anyone have a contact for this hotel? An email? Thinking of this or Ritz.

Thanks!

how much is that in dollars. Coming in for day on cruise ship. Is this hotel far from cruise port?

We are currently on a one week stay here. I booked the hotel through SPG points and availed of the fifth night free. This books into the basic Villa, which is up in the mountain, with no sea view. The hotel emailed me straight after my booking and offered me to upgrade to a �nicer� villa with a �better view�. As a Platinum member I would have expected some upgrade, but I was told on the phone that this can not be given this time and if I wanted a bigger room I would have to pay the fee. I obliged and paid roughly 230 USD daily to upgrade to a Villa with direct beach access (Beachfront Haven). The website shows pictures of the Villa and claims the size is in excess of 250 Sqm.
When we arrived it was much to our surprise that the villa had no views, was close to the beach, but by no means directly at it and the actual villa is 80 sqm, but they count all the garden and pool space on top. So basically it�s a scam! The Villa has two areas. One area with a bed and a seating area with a tv. Then a small hallway with the minibar and coffee machine (great Lavazza machine, the best thing about the entire hotel!) and a large bathroom with inside and outside shower and a large free standing bath tub. The outside area consists of a good size pool that allows for a few strokes and a small garden area with loung chairs, a dining table and a large patio bed. All Villas in the hotel are exactly the same, just the Wow,s are apparently a little bit bigger. We met another couple who told us they got upgraded to a Villa the same category as we had from the base category. My advice is therefore not to book and pay for the Upgrade. Not worth it as you anyway get the same room everywhere and the distance to the sea is the same walk more or less.
The resort as such has two areas, the reception with a Bar and a restaurant. The same complex also hosts the Gym and the Spa and the pool. All the Villas are either below this complex, close to the (public) beach or above in the hill. It�s pretty easy to walk around and you don�t really need a buggy as everything is close. But of course you can take one if you are lazy. The second complex is a beach bar and grill and a Japanese restaurant. There you also find the beach beds and lounge chairs. The beach as such is public and really nothing to write home about. The water has a dirty feel to it, lots of algen and the sand is full of sharp corals. Due to lots of water activity, speed boas and jet skis passing by it�s actually dangerous to swim outside of a marked area. I thought the beach had a stressy feel to it due to all the water activity. And as I said, not any tropical feel to it. Compared to for example Santiburi, this beach is third class.
And the beach kind of reflects the entire property. It�s all a good idea, but it does not come together. The restaurants were very empty every night of our stay, so was the Bar outside of afternoons, when lots of tourists would swarm the bar to get a photo (it�s kind of a landmark, we have no ides why as they really don�t know how to mix cocktails).
In a W Hotel I expect lively dining experiences and a lively atmosphere. None of this exists here. It�s quiet, there s no music or action anywhere. Friends were staying at the Four Seasons and we went there one night. Compared to the W that hotel was lively. And my god, the Thai restaurant there was amazing. My friends had actually checked with their concierge and he explicitly advised not to go the the W as �expensive for what you get�. And that�s true. The outlets are very pricy for Samui and there is very limited selection. The food feels like packaged food. We dined at the Japanese restaurant where Thai style they served all our five courses at the same time (and of course four dishes were cold very quickly). And the Maki was American style with lots of Mayonaise. The prawn dish was very much Thai and had no resemblance with anything Japanese. The grill at the beach closes at 5pm so basically only serves lunch. The quality of the food there is great and we enjoyed the daily fish a lot. Very fresh and great taste. The main restaurant is very basic. Also the breakfast happens here and the room service is produced. The breakfast selection is vast, but the quality was not at the level of a W Hotel. I wish they would serve less options, but well done. The food just tastes like from a cantine. Room service has a limited selection, basic quality, every day the same dish (grilled chicken) looked different. At least one of the dining options should be good. None at this property.
For me it�s about personal touch. After five days they still had no idea what we liked and they did not care either. That�s what basically a hotel in Thailand has to deliver. Especially if it�s as a small one as this (at mid level occupancy). The W does not.
the pool is a great venue with a beautiful view surrounded by gardens. Really nicely done. The Gym and Spa are directly below the pool and the Gym is well equipped. The Spa is also nice. With typical high quality as you would expect in Thailand.
So in short - if you are looking for an exiting W style holiday you will be disappointed. This hotel feels more like a want to be. It does not have any action or pro activity. There is no happening atmospere anywhere and the entire feel of the place drags you down. It does not stimulate to have conversations with other guests. Staff were great as you expect in Asia, very willing, but clearly not trained well and they don�t come across motivated or empowered.
There are much better options in Samui.