than 5 minutes).

Four Seasons absolutely without a shred of doubt.

+1

Haven't stayed, only visited the Four Seasons. Didn't have time to visit Conrad as it was just opening the month after I was last there.

I love the location of the Four Seasons though.

+2

Four Seasons. Great pavilions and beautiful property with stellar service.

FWIW, I rarely used the buggies, even when going long distances, unless I was running late for an appointment or something.

Four Seasons by a country mile. The level of service and FSPP benefits alone beat Hilton.

If you must go to Thailand and Koh Samui, try the Napasai, great food and good value.

Library looks great！

Was on Samui in April last year.

Stayed at Banyan Tree, great villas, great service, food was ok.

Had a breakfast at FS, the view is even better than the view at Banyan Tree, the facilities I could see where great, according to their website their villas seems a bit smaller, especially the pools. Breakfast at FS was much much better than in Banyan Tree.

Also tryed Napasai and found everything really bad. Although the price is much lower than at BT and FS the value for money is much worse. Villa was ok, Food was bad, Service was bad, Pool Facilites were bad and the way into the ocean is full of big stones, which made it painful to enter the water.

My limited experience on the island was really centered around the FS, although I visited The Library and a few other properties. FS has a great, terrible location. :D

Great in so much as it's beautifully located in a private corner of the island with rather private vistas of the sea and beyond. Terrible in that it's far from most island activities, although perhaps that's by design as staying on the property there certainly is amenable and obviously preferred by the hotel.

Overall I'd say, like I've read in other threads before, this isn't an Aman style experience, but perhaps the best the island has to offer. I'd definitely recommend an upgraded villa. I had a private pool villa, just overlooking but not directly on the beach - privacy was paramount in my selection.

Very nice villa, despite the issues with hot water and bugs, but overall quite pleasant. What wasn't quite up to par about this resort was the service. I found it to be below other FS, even those domestic properties in America (gasp!), which could have been due to language issues or simply training. FWIW, when I contacted the GM, he made it right and then some. I was impressed with the management response.

Overall if I was going back to USM, I'd stay at the FS again. But I am in no rush to return to Samui. So many other places to try, and so many desires to go back to Amanpulo.

There's a Six Senses there too - that might be an alternative option, or indeed, the Banyan Tree (which I actually like more than their Banyan Tree in Phuket).

I have been going to Samui for years and have progressed from my backpacking days to 25 years later Four Seasons and other establishment days. Samui has changed... a lot- some good, a lot very bad, however in general it checks the boxes of "close to Bangkok, very good weather, ocean and beach". That is it really- the food on Samui is nothing special, the taxis are scandalous both in their costs and their unwillingness to help tourists much less turn on a meter, and senseless development has made the island exactly what most people don't want. It is also no longer inexpensive, however, boxes above being checked, and in my opinion a less hectic destination still than Phuket, it can be worth a visit.

The Four Seasons is the best option if you want a hotel.

If you want to be closer to things, the best option is to rent a villa.

Six Senses is OK although I think it is overpriced for what you get.

The Library has an OK restaurant and that is it- no privacy, no concept of service, no swimming pool really (far more design oriented pool than anything else)- I wouldn't stay there- it is as if it has been designed entirely for a few "cool" photos to put on Facebook.

The restaurant at Zazen which somehow is very highly rated and somehow is called a boutique hotel is possibly the worst "fine dining" experience I have ever had in Thailand or Southeast Asia as a whole. They also insist on keeping the entire area pitch dark which they call Romantic and I suspect really is just so you cannot see the number of mosquitoes.

Four Seasons is definitely the option on Samui- and don't plan to leave too often as there is not much to see other than some tourist ripoffs and the completely destroyed Chwaeng beach- ruined by development with an often flooded road system- and don't think too much about the flood. The golf course by the way is pretty good actually although it could be kept in better condition and the caddy openly admits to never having played golf.

What about Angthong Marine Park? It looks beautiful. We were thinking of chartering a boat one day...

It is beautiful. We did a group boat trip with pickup at the FS. The FS Koh Samui is amazing and not to be missed!

For our Koh Samui holiday last year, we were puzzled between staying at W hotel, Four Seasons, Conrad and Banyan Tree (since they all seemed to have their advantages and disadvantages from the many internet reviews). So, in the end, we decided to stay at 3 of them (W, FS, BT ... unfortuenately not the Conrad) and I can tell you the FS was the big winner of the 3. It pretty much blew us away from beginning till the end, and I would even quote it one of the best beach resorts I ever visited (and definitely one of my favourite FS resorts). So you cannot go wrong with the FS.

