The 49 best places to stay in Ko Samui (2024)

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The overall experience was typical of hotels under the Marriott International brand. Service is very good, staff are warm and highly efficient.The room it self, we stayed in the pool villa, it would be better if we had a little more privacy because the private villa pool literally is next to the main road where people walking past could look at us playing in the pool. This problem could easily be fixed by planting some tropical plants.If I was to stay at this hotel again, I would just get the standard villa because the public pool area is very scenic during sunset and has an awesome bar attached to it, not sure why we would use our private pool.Overall, highly recommend it.

Ritz-Carlton lives up to its reputation, consistently delivering professionalism and top-notch service. The brand is built on the pillars of elegance and style, and this location is no exception. I've stayed at multiple Ritz-Carlton properties and have yet to be let down. The staff here were as courteous as ever, and the premises were impeccably maintained. Their commitment to high standards is clear. The pool was fantastic and family-friendly. Plus, the hotel is conveniently located near a host of excellent dining and nightlife options. What stood out most, however, was the sense of privacy and serenity during my stay. We definitely plan to return.

Perfect personal service from Ritz Carlton, we especially appreciate the service from all the staffs including Ping, Nan, Nueng, the Pak Thai restaurant manager, Fon, Nene, Nat, Ma Prang, Nino and Sem for their excellent service thought out our stay at resort, when we leave staffs in shook gave us personal farewell card with a photo took during our stay, such personal touch had left us a memorable impression.The dining options were fantastic and top quality with a large variety of western and local Thai cuisine and street food on Saturdays. Sea breeze and the Pak Thai restaurants offer fire show and dancing performances, staffs are offer warm and personalised service. Their service was some of the best from all the hotels we’ve stayed, through out our stay check in and make sure we are happy with the service.The staff at the massage facility were well trained highly recommended Noey, Amy, Jinny and Pui. Thai Fusion massage are the best.Each day the hotel would give a small gift to surprised us. We sayed at pool villa 9002 which very convenient and recommend the ones near the area. The resort offer free activities such as tennis, kayaking, Muay thai which are the ones we did. Would recommend this hotel if you looking exceptionally personal service, enjoy resort facilities and many dining options!

Worst Ritz-Carlton property I have ever seen.we went for a drink to see this property and haven’t been disappointed by an hotel like this since a long time (from 1 to 5 star).Service was disappointing from arrival to exiting the property. Not one single employee greet you as you just seem to bother them. Employee leave before you finish your sentence, the manager speaks rude to it’s employees in front of the guests, the 7 employees behind the bar does not seems to have time for you despite being the only guests.It seems clear that if you are not staying in the hotel, you are not worth any effort to be given a good service.Service is so bad that it is the kind of place you are happy to leave and hope to forget about as quick as possible.

We had a wonderful stay in a tropical pool villa, beautiful room and views. The staff at breakfast were absolutely incredible and so kind. The resort is tucked away, we did need a good amount of grabs to get around the island.

Our two nights stay in July for the celebration of our wedding anniversary was made a memorable one by Mr. Chan, Assistant Guest Service Manager. He went out of his way to ensure our stay is smooth and special after the less than satisfactory pre-arrival and arrival experience. A resort of this size, the number of rooms that they have and the fact that the rooms are spread out can make operations difficult. The Bonvoy chat app with this property is almost useless. The chat and the phone number of the property get you to the operator where for some reason whatever requests we made disappeared into the abyss. There seem to be issues with shortage of well trained staff or lack of effective communications amongst various functions, or both. A conversation with Mr. Chan was followed up by professional, warm and timely service which in the end more than made up for the earlier mishaps. With the efforts put in by his Mr. Chan and his personal follow-through, we would come back to this property and recommend it to our friends.

