Ibis Bophud Samui

Ibis Bophud Samui

After having stayed in various Ibis hotels around Europe, it was strange to see one being build here on Samui! Since it was being build next to World Resort, in which I teach about every month an IDC, I could follow the noise and progress first hand whilst diving in the pool!

Having said that, the feedback on this Ibis is good. In general the rooms are considered small(ish) but the resort is very clean and the lay out is nice, with a open and inviting reception area, a nice pool and good and easy access to the beach. The breakfast is also good value for money.

Each of the 258 rooms at this 3-star property are designed to help guests relax in comfort and style. Some of the features you'll enjoy are non smoking rooms, air conditioning, hair dryer, in room safe, television LCD/plasma screen, shower, balcony/terrace. The hotel boasts bar/pub, laundry service/dry cleaning, meeting facilities , restaurant, disabled facilities, hotel/airport transfer, tours as part of its superior facilities and services. Guests seeking exercise or leisure will be pleased to find massage, pool (kids), pool outdoor and a garden at the hotel.

For a getaway this Ibis is a good option, quiet location but not far from the airport. Some good restaurants outside the premises in walking distance or alternatively walk over the beach towards Bophud/Fishermans Village for a wide selection of bars, pubs and good restaurants.

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Standard room

Family room

Swimming pool

Restaurant

Beach view

Choengmon Beach Hotel & Spa, Choengmon

Choengmon Beach Hotel & Spa, Choengmon

This fairly new hotel in Choengmon is located on my favourite beach and bay of the island, as stated regularly in my various blogs.

Choengmon bay is just nice and relaxed and plenty of pictures can be found on my Samui info and weather blog of exactly this bay. Nice sand, in general very quiet and very shallow water which makes it perfect for kids to play in the water.

Back to the Choengmon Beach Hotel though, it's exactly their part of the beach that we always use when we go and visit Choengmon!

The hotel is a beautiful, newly-opened bungalows and hotel resort, featuring a large swimming pool, tropical gardens and two restaurants. A comfortable, relaxing ambiance is created by a unique blend of the same old-fashioned simple, traditional and personalized hospitality of the owner, combined with modern facilities and amenities. Friendly, well-trained staff pamper guests with professional, personalized service.

Choengmon Beach Hotel comprises 28 Beach Bungalow as well as three low-rise accommodation wings with spectacular view of Choengmon bay.

The rooms in the low rise are basic but spacious, the restaurants give excellent choice and value for Western and Thai dishes but the breakfast is not much to write home about.

The bungalows on the beach have been around for a while.

There are plenty of restaurants on the beach and in the small village of Choengmon.

All in all an excellent budget hotel with friendly staff in a good location, near Big Buddha and not far away from Chaweng if you need to see some people or want some action.

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Superior room

Deluxe bungalow

Deluxe bungalow room

The restaurant on the beach

The 30 meter swimming pool

Le Paradis Boutique Resort & Spa, Chaweng

Le Paradis Boutique Resort & Spa, Chaweng

Le Paradise Boutique and Spa Resort invites you to step back into a world of yesteryear with all the convenience of modern living. It's situated on a rich oasis of tropical gardens, night life and entertainment is a mere step away on Chaweng Bay, Samui’s most popular beach. 12 of the 26 rooms are in traditional Thai teak houses mounted on stilts with modern interiors and a full range of amenities. Fine dining is also high on the agenda with the Karebu Restaurant offering beach front dining at any time of day. Watch the sun fade and fall into the arms of traditional Thai hospitality.

The location is great, it's right in the middle of Chaweng, near a multitude of shops, restaurants, pubs and bars.

With only 26 rooms out of which 12 are old style bungalows on stilts, the resort is quiet because the space it's build on it rather large. The stilt Thai teak villa's are lovely and beautiful but be aware of the fact that they have rather small rooms although the outside bathrooms are slightly bigger. The 'old style' look is great to some and looks romantic but others may think that the resort needs an upgrade or make over.

Due to the dense vegetation, insects tend to be an issue, especially mosquitoes in the outdoor bathrooms so you may want to have repellent at hand.

The contemporary, stone build rooms are more spacious.

This resort is an either love it or hate it kind of place with the majority of visitors liking it, although a general comment is that it does not fit a 5* facility.

Prices are in the medium range.