PROS :
- beach : while the Koh Samui beaches are not really idyllic, the private beach of the FS is the exception : powdery, white sand, lined by impressive palm trees, hugging a transparent blue sea. This comes close to paradise, and is worth all the travel from Europe/USA. Some people on the internet wrote that the beach is rocky, but they must have been at another resort, as I could wade in the water at low tide waist deep and not encounter any rock at all (there is a reef further out though). The beach is far superior to any other beach at Koh Samui (including the beach of the W hotel and the one of the Banyan Tree hotel).
- the resort is oriented to the north and the beach only gets sun until about 2 hours before sunset, as the sun will disappear behind a hill … but what we did not know and may reassure future travelers is that the hotel has a bar at the top of the hill where you will be able to enjoy the late afternoon sun and watch the most stunning sunsets ever (at least in winter time). This was such a pleasant surprise as I feared from reading some tripadvisor comments that the hotel suffered from a lack of sunshine because of its orientation : not true! Nevertheless, if you want sunshine on the beach from sunrise to sunset, than the W hotel will be your best choice although is not as beautiful nor as exclusive as the Four Seasons.
- the welcome at the private lobby at the top of the hotel will immediately bring you in the right mood as the vistas from this lobby are simply stunning and beyond words.
- the staff is very friendly and the service (both at the beach as elsewhere) impeccable. At the beach, they will serve you little, complimentary snacks about every hour.
- the gardens and tropically lush hotel grounds are very well manicured
- villas are large, very nicely decorated, and all come with an amazing outside space. It is true that some villas do not enjoy a lot of sunlight because they are tucked away deeply in the jungle, so request a room with a lot of sunlight on the terrace. The higher the villa is located, the better the view. In comparison, I would rate the villas at the Banyan Tree higher in comparison to their counterparts at the Four Seasons as they enjoy more sunlight (some villas even have sunset views) and they come with larger pools (some even with hot tubes), but the beds at the Banyan Tree are harder than those at the Four Seasons, service is not as good at the Banyan Tree (especially at the beach) and while the beach as the Banyan Tree is nice, it is a golden sand beach (not a powdery white one like the Four Seasons).
- Many reviews on the internet mention a mosquito problem at the resort. I am prone to mosquito bites, yet, I did not encounter one mosquito during my stay, so I guess that the mosquito problem is only present during the rainy season.
- Food (dinner) is excellent
- The spa is wonderfully located (in the rainforest) and the treatment rooms all offer beautiful vistas of the sunset, so I would advise you to make a booking after 5 pm, when the last rays of sun have quit the main beach.

CONS:
- I found the buffet breakfast rather underwhelming (certainly when you compare it to the extravagant buffet breakfast of the Banyan Tree hotel). I may have to do with the fact that the breakfast is displayed in a rather small room, hence not allowing a larger buffet. Nevertheless, for a hotel of this caliber, the breakfast was not totally in accordance with the surrounding grandeur.
- the Castaway Dinner (barbeque buffet on the beach in the little sandy cove next to the main beach) was truly a nice experience, but it was also the only time that the service let us down. Our side dishes were only served after we had already finished our meat and fish. Rather disappointing. I guess it was just a bad coincidence of circumstances, but somehow it would have been nice if the hotel had offered a compensation to make up for this.
- The lounge chairs on the beach where uncomfortable. Some extra cushions on these beach chairs would have helped a lot.
- Wifi was available in the rooms, but there was no wifi at the beach (unless you were seated close to the bar-. This may not bother some, but we did miss it to surf the internet on our tablets while lounging on the beach.

Koh Samui villa rental, what area (or villa) would you recommend?
 

For those of you familiar with Koh Samui, what area would you recommend for a villa rental? I think what we want is a soft sand beach that's good for swimming in. No need for any activities nearby as I don't think we'll leave the villa much.

Any recommendations for a villa as well? :D

Trip details:
- 12 people
- November '14 for 3 short nights ...

Villa needs:
- Beautiful beach
- Private pool
- Outdoor eating area
- Thai chef

Many thanks!!

Some refined choices here: http://www.zekkeicollection.com/en/l...land/kohsamui/

A few of these are actually owned by Zekkei Collection itself, specifically Mekkala, Hinta and Hinyai.