Where to start? OK, the beginning.On arrival, the lobby is immediately up a staircase of around 35 steps. My wife, having just had a knee operation tried to tell the reception girl that she could not climb and asked if there was there another way. “No, go up, go up” was the limit of the English at a 5 star international resort. Completely unacceptable. Fortunately, one of the buggy drivers was on hand to interact and drive her around to reach the reception. So, there was a way…..I was aware that the resort website states no accessibility but I have always taken this to mean wheelchairs. Other hillside resorts we have stayed at have a roadway access to the rear of the villa on roughly the same level. Beware, not here. The assigned Ultimate Pool Villa was accessed only via yes, another 30 or so steps, the Villa towering above the roadway to the front.Eventually a Villa of the same grade with fewer(10) steps was found.To breakfast. In fairness, a massively wide choice of food options. Sadly, the vast majority of very poor quality. Fruit not particularly fresh (delivered daily does not equate to freshness), smoked salmon pale and insipid, even the team on the egg station didn’t know when to stop for soft scrambled eggs.On returning to our villa at around 2:15 the place had not been serviced by housekeeping. A call promised immediate action, but came there none. A second, rather angry, call at 2:50 resulted in someone finally arriving at 3pm.And that was just the first 24 hours.Other highlights were getting comped dinner and drinks having waited almost an hour for 2 salads (lettuce grows slowly in Thailand it seems) and moving table 3 times at The View restaurant due to bad weather, which of course never normally happens in Thailand during monsoon season. Does the chaos that ensued happen every time a storm blows through?As others have noted, due to the size of the resort you are really captive to the buggy service, wait times ranged from 5 to 18 minutes (yes, we timed it).For the price paid, roughly usd1,000 a night, the place really is terrible value and we would not plan to ever return.

Amazing property with the most humble staff. The resort is located a bit far from the main tourist places but you can book a taxi and roam around easily. The breakfast options were great. I would really recommend this place, one should really come here and experience the Ritz Carlton hospitality.

I stayed at this resort in February at peak season, and overall it was a great experience.The staff is amazing and very friendly. They provided their services for every single request I had during my stay in a timely and friendly fashion.The room was one of the best I’ve ever stayed at; very well designed and spacious with great amenities. My only complaint about the room was that the media components were quite outdated; no smart TV and the speakers were low quality — I would expect this as a prerequisite at any 5-star resort and it wasn’t the case here.You can walk to the pool, beach and breakfast areas but they also have buggies available with minimal wait times in case you want to avoid walking in the hot weather.Amazing views from the room as well as the lobby for sunset. That said, some of the public spaces looked poorly maintained/built and this was surprising since this is a fairly new resort.Breakfast was okay, not amazing but not bad and it had a lot of variety. From the restaurants, I only tried The Ranch and Tides by the pool and both left me a bit disappointed with the quality given the price point.Overall, I think this is one of the better resorts in Samui and if you book early you can find good deals.Recommended.

I’ve never written a Google review, regardless of how good or bad the service was, but my experience at the Ritz Carlton Koh Samui and the incredible people we met there left such a lasting impression that I wanted to share it.Thank you to the team;We had a wonderful and relaxing holiday, thanks to the accommodating and kind staff who were always helpful and generous. A special mention goes to the Kids Club, particularly to Fifa and Mink. My son lost his first tooth there, and though it was washed away in the sink, the engineers made the extra effort to retrieve it, which we really appreciated. I was in awe of how proactive and thoughtful the team was.The buggy drivers and restaurant staff were welcoming and always greeted us with smiles. We’d like to give special thanks to Nokweed, who was especially kind and warm to our boys.We came as guests and left as friends. We will return again, and hope not to lose a tooth this time!

Huge and facilitated resort. But you may expect the experience of stay just at the ordinary level. Nothing superior above that level. As the resort is truly poor managed.Here are the things you may expect to happen during your stay:1. Extremely long waiting time to reach the operator (long enough that phone was cut off)2. Buggy never arrives3. They will hang on your wet bathrobe back to the hanger4. No one will help with your luggage when they greet you at the arrival lobby5. Incredible valet parking, they will collect your car key without issue any receipt,so you will have a time consuming communication to get back your car6. Meaningless customer experience survey, even you expressed your comment, they will just deliver a response that works as good as a canned reply

The villa was scruffy and warn out , it was not cleaned properly. There were stains on the soft furniture . The walls were paper thin behind the bed head, every morning we were woken very early by deafening insects. The paint touch ups over the years to the interior decorations looked like they were done by children, there was paint all over the edges of the light switches and on the glass of the windows. The overhead shower did not work , manager said there was not enough water pressure and it could not be fixed, that he was sure I would understand that it’s not possible to increase the pressure . I continued to complain , 4 days later it was fixed , unbelievable and unforgivable. Samui is humid year round, yet the entire breakfast area is open to the elements and was unbearable, the copious noisy free standing fans are testament to the huge error in design. This hotel is like a counterfeit Ritz Carlton run by a cut price unprofessional operator, RC should be ashamed of themselves . We left a day early it was that bad !

