Baan Kao Hua Jook, Chaweng

Baan Kao Hua Jook, Chaweng

Located at the bottom of the hill leading to the Chaweng Pagoda or Kao Hua Jook. Kao is mountain and Hua Jook means around the head or on top! This is also the road that leads to the Q Bar, both with fantastic views over Koh Samui.

Back in July one of my IDC candidates stayed here and it isn't until now I write about Kao Hua Jook. She loved it here and had a great time staying at this hotel.

The hotel is not located at the beach but near Chaweng lake, which comes in handy if you're not a beach person and want some relaxed and quiet atmosphere. It's not far to the hustle and bustle of Chaweng and the lake road is an easy entry or exit into Chaweng.

The apartments are comfortable, affordable and practical for long-term/short-term travelers and I can recommend them.

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Standard room

Standard room seating area

Superior villa

Superior area dining area

Exterior including the swimming pool

Cocopalm Beach Resort, Maenam

Cocopalm Beach Resort, Maenam

This is one of Koh Samui's well hidden secrets. Located just 10km from the airport and literally next to the Lomprayah pier in Maenam, it also boosts a small but nice beach in front of the resort with a fantastic view on Koh Phangan.

The resort is privately owned and has 70 bungalows and villas to show for; 24 Superior Bungalows, 22 Deluxe Bungalows , 3 units are Deluxe Bungalow (Seaview), 7 Family Bungalow 9 Pool Villa and 4 units Beach fronts (Seaview), plus 1 Pool Villa with 2 Bedrooms with its own private Balcony and all bungalows are smoothly integrated with their lush gardens. The resort is very spacious and the bungalow are surrounded by green.

So far the resort is usually very quiet since there are no group or tour operator bookings in the resort, so enjoy whilst it lasts!

The Palm Terrace Restaurant is a great spot located right next to the beach where you can enjoy an extensive menu of Thai, Asian, and International dishes prepared on a live cooking station.

In need of a holiday and get well rested within a budget, Cocopalm Beach Resort is the place to be, it's quiet and feels remote!

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Reception

Beach front pool villa

Superior bungalow

Swimming pool

Gardens around the resort

Muang Samui Villas & Suites, Choengmon Beach

Muang Samui Villas & Suites, Choengmon Beach

The newest kid on the block on Choengmon beach my favorite beach on Koh Samui. The Muang Samui has been build over the last two or three years and is finally completed and a nice piece of work it became!

The 79 villas and suites are big and nice! There are the 90 sqm large Terrace Suites or the 125 sqm pool Suites each in contemporary Thai style decor which gives warmness of wood and light.

The Pool villas or pool villas sea view are extraordinary spacious and very nicely designed; luxuriousness appointed with 160 sqm for each villa and each room comes with it's own swimming pool and a terrace that measures another whooping 72 sqm. These villas come a with separate bedroom and living room, which makes them great for families with children.

Choengmon has plenty of restaurant options to offer on the beach and outside on the road. Chaweng and Bang Rak are nearby and for some cultural diversion, Wat Plai Laem and Big Buddha are nearby.

A great location in a nice bay with a lovely beach with plenty of options to keep you busy or alternatively to kick back and relax. The villas are medium ranged priced but well worth the expense. Enjoy your stay here!

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Pool villa sea view

Pool villa bed room

Pool villa living room

Swimming pool

Pool and beach view

Anantara Lawana Resort & Spa, Chaweng

Anantara Lawana Resort & Spa, Chaweng

The 5 Star Anantara Lawana Resort & Spa in Northern Chaweng has 122 rooms and villas to boost and room sizes start at an impressive 61 square meters.

Luxury rules and spacious is the key word. Two restaurants cater to your culinary wishes amongst which is a restaurant called the tree tops, where you can enjoy the most luxurious setting among, well, the tree tops. A truly romantic experience. In case you would like to get some physical activity, there's a squash court in case you're in the mood.

A nice infinity pool near the beach, in case your private villa's pool is too lonely for you and free wifi complement the surroundings of this resort.

