Banthai Sangthian

It’s a passable hotel with a nice little beach, but keep your expectations for the rooms low. It’s a bit far from the center. Renting a motorbike makes that no problem, but otherwise there are very few restaurants nearby.

The owner was nice, and the old place has been refurbished. Our ground floor triple room was comfortable enough, but the generator kept cutting out during the night, switching off the air conditioning and waking us repeatedly. A family room above us meant we were also woken early by loud vibrations from the kids moving around. Food on the beach was average, took a long time to arrive, and there was a serious shortage of decent restaurant options.

The beach at the hotel is really nice. The Thai style building is attractive, though you can hear the neighbors and bugs outside. I only stayed one night and have no complaints. It feels a bit expensive for what it is, but that’s normal on this island.

The staff were very helpful, and the timber room in Thai style was interesting. I spent the first hour battling mosquitoes. You can walk through the resort to the beach and follow the coast past other resorts and places to eat. Some of the beaches have brilliant white, fine sand. It was nice, though it didn’t feel like a typical resort.