Most disappointing stay at a Ritz Carlton. The views were nice and some of the staff were very friendly. However the room's hardware could only be described as above average at best and not quite up to par with similar properties.The worst part of the stay was that there was some kind of oil spill on the beach and the hotel opted not to put up any warning signs. Me and my partner had our feet covered in oil and were asked to wait by the pool while they fetched someone to clean us up. A staff member with turpentine eventually appeared while we stood around, with no one offering an explanation. A family that walked by said the same thing happened to them in the morning which is ridiculous that no action was taken by the hotel.I had to make a complaint before a more senior level staff addressed us and did not follow up afterwards. No senior level manager ever addressed this issue or contacted me. It wasn't until I sent a complaint to the Marriott website that the GM sent a basic email.Overall pretty abysmal handling. In addition we neither had welcome drinks / water / towel upon checking in or checking out. Just supremely disappointing especially when compared to other properties that I've stayed at in Samui. I'd recommend the Conrad or if in this area the Kimpton had much better service.

In a country renown for its 5 star service, it is somewhat incredible that a ‘high end’ brand such as The Ritz Carlton has managed to accomplish such staggeringly poor levels of customer service at its Koh Samui resort.From the management team down, it is clear that nearly every member of staff is trying to do the bare minimum for their guests. This is a hotel that is surviving on its name alone and is in desperate need of corporate oversight from Marriott.The writing was on the wall for our stay when we arrived at the hotel at our pre-agreed arrival time, only to find no one to welcome us at the lobby. We carried our own suitcases up the 30-odd steps to the top of the lobby. The young team at the check-in desk were gossiping and laughing away to each other as they took our details and prepared our key cards. You’d expect this service from a cheap motel, not a ‘5 star’ resort.The room and hotel is in desperate need of renovation throughout, and if you booked an Ultimate Villa like we did, expect to be downgraded to an Exclusive Villa with no recourse (pictures of our ‘Ultimate Villa’ attached).The bar set up at the hotel is very peculiar, and it’s fair to say the hotel are missing a few tricks. No beach bar can be found, the only bar in the resort can be found by the pool where there are no proper tables or chairs. There are lounge / deck chairs only.When we went to the pool-side Sea Salt restaurant requesting cocktails only and no food we were given a confused look by the waitress, as if the request was an odd one in a resort (we received the same reaction every time we asked for cocktails only across the hotel’s restaurants). After a 30 minute wait, the overpriced cocktails themselves arrived but were served in plastic glasses.The hotel staff messed up multiple taxi reservations despite assurances they had been booked, one 40 minute taxi delay even resulted in us missing a restaurant reservation. Eventually they called a hotel-taxi to take us, which I hadn’t requested and is over-priced vs the local drivers. This felt unjustifiable given it was the hotel’s mistake.The beach is unfit for swimming, there are a couple of water outflow pipes on the beach - I presume (or rather hope) these are just storm run off pipes. There are sharp rocks underneath the water within wading depth of both beaches. To enter the water I recommend beach shoes.

The Ritz hotel is the biggest resort in the island. Accordingly, it needs a massive staff and a level of awareness by the staff on how to manage the guests properly. As this is a Ritz establishment, there is a certain level of expectations from guests. The following is my good observations on the resort:• It is close to the airport without being too close, so you don’t hear the sounds of planes landing or taking off but it takes around 10-15 minutes to reach• The resort size is huge and I believe the biggest on the island offering many rooms and villas• The toilet was fitted with a hose which is excellent• The price is competitive or even slightly cheaper than other similar resorts in the islandAnd here are my observations on the resort that needs attention:• The resort has a certificate for halal food including the meat and chicken. However, I have noticed first hand that their kitchen chefs do not understand what it means to cook halal food. They are mixing different meats in the frying pot which also include pork which is not acceptable. So the statement that our food is halal is either misunderstood or not properly explained to the kitchen staff. I also noticed that on the grill pork sausages were being grilled next to halal chicken while using the same tongs!• At breakfast also some items were handled without gloves by kitchen staff, also guests handle some items themselves and may return it with no concern from staff• During our order of room service for club sandwich , we asked for halal and yet the sandwich once delivered was containing pork, either total negligence or misunderstanding of what cooking halal really means• I had developed skin rash at night and I asked for a doctor to be present at the morning and I was willing to pay for its service, however, in the morning the doctor was not present even after the assurance of the guest services.• On the first day of my arrival, I arrived to the resort around 16:00 and was in the sea salt restaurant around 16:45. I was assured by the front desk that the restaurant was taking orders however, once I arrived to the restaurant the staff wasn’t willing to take my order claiming that the kitchen is closed. Once I contacted the restaurant management they decided to take my order which was not a pleasant experience at all.The island does not have sandy beaches, and is mostly rocky and hilly. In my opinion the island can be discovered in 4 days maximum. If you ask me if I will ever come back to the island again my answer would be no. If you ask me if I will ever book in another Ritz resort again my answer would be I am sure there are more venues out there that offer the same level of experience and are worth exploring.

