Suanmali Samui

From my balcony I could look out over the pool and greenery, which I really enjoyed. The place was peaceful and very clean. Its design gave me the feeling of living in an earlier era. Although it’s close to everything, it’s away from the noise of the night bars.

The location has a strange nighttime atmosphere because this part of Lamai has a red light scene, which we hadn’t known about. Even so, we felt safe the whole time. The hosts were nice, and the housekeeper was very kind. We also had green views of palms and mountains, good enough wifi to work remotely, and a clean, spacious room. In low season, my fiancé and I had the pool to ourselves and really enjoyed it. The beach is a 5-minute walk away, and 7/11 is 3 minutes away.

We left the very next morning after just one night and found somewhere much better and cheaper. We’d planned to stay 8 nights, but thankfully had booked directly with the hotel by phone, so we could leave if we didn’t like it. The lovely pool area was actually why I chose the place, and we’d expected good standards since Samui is so competitive. Our room was at the back near the hotel entrance. It was noisy into the early hours because of the bars behind it, and there was NO INTERNET in the room. To get any reception, we had to sit by the pool near the office. Management denied the problem when we raised it, with an attitude of “who cares!” The bed smelled quite mouldy, perhaps because the room hadn’t been used for a while, and the bathroom was dirty. I scratched the word “dirty” into the soap scum on the shower taps with my fingernail, hoping someone would clean it. Things generally felt old and worn out, like the place had seen better days. As often happens here in Thailand, it seemed things weren’t maintained.

A cozy place to stay, and not too far from the beach. The hotel owner was friendly, kind, and considerate.