Hua Thanon Beach Samui
 

Sorry posted this in general fourum instead of Thailand but here the query is again.

Has anyone stayed at the Banburee Resort situated on a hill above Hua Thanon Beach south of Lamai. The resort looks nice but I can't see much of beach in the pictures which makes me wonder what the beach would be like. Has anyone been to this beach. If so would appreciate some feedback. Thanks

We used to stay at the nearby Laem Set Inn. We stopped going there when it was sold a couple of years ago. The beach in that area is lovely to us. It is decorated with large rocks, between which there is lots of sand. There is a lot of coral washed up on shore, and a lot of dead and living coral below the water line as well. It's best to wear water shoes if you are going to swim out any distance or kayak around there. The water is clear.

The Banburee is located just a bit away from Laem Set. I walked many times down that way on the rocks and beach. If we were to go back to Samui, we'd consider Banburee...we liked being away from the Chaweng and Lamai areas...they are just not us. The Bophut area, which many here like, is also not us. Though the beach has no big rocks or coral and is sandy, each time we went there we found lots of garbage on the beach and found the water muddy and murky.

The Banburee looks to me like a good place to try. I hope it turns out to be every bit as nice as the website makes it seem. If you wanted to go to Chaweng for shopping or dinner or something, it's only 20 minutes away.

"Sorry posted this in general fourum instead of Thailand but here the query is again."

There is no Thailand forum...just Asia. You can select Thailand as a search topic, but your post ends up in the same place no matter what. You don't need to worry.

i find that area very issolated....

it is very attractive however...

It is marked on the www.sawadee.com map as being near Baan khao area rather than Hua Thanon. On that website, there is only one review so I am wondering if it is recently opened. On the map you can see that there are a couple of other resorts on the same stretch of beach - the Kamalaya and the Oriental Lodge. So I guess you will have a few other choices to eat at if you want to eat away from the resort but not travel too far. It looks lovely in the pictures - here is the map to look at:

http://www.samui.org/map/index.html

The town and harbor area of Hua Thanon are a bit to the north. The market in Hua Thanon is a quite interesting and worth stopping in at if you like exploring food markets.

The beach hotels like Laem Set Inn, Banburee and the others, are accessed by a kind of small road off the main road that loops around the island. For us, being away from the Chaweng/Lamai areas was an absolute plus. We rented a car for a couple of days, but for the most part just stayed in the hotel and enjoyed the beach, pool, spa, and great food. It looks like Banburee is trying to offer the same sort of experience to the guests.

If you wanted to be able to walk out of your hotel and have a variety of shops and restaurants, then this area of the island isn't for you. If you want to relax then it's perfect.

Kimjapan we do want a relaxing holiday but with the ability to go out for dinner. We are planning on hiring a skooter how far would it be to a restuarant area from there. We are not concerned with going into the Chaweng area this will be a day trip only.

We do however like nice beaches. Is the beach a nice one for lounging around on during the day. The resort does look nice and is priced reasonable almost too good to be true. Could only find one review on it which indicates that it could be newish?? Is the resort actually go down to the beach they never show the beach in the pictures which makes me wonder. Thanks for your help. Any other recomendations for quiet spots with nice beaches on Samui.

maisymoo...you might not be happy then there because there isn't much around. There are a few local restaurants at the turnoff area off the main loop road that were good a couple of years ago. I believe the Banburee was new in the last year or so. They seem to say that they are beachfront, but you are right, the photos don't show the beach. When we were last at Laem Set Inn, the Banburee was not there, but we kayaked well down past where the Banburee is, and the beach looked nice all the way down. It is not a long stretch of white sand...but it's a series of small stretches of sand with boulders and rocks seperating them. Therefore, it's quite easy to find a private place all your own.

I'd think twice about a scooter. Samui is a weird place to drive...on the left as in Britain...with tourists driving any which way they can, and locals doing their best to avoid them. Roads are not terribly wide, and are very sandy on the edges, leaving scooters nowhere to go. The southern and western parts of the island are relatively quiet, so the risk of being forced into the sand is less so there, but the whole east coast side sees heavy traffic, especially between the airport and Lamai. There is no way I'd suggest that anyone, experienced or not, ride a scooter after dark. It's toooo risky. You can hire a car from Budget for a reasonable price and be so much safer.

By car, the area is about 20 - 30 minutes to Lamai and Chaweng, depending on traffic and how fast you drive. Restaurant areas...that would be Lamai and Chaweng, and Bophut up to the north.

Maybe you'd be happier up on the northwest coast where there is a little more development. Over 3 trips in 3 years, we checked out Bophut beach, and every time we went it disgusted me. Trash on the beach, muddy sea bottom and murky water. It seemed like the further west you go on that coast, the better the beach and water got. Or, go around the east side and head south, maybe try Tongsai Bay or Sala Samui?

I thought of another place...how about Rocky Resort near Lamai?

Maisy - there is a thread on tripadvisor on which someone has just posted to say they have just stayed at Banburee -

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic...-Ko_Samui.html

You may want to ask your questions there

i would not even consider a scooter at nite out there...too dangerous...you could go to places like laem set for dinner...

there is no way we would scooter into Chaweng at night or during the day. Just thought if that end of island quiet we would take a scooter and have a nosy. I am not a bar person but like to eat locally. Just wondered if there was much of a choice nearby. Love my resorts but would rather eat locally to give the little man my busness. And am certainly looking for somewhere quiet to r &r with my man. Everyone thanks for your input.