Is an amazing, beautiful location with a thoughtful and kind staff to match. Located on a vast mountainside location, be prepared to walk and take lots of courtesy shuttles everywhere. We loved our private pool villa, the perfect escape. Beach had some unforeseen pollution/oil issues, but pool and bar were all we needed.

This is a vast property - something like 60 acres - albeit only 175 rooms. So, while it has the feel of a large, corporate brand resort (if you like boutique, this probably isn’t for you!) the Ritz Carlton Koh Samui never feels overly busy… everything is spacious, and well spaced out.To start with a few honest downsides, a few buildings looked like they were ready for an exterior tidy and repaint (Block 1 as of the time of writing, for example).While the food is plentiful, both in terms of extensive choice and general availability, we found most of it to be good, not great. Pastries were a notable exception, with some of the best baking we’ve had anywhere! Coffee…. needs work ;)The final, very minor watch out is the ‘complimentary’ vs inclusive water sports. This is far, far too expensive a hotel to only offer an hour of complimentary paddle boards or kayaks on some days - I can’t remember the last time I was asked to pay, anywhere. An easy suggestion to fix, team Ritz Carlton :).Internally, the rooms are fantastic. And like the rest of the resort, huge. You get what you pay for, in our view.Location wise, the hotel is 2k from Cheong Mon, which is a nice and still relatively small/developing area with a few great beach bars and restaurants. Much nicer than Bo Phut in our opinion, which used to have a similar feel, but is now heavily developed. It would be ideal to be a little closer to a village so you could walk easily, but local taxis and Grabs are plentiful and it’s literally a few mins drive if the hike in the heat is too much for you. The hotel is built around its own private cove, with a huge main pool and golden sand beach. Instagrammable would be the phrase! The area is a little rocky, so if you want to ocean swim, use the ocean pool or take rock shoes would be the recommendation.For all of the pros - and a few minor cons as noted above - the thing that makes this place is the staff. It’s hard to think of a hotel where so many team members go happily above and beyond…. we’d even say we left with a few new friends! There are so many to mention - but Tenzi, if you read this - please pass on our thanks and congratulate Chris, Nan, Ray, Nueng, Party, and Ping - they were all fantastic. A very special final mention to the three amigos and our new football team - Mick, Hassan, and Bear! We hope to see them all again soon. The three of them did an amazing job and made what was already very good, great.

My husband and I were here to celebrate my birthday and honeymoon. I had an exceptional dining experience at The View Dining at Ritz Carlton. The chef's - Mr White masterful culinary creations were truly a delight, each dish prepared with precision and creativity. The servers especially shouting out to - Point and Beauty provided impeccable service, attending to every detail with professionalism and grace. Thank you for making us the meal unforgettable!