A great location just outside the hustle and bustle of Chaweng but nearby enough so you can indulge in either shopping, dining or a nightlife experience.

If you're up for luxury near Chaweng, this may suit you just fine.

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Deluxe bed room

Deluxe pool access bedroom

Pool villa

Sea view pool villa

Pool

Elements Boutique Resort & Spa, Baan Taling Ngaam

Elements Boutique Resort & Spa, Baan Taling Ngaam

If you're looking for luxury in a secluded area, Elements may be it for you. This boutique resort is about as far away from anything as you can find or get on Koh Samui. The Baan Taling Ngaam area is lovely and reminds me of how Samui was a long time ago and the beach is very nice out here.

Their 4 - 2 bedroom Luxury Beachfront Villas with private pool open-air jacuzzi and a sunset sala, 14 - 1 bedroom Garden Villas with a choice of private plunge pool or jacuzzi, 12 - 1 bedroom DeLuxe Sea View Apartments with sea view balcony and 3 - 1 bedroom DeLuxe Studio Apartments with balcony are built for those seeking to get away from the busy mainstream holiday areas.

Elements is not a big Samui hotel resort - and that's how it was planned. It is a small boutique resort with holiday villas and apartments emphasizing personal service according to your individual tastes!

If you're looking for a getaway place, don't look any further, Elements is it!

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Garden Villa Pool

Garden Villa

Beach front Villa

Beach fron Villa pool

Beach

Kamalaya resort, Hua Thanon

Kamalaya resort, Hua Thanon

It's full name is Kamalaya Wellness Sanctuary and Holistic Spa Resort and is centred around a monk's cave that once served Buddhist monks as a place of meditation and spiritual retreat, Kamalaya's essence is expressed in its name, 'Lotus (kamal) Realm (alaya)', an ancient symbol for the growth and unfolding of the human spirit.

The accommodations include cozy hillside rooms, open suites, and spacious villas overlooking the coastline of southern Koh Samui. Buildings rest amidst ancient, granite boulders, streams, and tropical vegetation making the retreat at one with nature. Come here for what was once called “the cure” and the wellness and holistic therapies cover detox, yoga, Tai Chi, ayurvedic therapy and dozens more. The meals are fabulous, this is not spa cuisine unless you want it, the healthy food includes meat and wine too.

Well hidden away with hardly any outside distraction at all at a very quiet corner of the island, it's a haven for retreat and working on your wellness. Prices are at the medium to higher end range but well worth the investment.

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Guest room

Guest room

Beach front Villa

Rock top Villa

Swimming pool

The Passage Resort, Bang Po

The Passage Resort, Bang Po

This fairly new resort, the soft opening was just over a year ago, is in a very tranquil area of the island, away from all the hustle and bustle. Nathon would be the nearest destination with just around 4 km to go.

The resort offers once a day a shuttle to Chaweng and Lamai. If you want to be more flexible in your moves, you may need to rent some wheels for your stay or the day.

The resort has two big pools for the Pool Connect villas and also offers villas with their own pools.

The Passage would suit newly weds and anybody else just fine, if they're looking for a quiet destination.

Good service in a new and quiet, slightly out of the way resort, if that's what you're looking for, get yourself a nice and quiet room here.

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Booking by Hotels Combined

Pool Villa bedroom

Pool Villa living room

Pool Villa

Connect Pool Villa bed room

Swimming pool

Samui Boat Lagoon Villa's, Plai Laem

Samui Boat Lagoon Villa's, Plai Laem

As already mentioned in my blog post on my Samui info and weather blog about the Samui Boat Lagoon Villa's, Joakim, one of the owners of this Villa estate, got in touch with me during the unseasonal floods in March and April and he invited me to visit the Villa estate. This was an invitation I gladly accepted and here is a blog post about my findings.

