Can anyone recommend a good hotel/resort on Koh Samui, Thailand? Thank You!!

Hi, Im going to Koh Samui at the end of this month and have done alot of research. I cant recommend anything but Ive weeded out some nice ones. I have a brochure here as well as looking them up on the web. "The Tongsai Bay Cottages & Hotel" looks positively decadent, looks like that runs at $550 per night per person! It is georgeous though. But here are some other nice ones that were more in my reality range: "Chaweng Regent Beach Resort" "Paradise Beach Resort" "Santiburi Dusit Resort" "Poppies Samui" and "Le Royal Meridien Baan Taling Ngam" - Good Luck!

Anne, thanks so much! Some of those are on my list, too! It's very hard to narrow it down, though. Can you tell me more about "Poppies Samui," as I am not familiar with that one? I hope you have a great time on Koh Samui! Maybe you can tell us how your trip went when you return? Thank you, again!

Hello Mel <BR> <BR>Tongsai Bay: first class hotel on a quiet place overlooking the beach excellent place - Santiburi: first class hotel at the Menam Beach <BR>Paradise Beach: middle class hotel, where we stayed 2 years ago - located also at the Menam Beach (good value) . If you like high life (many bars) you will like it at Chaweng Beach (Poppies). Menam Beach <BR>is a quiet place with pratically no night life. Have a nice time on Koh Samui. Bruno

Hi Bruno: Thanks for your response! We have booked Paradise Beach. I see you stayed there -- is it nice? How about restuarants? Any suggestions there, also is it easy to go out to the more livelier areas during the night times? Taxis etc.? I would really appreciate it. Thanks Anne

Hi Anne <BR> <BR>The Paradise was a good value 2 years ago (hope it still will be) About re- <BR>staurant we liked it at the Friendly <BR>(about 100m to the left if you step out <BR>from the hotel direction beach). Excellent food, reasonable prices and especially very nice Thai owners (Mama with her daughter). You can catch very easy a taxi to the active areas (Chaweng). Have a nice stay at Menam Beach. Bruno

Hi Mel: Sorry for the delay in replying, its been a nutty week. Poppies in my brochure says its a "beautiful boutique property. Very exclusive and discreet" Five Star. Per person for four nights by this brochure looks like AU$900 for July-Aug. I dont know if you are US but I guess thats about $600-700 odd - each -- for four nights. They do take children (dont know if that will bother you at that price) 24 air cond Thai style cottages set in lush tropical gardens. The pic is tiny in the brochure I have so you cant see much - it all looks lovely though no matter where you stay. <BR> <BR>Bruno -- thanks again for your kind reply - we will def. visit Friendlys -- I think we will be very happy with Paradise as we are not too splashy hotel people (we usually do ClubMed) as long as its clean and reasonable we spend all of our time out anyway and all the resorts at this price look lovely here. I cant wait to go and will let you all know what I loved when I get back. (PS: this is an extra special trip for me because Im meeting my husband who has been away working in that part of the world for the past four months - so Im sure everything will seem all wonderful through my GOOGLY eyes. Wish me luck!) ANOTHER QUESTION: Do you know if you can go to Tongsai for dinner?? Or is it just for guests. Couldnt find it online. Thanks. Anne

Bruno and Anne, thank you so much for your replies! I really appreciate it!! <BR> <BR>Anne, have a wonderful time with your husband! Best of luck to you!

Hi Mel: Just to update you on Koh Samui - I just got back and it was a great trip. If you can get to Tongsai Bay Cottages for dinner - go. It is a buffet dinner but the food is cooked per person and is absoutley excellent - they also have a little show and the atmosp. is very nice. Its really easy to drive around the island and we did all the touristy things on our own (like the elephants etc.) In Chaweng we tried alot of restuarants and the Drop Inn was really nice. Wait until they give you the bill, it was so inexpensive that we could not believe it - especially that you pick your own lobster and seafood if you like. That is also very pretty & charming. Hope you have a great time.

Hi Anne: Would you recommend The Paradise Beach Resort? We were thinking of staying at the Imperial Samui on Chaweng beach - basically we want a nice place with nice grounds, beautiful beach so we can just relax and enjoy! Any other restaurant recommendations?thanks!

Anne, welcome back! I am so glad to hear that you had a great trip! How was Paradise Beach? Did you see any other hotels that you would recommend? Thanks for coming back to update me. I really appreciate it.

The grounds of Paradise Beach were really lush and lovely even though they dont have a huge property. The accomodations were nice, very clean but basic (we stayed in one of their villas) just right if you plan to spend all of your time outside though. The beach Menam (probably spelled wrong) is beautiful, really long for walks and almost deserted (Chaweng beach looked very crowded when we passed it on a boat) The water quality was not crystal clear when we were there though but it was still nice. Paradise Beach Resort is very calm and peaceful and we liked it. We had breakfast which was included each day and there is a great view looking over the beach and sea to the other islands. Over all, it was not luxurious but very pleasant. I did not go into any other hotels besides Tongsai (which is just beautiful) as when you are passing along the road the hotels and resorts seem way in from the road. Really, everything looks nice though. As to restuarants, we stopped at (too) many and we could not believe the quality of the food which seemed to get better and better all the time. We were mostly picking them for atmosphere and we were always very pleasantly surprised so any one that catches your fancy and looks pretty will most likely have great food. One night we did go for Indian in Chaweng just for a change and I did not feel too good the next day (though I feel that it was most probably from overindulgence rather than anything else) - the yellow curries were to die for, also I LOVED the cocount chicken gangal soup you can get everywhere - you will laugh if you order it because it comes in a huge bowl and is enough for a meal for two people rather than a soup. We love spicy food and are well used to it but found that we enjoyed the food better when we asked them to tone down the heat of spice a little. (P.S. I dont usually buy souvieners - maybe just one nice thing - but I had to buy a HUGE extra suitcase in Bangkok on the way back for all the stuff I bought - you just cant resist) One more thing, if you are stopping off in Bangkok on the way back we went to the Celadon for our last night's dinner. It was really nice also and finished off our holiday in great style! - have great fun. Anne

Hi, Mel. If you're looking for a quiet spot on Koh Samui, I'd recommend the Royal Blue Lagoon. It's beautiful and relaxing and the staff was absolutely wonderful. It was also much cheaper than the other hotels/resorts you're looking at. I think the rooms were about $50/night including breakfast. The one thing I didn't care for was the beach it was on, which was on the north side of Lamai Beach. It was a rocky beach, and although it was interesting to see all the sealife there, I preferred the smooth sand beaches like Lamai.

Anne, thank you SO much for your detailed review of your trip! It sounds amazing! Thank you! <BR> <BR>Alexa, thank you for the recommendation! I really appreciate it!