La Perle Luxury Boutique Hotel

We stayed in one of the two beachfront villas with a private pool on Koh Samui’s north coast. The location was peaceful enough to relax by the beach or pool, but close enough to central Koh Samui’s busy bustle. Staff arranged a taxi from our arrival pier, a vehicle for our stay, and onward travel, so we found them very helpful. The villa was spacious and comfortable, but had some problems. The sliding door was a nightmare to lock because its two panels didn’t seem to fit properly. Even forcing them together, it took us 5-10 minutes the first time. The interior also needs refreshing, with plaster marks and stains on some walls, which was disappointing for a place advertised as a ‘luxury boutique hotel’. The private pool was lovely right by the beach, but full of leaves and debris that I had to remove myself. I don’t think it was cleaned during our stay. There were rust marks around the edge and a broken light, so the pool area needs attention too. The shower was lukewarm at best and weak. Every morning my throat felt sore and dry after leaving the air conditioning on, which I haven’t experienced at other places on our trip, so I wondered when it was last cleaned or serviced. Reception is open 8am-9pm, with queries outside those hours handled by WhatsApp. The kitchen and bar close at 4pm, earlier than we’d have liked. There aren’t many places to eat nearby, so without a vehicle we’d have struggled and needed to order through Grab. One evening we returned to find a plate broken after our room had been cleaned. We were charged for it, though we felt it wasn’t our fault and it hadn’t been broken before we left that day. The receptionist insisted we pay despite our protest, and we felt we had no choice. It wasn’t the worst stay, but it wasn’t the best either, and I don’t think the ‘4 star luxury boutique hotel’ description fits.