One of Samui's biggest pools is found at the Samui Boat Lagoon Villa's and on top of that, each villa has it's own private pool! The villas are located in Plai Laem, quiet enough to get all the rest and relaxation you would expect from a stay in a villa complex and on the other hand it's near enough to plenty of restaurants, bars and sightseeing attractions like the Fishermans Village for restaurants or it's weekly Walking Street and Wat Plai Laem for a nice excursion to one of Samui's most beautiful temples. It's just a 5 minute walk around the corner!

The 26 villa's are split up in single bedroom, 2 bed room and 4 bedroom villa's and the beach front even supports some 3 bedroom villa's to top it off. The prices are very interesting and it may well pay off to check one of the booking/reservation engines mentioned at the bottom of this post!

All villa's boost their own pool, kitchen, air-conditioned bedroom(s) and a living/relaxation area with a TV. The one bedroom villas have 160 sqm to offer, the 2 bedroom villas 240 sqm and the 4 bedroom villas 500 sqm.

As already mentioned on my Samui info blog, I was especially impressed with the spacious bathrooms and the architecture of the villas, which include all the amenities you would expect at a modern resort.

The rates are currently even better than the price you may get in other resorts for just a room so it's well worth to check out and I can highly recommend the Samui Boat Lagoon Villa for a relaxing holiday or stay on Koh Samui.

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One bed room villa

One bed room villa with pool, kitchen and relaxation/living area

Two bed room villa with pool, kitchen and relaxation/living area

Two bed room villa with pool, kitchen and relaxation/living area

Samui Orchid Resort, Hua Thanon

Samui Orchid Resort, Hua Thanon

Located on 25 acres of coconut plantation, this resort is spacious. It's also located in a very quiet corner of Samui, down in the south eastern corner of the island. It has however two unique attractions, a zoo (with Bengal tigers) and an aquarium with lots of tropical fish. They can be visited at half price. There's also a free shuttle into Lamai. There's no free wifi though, only paid internet in the reception area, something they should really work on.

The resort is right on the beach and consists of bungalows and low-rise modern Thai styled buildings and there are 3 swimming pools.

Looking for seclusion and a truly peaceful and relaxing holiday The Samui Orchid resort is the place to be!

Booking by Agoda

Booking by Hotels Combined

Superior room

Standard room

Bungalow with private pool

Hotel view

Swimming pool

Melati Beach Resort, Thongson Bay, Plai Laem

Melati Beach Resort, Thongson Bay, Plai Laem

The Melati Beach Resort is located in a lovely small and idyllic bay, the Thongson Bay, which ranks amongst my fave bays on Samui.

The resort is conceptualized as a Thai Village planning integrated with 79 units around lush tropical landscape overlooking pristine white sand and a fantastic view of neighboring Koh Phangan.

This truly is a 5 star pool villa resort with private swimming pools in 41 out of 79 villas and suites. Surrounded by rain forest, rooms have a tropical decor and ambiance and are well-equipped with mod cons such as TVs and mini-fridges. The resort’s luxurious pool villas come with their own private garden and pool.

To get an idea about the rooms, here they are listed;

Grand Deluxe (1st Fl) 9 rooms 95 sqm.
Grand Deluxe (2nd Fl) 26 rooms 77 sqm.
Grand Deluxe Two Double Bed 3 rooms 95 sqm.
Private Garden Pool 14 rooms 144 sqm.
Pool Villas 12 rooms 143 sqm.
Pool Villa Suites 6 rooms 196 sqm.
Family Pool Villa 5 rooms 200 sqm.
Presidential Suites 4 rooms 347 sqm.

Samui airport is just about 10 minutes away and Chaweng with all it's offerings is just a mere 15 minutes away.

All this can be had for really fair. mid range prices.

Looking for that relaxed bungalow stay with all mod cons and a fantastic beach/bay to top it off? Don't look (too much) further! The Melati may be just what you're looking for.

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Booking by Hotels Combined

Grand Deluxe Bedroom

Junior Villa suite bath room

Junior Pool Villa

Presidential Suite

Swimming Pool