Overall: Ok resort, but falls short of what you would expect from a Ritz. Rooms are decent, but layout is odd and amenities middling. During high occupancy, resort feels very busy and not the quiet oasis you would expect from villa-style living. People are very friendly, but service quality hit or miss. On-site activities are relatively limited and not as high quality as expected. However, Muay Thai definitely fun and would recommend. Buggies are required to traverse the resort, and wait times can be longer (10-15 mins) during high demand timesHaving just stayed at the Conrad Koh Samui prior to this, overall resort quality (room, service, on site activities) at the Ritz was a very noticeable step down.Room: Exclusive villa with ocean view. Booked through Amex FHR and was upgraded from a tropical villa. Room is quite large with a private pool and ocean views. Fairly nice, but layout is a bid odd. Closet is in the bathroom and wedged between the toilet and shower, far from the bedroom. Robes are excellent, but towels are fairly thin and scratchy. Diptyque soaps, but the lotion did not smell good imo. Shower water pressure is very good, but almost too strong to where you feel like you are being pelted by the water. There are many light switches, but none are marked so you have to trial and error them to figure out what controls what. Private pool is excellent, but limited lights for night time usage.Service: People are very friendly and it is nice to communicate with concierge through Whatsapp. Chan from the front desk was very friendly and helpful, and gave us extra hats and goodies when we checked out. However, overall quality is hit or miss. There was bird poop on our table during the cocktail hour, and despite asking for it to be cleaned twice, it never was in over an hour of being at the table. Asked twice for a spoon at breakfast and it was never brought. Called the front desk to ask about the activities available and was told they would call me back, which they never did. Other than these examples, service was solid, but would expect better from the Ritz.Activities: Fairly limited menu of activities, especially water activities. There are only 2 water sports onsite: kayaking (complimentary for 1 hour during a couple days of the week in a specific time slot and paid other times) and snorkeling in their tiny man made swim reef (500 baht). Swim reef is in the middle of a restaurant, shallow, and easily viewed from the outside, so snorkeling is not needed. No parasailing, wakeboarding, paddle boards, boogie boards, jet skis etc. on site - you have to go to Chaweng (public) beach to do these types of activities. Complimentary tennis court and equipment, but the rackets have heavily used grips that probably haven't been replaced in months, with balls that are either old, black, with no felt, or the barely inflated kids balls.Fitness center: Very limited options for weight training. Free weights only go up to 22kg, no bench / smith machine, squat rack. Only machines are cables for rows and a leg press. 2 thick foam mats, but none of the individual rolled up ones for personal usageBreakfast: Had high expectations for breakfast, but overall experience was average. Got there around 930 (breakfast ends at 1030), and many hot items were out and not being actively replaced. The remaining items were lukewarm for the most part, but there was a decent variety of options. The restaurant itself is not air conditioned and fans only reach a few of the tables, so can get quite warm during hot mornings.Dinner: The 'street food market' that they have on Saturday's was the highlight, a very unique concept for resort dining with fresh bbq stations, wok-fried noodles and rice, dessert station, open bar etc. Would definitely recommend this, but is only on Saturday. Pricey (~$100 per person) but a fun experience.

I recently had the most incredible stay at a resort that epitomizes luxury and relaxation. I cannot express enough gratitude towards Mik and Nick, whose exceptional efforts turned my experience into an unforgettable one.Upon my arrival, I realized I had lost my passport on the flight. Nick was an absolute lifesaver; he reassured me with such confidence and kindness, promising to do everything possible to retrieve it. Thanks to his relentless dedication and warm demeanor, I could fully enjoy my holiday without a shadow of worry. Astonishingly, just two days into my stay, Nick managed to locate my passport and even arranged for its collection. His unwavering support and cheerful disposition made a world of difference.Mik, too, went above and beyond to ensure my comfort and convenience. He skillfully organized transportation for me, ensuring smooth and hassle-free commutes. Even weeks after my stay, Mik continued to assist me in retrieving an item I had accidentally left behind. His commitment to exceptional service and genuine care is truly commendable.Both Mik and Nick exemplify the highest standards of hospitality, and their outstanding contributions made my stay nothing short of perfect.

This hotel really has it all. After some extensive research on where we should stay when visiting this beautiful island, I am so happy we decided to stay at this beautiful place. The rooms are huge and clean, amazing facilities all around.The location is amazing. We had stayed at a different hotel for the first part of our journey and then decided to finish our vacation with a relaxing stay here. This was the best choice because we did not want to leave the resort at all. There was so much to do that it was a perfect place to just completely unwind (fantastic spa, gym, huge pool with comfortable beds, organized events every second day, etc.). The amazing restaurants around the resort with extraordinary food, (pop-up) restaurants on multiple days a week at different locations with on the last night an amazing dinner ON the beach.We also celebrated my birthday here and the hotel went above and beyond to make this day extra special for me! Thank you so much for giving us an unforgettable experience and we actually want to come back as soon as possible.The Ladies and Gentlemen at this hotel were simply the friendliest staff you will ever see at a hotel!

We had an amazing stay at the Ritz-Carlton.The hotel is just fantastic with beautiful facilities very well equipped and decorated.But more importantly it is the staff who made us feel extremely welcome here. Everyone was so friendly and helpful. They made our stay there unforgettable.Special shout out to Nueng! Thank you very much everything.If you are in Koh Samui, this is the place to be. No question!

9, 123 Tambon, Bo Put, Amphoe Ko Samui, Surat Thani 84320, Thailand•

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