Baumancasa Beach Resort

The location is fantastic, and the room looked like the photos, clean and tidy. For what you pay, things are mostly good. The beds were the problem for us: the mattresses were uncomfortably hard, and the pillow felt like a brick.

We paid nearly £700 for four nights, but left after just one and booked somewhere else so the hotel wouldn’t ruin our holiday. Our room was awful and looked like it hadn’t been refurbished in ages, despite the pictures. We were in building 5, a long way from reception, and there was a constant motor noise coming through the closed balcony door, if you can call it a balcony. The WiFi didn’t work at all, and breakfast was terrible.

The low price fooled us, and one awful breakfast wasn’t enough, so we got a second one just as bad. Even my dog might turn it down. Everything felt cheap. The safe didn’t work, and the bathroom leaked. The renovated room pictures are misleading.

The central spot is a plus: close to the beach, good food nearby, and walkable to Kata Beach and the Karon roundabout. But after staying elsewhere in Karon many times, this place was far worse. We booked a week and the room was smaller than the photos, with mold in the shower and a tiny balcony. The removable shower head was positioned so water went everywhere. The air conditioner was part of the balcony and very noisy. The bed was absurdly hard, wooden slats and no give. We asked for a topper and got an extra summer doona, which was awful. Twelve hours in, I was thinking of leaving, but nothing was available in peak season. We ended up taking a taxi to a BnB to get a bed topper, and we’re leaving it behind in case someone else enjoys it. Breakfast was awful too, so don’t spend money on it. They do cook scrambled eggs and omelettes fresh, but that gets old quickly. Everything else in the bain-maries was cold, and uneaten food was packed up and served the next day. We asked them to heat baked beans and were told no, there was no microwave. The Russian guests next door had been arguing for two days, yelling, abusing each other, and slamming doors. You could hear them over the air conditioning, and they showed no consideration for anyone else.