NWA-PLAT

I sent Kent a PM about a month ago that was never replied to. The hotel now informs me he has been gone since the end of October.

holtju2

My own experience probably would have been different if I hadn't received an upgrade to one of the private villas.

Stayed there for three or four nights in February. I was originally going to Bali but had a chance in plans and decided to visit a friend who is managing a small B&B in Samui.

The check in was quite efficient. I inquired about an upgrade but was first told that it would be 5000THB or so extra. After I pointed out that I was a Platinum member they gave in.

We only ate breakfast at the hotel. The service most part was good but one morning they had too many guests and the wait time for coffee/tea was not what I would expect there.

My advise for anyone going there would be to rent a small motobike so that you can drive around the small island.

Richard1148

Anyone stayed here recently? We stayed in 2006 on a reward stay, and as a Silver MR member, I think they may have given us a room upgrade but not to one of the villas and no free breakfast. I may be Gold before our next reward stay and wondered if they upgrade Golds to the villas, and if breakfast would be included as a standard Gold benefit.

johnaalex

Just spent a very nice week at this property. As a Platinum member I got an upgrade to a Villa room which was very nice. However when checking in I asked if breakfast would be free of charge. Their initial response was that I would not get free breakfast, but I protested a little bit and after a quick chat with the front desk manager they changed their mind .

Note that internet charges are quite high (820 THB for 24 hours) and a day is the minimum period. If you buy the service for a week you only pay for 5 days. There is no free internet on site and no lounge.

For more info please see http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/...86f/3/#1980188

BKKLEE

Just completed a 3-night stay and offer the following comments:
Haven't been back to Samui in nearly 30-years so things have really changed.

The hotel upgraded us to one of the 11 Deluxe rooms which added a balcony with jacuzzi (they even sell condoms in their mini-bar!).

The property is really isolated so unless you rent a moped or car (which we did) getting around is very difficult.

Breakfast choices limited, but perhaps that's because the property has only 57-rooms (although a larger JW is planned for 2012).

Killed a roach in the bed and requested the front desk to ask housekeeping to change the sheets. 4-hours later, nothing done, so asked housekeeping to change during turndown service.

Would I go back? Perhaps, but I'd choose another property.

Upon checking out the cashier insisted on changing the Thai baht charge to US dollars (conversion charge of 6% when credit card only charges 2-3% depending on card used).

zakami

Just completed a 2 night stay and thought I would post my experience since when I was looking to book, I could not find much recent input. Overall, this was a very mediocre stay and this resort is in my experience the worst Marriott resort property (formerly it was Marriott St. Thomas for me). My experience is based on being a gold member.

I was upgraded to an sea facing room (from a garden view room) based on status. It was an award stay and I was told no breakfast would be provided. I had a lunch at one of the restaurants and the food was very disappointing (I had a burger and the wife some Thai food). The weather was a little rough when we were there, no my experience around the tiny beach wasn't great but that isn't the hotel's fault in any way. The room was just awful - run down, moist, dark with an old school type TV. The hotel provides a shuttle to Lamai and Chaweng beaches 3 or 4 times a day (at scheduled times) and you need to reserve 4 hours in advance. I tipped the bell hop 40 Baht (thats the only small bill I had other than 1000 Baht notes) and the bell hop demanded a higher tip. A similar experience at check-out - the bell hop demanded a tip before I could even dig into my wallet so I ended up not giving the person a tip out of spite. It was raining while I was there, so went to the restaurant at about Noon for lunch only to be told that they are not serving lunch yet and I should eat in the open at the pool bar (when its raining).

Chris26WI

strange.. just completed a 2 nights stay there too (during Christmas to be more concrete).. so peak season. Had booked a standard garden view room via a german travel company (marriott.com-rates were too high resp. shown as not avail. for std rooms).. asked for availability of pool villa upon check-in - was told only one available (beachfront villa).. asked for the upsell price indicating should get an upgrade anyway because of status.. was told upgrade for gold members only from garden view to ocean view but she would ask her supervisor for special upsell rate to beachfront villa and ended up with a net upsell of 5.000 thb per night which was very ok imho as the usual price difference to std room was around 9.000 thb. Villa very nice and spacey, traditional style furniture but in perfect order and the villa also had a 40 inch LCD TV and stereo / dvd system. Private pool a bit small but refreshing however.. nice beach and pool views. Service very good (better than actually during the first time when I stayed there just after it was taken over by marriott and rebranded as Ren), food very good too imho in the restaurant. Never anyone argued about any tips - though we kept the room service busy at nights ... and usually I don't tip more than 20 bt for the bell hop (but he didn't even ask at all).

