I agree with Michael I'm afraid (sorry Leigh). If Samui resorts are still offering low season prices until mid December there must be something in what he is saying. I think the point here is choice. If I desperately wanted to go to Phangan and didn't have the choice of Phuket or Phi-Phi with less chance of rain,I would still go. But as they are asking for opinions on a range of destinations,I think Michael's comments are valid. Also seing they have such a healthy budget and they are only going for a short period they dont need to consider low season prices as an advantage.

I am checking the weather at the moment as will be driving down this week, along the coast certainly from Cha Am south it has been very hot and 'very dry' for a long time now, that is good if you are there now but means that the seasonal rains are 'late in coming', it has been raining heavily in the north and elsewhere but the coast south towards that area is on the verge of being a dustbowl, well, maybe not quite, but certainly bone dry, and that means that the rains will come, as they always do, but looks like they will be later.
This month is supposed to be the 'wettest' from Cha Am/Hua Hin/Bang Saphan/Koh tao/KPG/Samui with September being second 'wettest', and certainly September along the coast was very little rain at all compared with other years.

JamesA, not sure if you saw the Sunday Post this week. There was an article about storm surges, and their possible effect on Bangkok. There was a map of SE Asia showing the general paths of typhoons for various months of the season. The dotted red line for "October/November" seems to run right through Samui!

Gay was about 20 years ago, so I fear the south may be 'overdue' for another hit. If it's really that dry, things could be quite bad, as a lot of the drains will be clogged with debris.

What abou the Sarojin in Khao Lak? Khao Lak whilst not an island would certainly suit your request for nice relaxing clean beach, uncrowded resorts and the focus is not nightlife. The Sarojin don't allow children and I would definitely stay there if I didn't have mine with me when we go in February...from khao lak you can access some fantastic snorkelling/diving, go to the khao sok national park and you have easy access to phang nga bay with its limestone karsts.

Tripadvisor has about 200 reviews on the Sarojin and some traveller photos. also take a look at khaolaklovers.com

On Ko Phangan, we have had lovely weather at that time of year - we love Thong Nai Pan which is the nearest beach to the Panviman and Santhiya (these two resorts are both up on the headlands above this beach) but at that time of year, my friend had to be rescued from Ko Tao (nearby) on a Thai army ship as the island ran out of food and none of the ferries were operating as the weather was so bad. I guess it can be a bit hit and miss and if you are paying out that much money, you might want to be more certain of a hit !!
BB

Thanks again for all the response. We are going to play it safe and will not do koh phangan. We are in a toss up between the new Anantara on Phuket and the Zeavola. We are leaning toward the Anantara, but since it is so new fear that there will still be construction that will hinder our peaceful silence.

The grand opening deals are great and the few pictures they have, it looks beautiful

O.K. cat, I think Zeavola should be your choice.

Quoting from your original post...'' We are looking for something nice, but smaller-- probably a boutique place since we really do not want a large resort. We are mostly interested in having nice accomodations and a nice relaxing, clean beach--we are not interested in nightlife or crowds''

Laem Tong Bay, really is quite special. We have visited tropical beaches in many parts of the world, but this is the only place that draws us back again, and again, and........

If you're trying to avoid "a large resort" feel, then I think you're picking the wrong place. The resort itself is definitely beautiful--no qualms there--but it's significantly larger than Zeavola and, I'm afraid, the surroundings aren't nearly as captivating. Good luck making your decision!