Diamond Hotel Ngapali

The beach was a letdown, especially by the river on the right, where rubbish had collected in the corner. We also saw a lot of plastic along the sand. Walking to the village on the left made it clearer why there was so much litter. The fishing village is right next door, and the fish smell reached the lobby and seemed to be everywhere in the hotel. They should address at least the smell and the rubbish on the beach or in the water. We started in a standard room and didn't like it: it felt old, had almost no furniture, and was full of mosquitoes. The door let in all the noise from people walking past and shouting in the corridor. We moved to a bungalow, which was better, but still had lots of mosquitoes. I'm definitely not happy with the location.

I won't stay here again when I visit Ngapali. Some staff were pleasant, so I left a small tip in the box, but the service from one person I took to be a manager, or someone senior, was a zero. Mosquitoes were everywhere, including the room, lobby, and breakfast buffet, where there were also flies and ants. The Wi-Fi was so bad that during my four-day stay I used my phone data the whole time, even in the lobby. After swimming, there was nowhere to hang wet clothes in the bathroom, and showering left a small flood on the floor. You could swim in it again, if you felt like it. We only got one large body towel, with nothing for wet hair or the face. Zero rating.

It can be a nice, quiet private place to relax, and Pearl Island, the lighthouse, and White sand island are nearby. The location is decent, but going farther out to places like Paung Won Bridge, the village, or the pagoda takes a while. There were mosquitoes everywhere, and a cockroach appeared from somewhere in our room while we were having lunch. The food was too expensive for what it was. They advertised Wi-Fi, but I could only use it for four hours during our three-day visit. Really annoying.

Mosquitoes were everywhere. This is a basic hotel, not much above a regular guesthouse, and the facilities and service are poor, even though the location is okay. It's not suitable for group tours. The restaurant has very limited service, and if they arrange a buffet dinner for a tour group, it closes to other guests. After 10 PM, you can't even get a pot of ice.