TandJalliance

Does the Renaissance in Koh Samui give complimentary breakfast for platinum members? I would like to make a reservation but curious if I should purchase a rate with or with breakfast. Thank you.

johnaalex

My wife and I stayed there a couple of years ago when I was Platinum and we did get breakfast included. The resort rooms are very nice, but I did find the beach a bit of a let down, especially for Thailand. It looks ok in the photos, but there are lots of rocks and stones as you get into the sea.

One tip for a place to eat, Mr Frogs, a short cab ride away.

Note that like Phuket taxi prices are steep for Thailand which can be problem at place like the Renaissance as nothing is within reasonable walking distance.

travelexpert

Phuket or Koh Samui?

And how were the accomodations?

platinumTA

I have stayed at both properties, most recently in December for Phuket on my second visit there. Both properties do indeed provide the free buffet breakfast for Plats. The buffet has gone down in quality and variety at the JW in Phuket. The ice cream is gone! You will have to travel to the Marriott in Sanya for that dessert at breakfast!
At the Renaissance in Koh Samui, you should try to get the private villa with the private pool. It is fantastic with a fantastic living room, walled- in sunning area, massive and super deep sunken tub for two, and gorgeous decor. For the Plat welcome gift, Renaissance will give you both the points and one additional amenity, like a meal delivered to your room!
The JW Marriott in Phuket has one of its time share properties next door and that has put a strain the availability of space in the resort activities; in other words, everything is basically sold out when you call to sign up for an activity. The GM is never on property and has let the staff get lax. Check-in takes a good twenty minutes. You get no recognition for being a Plat except for your Plat amenity. There is no welcome letter from the GM or special fruit, although all rooms get a piece or two of fruit delivered daily. All of the regular rooms are identical and okay, except for the location. The bathrooms in the regular rooms have a " window" that opens to the bedroom, which I dislike very much. Of course, the suites are different from the regular rooms and they are beautiful with glass walls on three-sides, immense patios/balconies, and a fabulous bathroom; I once had one of the ground level suites with the private swimming pool! Try to snag one of those if you can.

platinumTA

The beach at the Renaissance Koh Samui that you sit on is very nice. The issue is when you go into the water, it is very, very shallow and loaded with coral that really hurts your feet. You cannot really swim in the ocean at the hotel's beach because it is not more than thigh-high in depth. I took a look at a Google Earth map and it looks like there is a good, deep swimming area a couple of minutes away from the hotel over a hill. There are some fantastic beaches for swimming in Koh Samui, but not at the Renaissance.

platinumTA

Both hotels offer shuttles. The Renaissance offers a limited number of shuttles into town at no charge; you can walk down the hotel access road to the main road and take a shared tuk tuk to town to save money on a private taxi and then take the hotel's free shuttle home at the end of the evening. The JW Marriott runs buses to one or two areas of Phuket which are quite a distance away, but at a premium price. Golf carts will shuttle guests at no charge to the very nearby shopping center with a small supermarket, some retail stores, and a couple of restaurants.
Let me know if you want to know anything about the stunning JW Marriott in Khao Lak which I stayed at in December of 2009 when it was first re-branded as a Marriott and improperly run; Marriott almost de-branded it from being a Marriott because it was beset with problems including inferior food. The hotel had major issues attracting employees as it was the site of the tsunami and the location with the highest number of deaths in Khao Lak at what was then a Sofitel (Accor) property. The Thai people were afraid of the spirits remaining at the property.

travelexpert

I stayed at the "older" JW in Phuket and LOVED it.

How does the "newer" one compare?

johnaalex

In this case I was referring to Samui, but it is much the same on Phuket when it comes to taxi prices.