Ao Cho Grandview Hideaway Resort

The beach location suited us, and the wooden villa looked much like its description. But the balcony was a mess: the couch had ants, holes, and dirt, so we couldn’t sit outside. There were small ants inside too, and stains on the bed and cushions. Breakfast was pretty boring. We stayed three nights during high season in December and paid nearly 20,000 baht for one night. When we asked about adding another night, reception quoted 20,000 baht, so we said no. We saw rates of 13,000 baht on Booking or Agoda. The reception service didn’t feel very guest oriented. For us, the value was poor at that price. At 5,000 baht or less, it might have felt less bad.

We came for our honeymoon hoping to rest, but the construction noise started at 8:00 AM on both mornings and made sleep impossible. Our room was right beside the active site, and this hadn’t been mentioned before we booked. If we’d known, we wouldn’t have chosen the hotel. Mosquitoes also kept getting into the room, even though we never opened a door or window. My wife is pregnant, and we were trying to avoid bites because of health concerns such as Zika. We raised both problems with management right away. They said nothing could be done and offered no compensation. When you can’t sleep or feel comfortable and at peace, the rest of the hotel doesn’t matter. I can’t recommend it for a calm or restful stay.

The restaurant was good, though it was almost always empty. There are other places along the beach serving food for a fraction of the price, so people seemed to go there instead. The beach itself is probably the island’s best, or close to it: clear water, little boat traffic, a long shallow stretch, and no rocks. Our room disappointed me. For the price I expected more space, and the garden view looked more like an electrical substation. I’d chosen the pool option, but the plunge pool was freezing, so we never used it. Breakfast also fell short of other places in Thailand, with little fruit and few Western options. The location was a bit awkward for us. I’d read that kayaks and similar gear could be borrowed for free. When I tried, I was told that was only for guests who booked direct. We booked through booking . com, so I paid 600 bahts for a kayak, only to find it had a hole and was sinking. That was a pain. The hotel was okay, but I wouldn’t return.

The room was lovely and the location is fantastic, but the service and upkeep made this our most disappointing stay. We were there for a week, and this was our most expensive hotel on the trip. The bar was empty in the evenings despite some entertainment around 7pm, and the restaurant was hardly used. Drinks cost far more than at nearby resorts and bars. I’d want the directors to look at those numbers, because something needs to change. On our first night the bar was empty, but they initially said only two smoothie flavors were available. Eventually they mentioned coconut juice, though we never got the smoothie. We moved to the restaurant. After five minutes, the bartender brought our menu with the drinks, even though we’d rung the bell twice. The two waitresses were chatting, so we had to call out to place an order. After waiting 40 minutes in an almost empty restaurant, we approached them and were told to wait another 10 minutes or cancel. I asked for the manager, who we were told was in Bangkok. That left us worried there was no management around. Breakfast confirmed the concern. It was easily the worst buffet of the 10 hotels we visited. There were no Western options like bacon or cheese. The meat was ham served in water and chicken sausages, and the food was stone cold because the servers weren’t lit. On day 5, my wife photographed them, and the next morning they were lit. The fruit was the same two choices, dried-out pineapple and watermelon. On day 4 she asked for a banana and got one. The next day she was told there were no bananas, but she could buy a banana smoothie at the bar, where bananas were visible. After the first night I wrote to the general manager. I don’t blame staff for seeming demotivated or lazy, that’s a management issue. The manager never replied, which felt disrespectful and seemed to point to the cause of the problems. Some staff were exceptions to this, I should add. The gardens were full of dead leaves and looked shabby. Samet villas just a cove along showed what well-kept grounds could look like. Our lovely room shared stairs with another room, and they were never swept during the whole week. I’m posting two pictures to show that. There were five or six harmless loose dogs on the beach. They often peed on the beanbag chairs, which I never saw cleaned. I’d have felt less comfortable with young children there while the dogs ran up and down and played roughly with each other. People fed them, so any food on the beach attracted one or two dogs sitting and asking for it. One morning glasses from the night before were still on a beach table when we left breakfast at 9:30. Koh Samed was lovely, and I’ll definitely return, but not to this hotel. I’ve given fantastic reviews to our other nine hotels, mainly for the wonderful staff and service we found throughout Thailand. I see similar dissatisfaction in other reviews here, and hope management takes the feedback constructively instead of taking it out on staff. The hotel has a beautiful setting and a great room, but those aren’t enough. You can do much better, especially at a better price.