Andaman Princess Resort and Spa

The beach is right beside the hotel, so it's easy to head out for a swim, and there's also a large pool for relaxing. I stayed for three days and two nights and had a great time. The hotel seems recently renovated, with everything clean, fresh and well kept. The price was reasonable, the staff friendly, and breakfast was delicious. The room quality is good for what it costs. I'd definitely recommend it, especially for a longer visit. Great value overall!

The beaches are fantastic, with about 15 km of uninterrupted walking to the north, and the pools are clean and pleasant, though not very deep. Ko Kho Khao still feels like a hidden pearl, with relatively few tourists. Prices are okay. The hotel has a teak theme and looks like it dates from the 1970s or 80s. It felt strangely empty, almost like the hotel in The Shining. There were many Russian guests, some of whom seemed unfriendly and avoided socializing. The hotel could cater to a broader audience and offer more languages than Chinese and Russian. Reception is staffed around the clock. The staff are friendly and speak reasonable English. Breakfast is included and served from 7 to 10, but the room felt like a Romanian hotel in the 1990s. Service wasn't great, and food and plates were already missing after 9. I missed having good scrambled eggs on the buffet. The juices tasted like chemical lemonade. I'd gladly pay extra for fresh orange juice, but that wasn't available. The coffee was quite good, and the fresh croissants were excellent when they had them. The gym's air conditioning was set at 27°C (80.6°F), much too warm for working out. It smelled of rubber and mold and wasn't very clean. There are dumbbells in a full range of weights, some machines and one decent treadmill. The rooms are clean and bug-free, with beautiful teak floors and good housekeeping. There's an empty fridge you can fill with beer. I asked them to stock it, but they didn't understand. The beds are a bit hard, like many in Thailand, but okay. In Room 116, the Wi-Fi was weak and slow, and the old TV only had satellite channels, no smart or online access. The kids hated that in the evenings. The toilet float valve didn't work, so I had to open it and nudge it almost every time to refill. Faucet handles fell off, and there was no cold water. The mirrors had deteriorated, with rust-like stains all over the back. The restaurant was okay, with good food and some Western options, but the staff seemed inexperienced and service was poor. They didn't repeat our order and missed a dish, which only arrived after we reminded them. Prices were about three times higher than other restaurants. For better service, prices and excellent Thai food, Prane Beach Restaurant is a cozy local spot on the beach about ten minutes north. For burgers and meat, the hipster-style Pirate Hamburger Place is about a five-minute drive north. There's no nice bar in the hotel's beach area. Prane Bar to the north is right on the beach, with a great bartender and a reggae vibe. The pool table is almost unplayable. The balls and table are okay, but the cues are nearly unusable and there's no chalk. New cues and chalk, some jazz, a bar nearby and comfortable couches would make it a great place to hang out. Beer would be enough to serve. The lake outside the rooms looks like a green algae-filled cesspool and makes the place look forgotten. Some water circulation, plants and a way to hide the black rubber edging would help; as it is, it looks like a dying puddle. It was an okay-ish stay at a hotel that seems to be struggling. Edit: after my review, they fixed the room issues, put beer in the fridge and added scrambled eggs to the buffet. Kudos for reading reviews.

We booked a double room at the Andaman Princess, but on arrival the staff said we had requested two single beds and showed us that note in the hotel system. We hadn't asked for that, and it wasn't on our booking confirmation. They said no other room was available and would push the beds together, so we had little choice but to accept. The room and property were in very poor condition, unlike the photos on Booking.com. Windows and mirrors were dirty, and the toilet seat was stained and looked burned. There was feces on it that we had to clean ourselves. The bathroom had mold and grime, especially in the shower joints and around the faucet. Around the property we saw broken sunbeds and umbrellas, rusty pool ladders, damaged walkways that could cause injuries, garbage stored in several areas, damaged walls with plaster falling off, several car wrecks, and an unmaintained garden. The pond was dirty and seemed like a mosquito breeding spot, with its lining visible and pipes running openly in and around it. Open access points for pool equipment could cause falls or trips, outdoor lights didn't work, some basement entrances were dirty and abandoned, and the entrance fountain was out of order. Breakfast wasn't organized for the number of guests and there weren't enough staff. When we arrived at 9 a.m., several items were already gone. No manager on site was authorized to discuss the problems or arrange a cancellation, and the staff couldn't help further. The property is also far from everything. You have to cross the river by boat to reach a taxi point, where drivers try to overcharge you. We left after one night because of these conditions, only staying that first night because we couldn't find another hotel at short notice. We felt uncomfortable and disappointed, and lost two days of our trip while rearranging everything and missing out on enjoying our stay. We asked the hotel, its sales team by email, and Booking.com for a refund, but no one would take responsibility because it was apparently a partner offer on the Booking.com app. I feel tricked. It seems nobody cares about the customer's experience at this property or the days we lost.

The hotel is old and doesn't look like its photos. It's on a separate island, which may sound unusual but leaves you feeling isolated with little to do nearby. The pool is large, though a bit dirty, and the facilities need renovation. It didn't meet my expectations. If you want a quiet getaway and can live with those drawbacks, it could still work.