stevenshev

Hello, everyone.

Okay, need to ship the parents (in their 50s, want BEACH) off for some much needed rest. Was thinking FS Koh Samui, but they don't have any beach villas available, and I'm not sure if that's a problem. I've booked them r/t to BKK in TG C, so I need to work from there. They only have 5 days (arrive Saturday at 4pm in BKK, leave Saturday morning 00.40 (essentially Friday night) from BKK, and want to fly to BKK Thursday afternoon to the Peninsula for a night), Saturday evening to Thursday afternoon in whatever destination you suggest. This is from 15 September to 19 September. As in the thread title, money is pretty much no object, within relative reason.

Thanks in advance!

MACH81

Amanpuri Phuket. Not sure if they have beach villas. Others can chime in.

EDIT: they do have beach/ocean villas.

Kagehitokiri

what does "money is no object within reason" mean not sure why it seems to be being used now..

(assuming FSKS is not avail >)

good Phuket resorts, no beachfront villas
- Amanpuri - best, oceanview pavilion from $925, oceanview pool villa from $2600
- Trisara - also fairly well regarded, oceanview pool room from $556, oceanfront (elevated) pool villa from $1110

resorts with beachfront villas
- Aleenta Phuket - $912
- Karma Koh Samui- $1900

private beachfront villas on Koh Samui > $750
- http://www.myasianvilla.com/frontend...aspx?unitid=81 (one of many on this site)
- http://www.atasombak.com/images/photo_11.jpg $2000

ABG

Pavillion 103 or 105 at Amanpuri.... period.

erik123

That seems like a lot of travel for such a short stay - why not consider Hua Hin?

Pauldublin

le royal meridien Baan Taking ngam on Ko Samui has beachfront villas.
The amanpuri has beautiful sea view pavillions if all the steps arent a problem

stevenshev

Thanks for the replies, guys. One thing, however. For those dates (mid-Sept), I've read that Koh Samui has a better chance of decent weather than Phuket, which is why I chose the former. Do you think that's true?

And on a separate note, if you had to choose between the FS Koh Samui and Le Royal Meridien Koh Samui, which would it be.

And, finally, though I understand no object in relative reason is a contradiction on its face, I'm pretty sure its meaning is easily interpreted by most here. (E.g. A $10000/night suite is not within relative reason, whereas almost any regular room would be).

xracer

FS Koh Samui does have beach villas. Two of them. From your post, I'm not sure if you contacted the resort directly and were told that these villas were not available or if you just assumed that by looking online. But you have to contact the resort directly about that room type.

At any rate, even in the beach villa that is closest to the beach, you are not really ON the beach, but 30 (or so) feet above it. Still, you can walk right down some stairs and you have your own little stetch of beach.

And yes, weather should be somewhat less rainy in Samui than in Phuket in September, but in neither place is it really 'dry' at that time of year.

blueDC

The same goes for the Sila Evason Hideaway. From that vantage point, the views are quite amazing. It's a worthy alternative - perhaps not service-wise - to the Four Seasons. The spa, for one, is spectacular.

The Evason is closest to the airport and Chaweng (the main town), followed by the Four Seasons and finally the Le Meridien which is quite a distance away.

stevenshev

Which would you choose overall?

I'm still just a little confused as to just how far the regular villas at the FS are from the beach.

Pauldublin

The sila evason has wonderful sea views but does not have a good beach. I havent stayed, but from what i understand they have a boat to take you to a nice beach.

I havent stayed at the FS Ko samui, but I have read that the resort is very steep and golf buggies are required to take you through most of the resort. So a villa with direct beach access (if one exists) would suit your needs.

Le royal meridien has a beach club with beach villas directly on a beautiful sandy beach. The sea can be difficult to enjoy at low tide due to coral and some rocks. I liked it a couple of years ago.
Why not do a search under the Thailand thread for a recent review as I have heard that management of the resort is changing from Meridien in 2008.

xracer

There are two beach villas at the FS, but neither of these is actually directly on the beach. They are priced differently than the regular villas. One beach villa (this is the one I stayed in) is only accessible from the beach, but you have to walk up about 60 steps to get to it. The other beach villa is further up (about 100 steps or so). From both villas you have a great view of the water and beach and easy beach access (well, if you consider 50 or 100 steps 'easy').

Actually, in some ways, I liked the beach villa here more than traditional 'on the beach' beach villas, because you could hang out on the deck or in the private pool (which is HUGE) and not be seen by anyone on the beach, but still have a great view and beach access.

The other villas are all further up the hill and while they may not be that far from the beach in a horizontal direction, they are in a vertical one. Also, with these other villas, you will probably not be able to walk to the beach because of the steepness involved. Yes, the resort is very vertical and buggies really are needed.

I thought it was a wonderful place and there was a nice, clean, private beach (but it was not huge), with clear water. However, having said that, it is probably more of a jungle resort that happens to be on a beach rather than a beach resort.

I have not been to the Evason Samui, but to me the main difference seems to be in the desgin. Evason Samui (like all Evason resorts) is VERY rustic. If you like that look and feel, then that is probably a better choice. FS is sort of luxurious modern Thai, and is anything BUT rustic.

SmilingBoy

Have you considered Krabi? I found it much nicer than Koh Samui. There is a luxury hotel there: http://www.rayavadee.com/ It has pretty good reviews: http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR...ort-Krabi.html

I didn't stay there, but at the next beach in a cheaper place. It is very secluded which means much less people trying to sell stuff to you.

Very, very beautiful beach!

SmilingBoy.

SmilingBoy

Please remove. I did it again - pressed quote instead of edit.

Fliar

Haven't stayed there but have read many negative reviews of the FS in Koh Samui (so much so that I have put off staying there for now). You can't go wrong with Amanpuri, probably.