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Guest room

Villa Guest room

Villa Balcony

Bath room

Swimming pool

The Briza Beach Resort & Spa, Chaweng

The Briza Beach Resort & Spa, Chaweng

The Briza Beach Resort & Spa is located just on top of the hill on the beautiful Northern Chaweng beach. Briza is inspired from the architecture of the the Srivijaya Empire and tries to recapture the spirit, lightness and grace of its art, security and serenity.

It's been around for a few years now and the location is very nice indeed, locating the Briza in the quieter part of Chaweng beach (away from where I normally dive as well) and has it's own beach front, at the bottom of the hill it's build on.

The pool is nice and big but next to the road and doesn't has a view. The bungalows are build close to each other which seems space restrictive but the actual bungalows are therefor very spacious once you're inside.

The rates aren't cheap but if you want to be near the Chaweng action but still have a quiet and luxureous room, the Briza might be just for you.

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Srivijaya Beachfront Pool Villas are located on the beachfront.

Srivijaya Pool Villas have a total area each of 138 square meters. They consist of two rooms located on an upper floor and lower floor with separate entrances. Each room has an elegant bedroom with a king size bed and spacious sofa bed and living area. These villas come with a private jet pool, indoor shower, bathtub mad living room with sofa bed. They can house a maximum of 3 adults sharing in the same villa.

Duplex Bedroom

Pool view

Beach Front

Centara Villa Samui, Hua Thanon

Centara Villa Samui, Hua Thanon

One of the places that I've visited various times through my work and I used one of their pools to teach diving.

The hotel is beautifully located in the unexplored Southern part of Samui, on Natien beach, south of Lamai and near Hua Thanon. The Butterfly Garden is opposite the resort and the Aquarium is a couple of stone throws away.

The resort is build on a hill, so be prepared to walk a bit and use stairs in order to get around . They have two pools, the larger one over looking the ocean and the beach and is in a nice small bay; Na Khai Bay.

One thing to keep in mind is that Centara Villas Samui is in a quiet but remote location, if you're looking for exactly that, this may be the right place for you since they have 2 restaurants and 2 bars on the premises for your convenience. Knowing Centara's standard, it will be good but during the evening and night time there's not much going on. Lamai will be the nearest place with some action and activities.

Looking for a nice and quiet location, look into staying here from good Garden View Villas to Pool or Spa Villas with your pool, there's something for every budget.

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Deluxe Spa Villa

Pool Villa

Deluxe Villa


Swimming Pool near the beach

Lobby

Chaba Samui Resort, Chaweng

Chaba Samui Resort, Chaweng

The Chaba Samui Resort is one of the resorts that has been around a while in Chaweng and seems to be very popular with Australian tourists visiting Samui. The resort is associated with the Chaba Cabana Beach Resort in North Chaweng.

As with many resorts in Chaweng, they have a nice garden when you walk from the road or reception down to the beach and I captured this nicely in the last picture at the bottom of this post.

It's one of these places that whenever I visit it I'm surprised how nice it looks and wonder why I forgot about it.

The hotel has two wings, one located at the ocean side of Chaweng Beach and one 'across the road' at the lake side. Both wings have a pool and in total there are 88 rooms available.

The location is very good, just outside the center of Chaweng but really near to it, just a 5 minute walk to be in the midst of the action.

If you are looking for an affordable hotel in Chaweng, the Chaba Samui Resort is one of your options.

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Ocean Wing room room

Deluxe lake view room

Beach front

Swiiming pool ocean wing

The lovely garden at the ocean wing

The Island Resort & Spa, Chaweng

The Island Resort & Spa, Chaweng

This is one of the resorts where I've been driving by of since years on an end until very recently one of IDC candidates was staying there and I had a reason to go inside. I was pleasantly surprised by the spacious lay out of the Island resort and the relative low number of rooms they have, just 62.

In fitting with the tranquil ambiance the in-house spa menu derives from traditional Balinese massage, offering you an array of sensory pleasures.

Situated a short walk from the nightlife and shopping areas of Chaweng, the Island Resort and Spa offers the perfect balance between relaxation and recreation.

If you're looking for a nice, relaxing and affordable resort in Chaweng, this may be it for you.

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The inside of a superior room

Deluxe room


The nice, relaxing, green and spacious hotel area


One of the bungalows with lots of space around it

A view from the pool onto the ocean and the pool bar