A wider range here (though many are the same): http://www.luxuryvillasandhomes.com/

LV&H manages a fair few of these, and markets others (but doesn't own or co-own any as far as I'm aware).

Thanks very much for the suggestions. To add some further detail, we're looking for ~6 bedroom villas for USD2500 or below per night I think (it seems a lot of nice-looking villas go for less than 2000/night).

Any thoughts on which area of Koh Samui has the nicest beaches?

Many thanks!

I think November is still considered low-season for the villas so you're in luck as you may get one of those for around USD1,800/night incl. taxes for a 6 bedroom.

With a semi-private beachfront near most of those villas, I wouldn't too much about which area has the best beaches. Most of the beachfront area in front of those private villas is more than good enough.

Mekkala has a six bedrooms and is rather a nice villa, particularly for beachfrontage.

LV&H allows you to filter by beach (and country/region) as well so worth looking at a few extra options on that site.

Can't help with the villa as it's a while since we stayed and we stayed as a family in a 4* but all the beaches were lovely and of course the best ones are a bit overdeveloped. 2 that I really liked were Thongtakian and Choeng Mon - any villas near them? Although you want a chef it's also nice to be able to go to some local places to eat so being close to restaurants may be a good idea.

USM is my favourite airport anywhere!

Thanks v much quitecontrary!

I'll be in Koh Samui next week,so will report back.
We chose the W,because we wanted a funky younger experience without too much compromise on the quality of the accommodation or service.
I know the W brand is less than higher end,but there are a few properties including this one that have a good reputation.

We'll have a car so will visit all the properties mentioned,I'm quite looking forward to this.
I understand the W does have wifi on the beach,so towards the end of the stay,I'd be hoping to post a few pictures.

Looking forward to the pics but can't say I'm a fan of this (and the Bali) property at all!

Did you get my PM? :) Let me know if you need any help!

We've a few days left here at the W Koh Samui and I have to say its a winner on all fronts with me,service,style,crowd,everything basically.
Beautiful villa up high,tropical oasis,I think with a partial sea view.
We will be very sad leaving.
The sound system in the villa is fantastic,we have our iPad hooked in streaming music in super high quality from spotify.
Food in Noma,top notch.
We spent a day on the four seasons beach and whilst the service there,we only being visitors was perfect and it's beautifully secluded in a cove of its own(no one there or in the pool beside it)..we couldn't wait to get back to the W.

I've loads of pictures and will post some when home but that is my observation,I will give more comment then also.

Nice report - Earthman - glad you're enjoying it. Is everyone there young and funky like you;)?
Look forward to the photos.

But of course Quitecontrary...even more so tonight as its
mojhito madness night here :D

What's the situation like in Samui with the whole Thailand thing going on?

Interesting question - think about a trip next year:confused:

Not a bother in Samui.
No sign of any unrest or military,everything is normal here .
The only thing you'd notice is all the local tv stations are playing a loop of a military broadcast.

Aside from the cost of the resort, what is cost of living there like? How much can I expect to pay for food outside of the resort? Are there local markets nearby?

Is wifi fully available right now, or is it restricted due to the current situation?

Thanks!

Beach day
 

How were you able to spend the day at their (FS)property without staying at the resort? We will be on a cruise stopping in Koh Samui for just half a day and do not want the crowded beach.

Wifi fully available.

Costs: dinner for two from 2400 thb to 5000 thb including a modest couple of glasses of wine
Taxi- most expensive in Thailand but still inexpensive by european standards- less than 2000 thb anywhere on the island
Lunch- 60 percent of dinner costs
The resort is quite pricey though for F and B.
Note this is by far one of the most expensive beach destinations in Thailand tied more or less with Phuket. If you are wanting to stay on a budget head down the other coast by Koh Chang and you will spend 75 percent less- although if not on a budget this place makes a lot of sense.

Thanks. Still hesitant to go...but we'll see what happens in the next few weeks.

We just returned from a few nights in Phuket. I would suggest going ahead - there are absolutely no issues in Phuket/Samui.

A friend of mine even went to Bangkok and had a good time, but that is certainly something I would have been hesitant about.

We had afternoon tea there and just asked for a tour.
They were very friendly and we stopped at their beach bar for a few hours before getting a buggy back to the front entrance.
I must say that journey is rather akin to a roller coaster ride :D

Best place in Koh Samui?
 

Going to Koh Samui.
Ignoring status, just in terms of properties, experiences, and beaches?

Really... why should I justify a stay at the IC? Any reason to go here over others? :p