Irene Resort Koh Lipe

The beach front villa with a pool was incredible, and the location is stunning. Still, we're leaving disappointed tomorrow. This is one of the island's more expensive hotels, so I expected service to match the price. Maybe we had an unusual run of bad luck, but several things went wrong. After a short wait for the room, we were shown a bedroom flooded by the air conditioner. Cleaners came to deal with it, and I don't understand how it wasn't noticed during the preparation just minutes earlier. That first night, the bath tap was broken; maintenance fixed it after about half an hour. Breakfast was meant to be delivered to our room the next morning. The restaurant had confirmed the order the night before, but nothing arrived. A manager took charge on the second morning and the breakfast was wonderful. On the third morning, though, the confirmed pre-order failed to arrive again. These are first world problems, but paying a premium makes it reasonable to expect the promised service. It felt like there weren't enough people available to deliver it. I wouldn't return or recommend the hotel. Anyone considering it might weigh this against the more positive reviews, since I suspect the usual experience falls somewhere in between.

We stayed four nights over Christmas 2025, arriving on Christmas Eve, and had a fantastic time. The resort's northeast location is among the island's best, right by Sunrise Beach, just a few minutes' walk from our room. We especially liked relaxing around the pool bar. Our room was spacious and comfortable, and the buffet had a great range of western and asian breakfast choices. The food tasted better to me than at many other hotels we've stayed in. A few people made the stay especially memorable. Ae, the F&B Manager, looked after us each morning at breakfast. Andrea took us on the inner islands snorkeling tour and helped us get some great photos. We had planned an outer island trip for the next day, but Andrea warned us that the wind might spoil it. We appreciated his honesty and chose to cancel. It felt like the resort cared more about our experience and its brand than selling us another tour. There were some smaller drawbacks. When we first entered the room, there was a strange smell near the entrance, though it went away in the living area, perhaps because of recent renovations. The service was friendly, but it sometimes felt a little understaffed, especially when we were at SOL Beach Resort, and things could have run more smoothly. The recently built gym had the basics and worked, though I'd personally like to see better equipment. Even with those points, we had a wonderful, memorable stay with lovely staff, good food, and a beautiful resort. We'd gladly return and recommend Irene Resort.

We had a very good stay in a villa with a private pool and direct access to the beach. It was wonderful. The island itself is beautiful, with clear water and gorgeous beaches, though it was crowded during our high season visit. There were a few problems when we arrived: our luggage was delayed, a chair was broken, and the safe wasn't working. We told reception, and Front Office Manager Mr. Irfan dealt with everything quickly, in a friendly and professional way. I highly recommend the hotel, and many thanks again to Mr. Irfan for handling it so well.

For 14,000 THB a night, I expected more from the Sand Beach Front Pool Villa, Room 103, where I stayed for two nights at Irene Resort Koh Lipe. The resort is pleasant, and Yui, Meena, and the Bellboy were friendly and helpful. The food was only acceptable, and the overall condition and attention to detail didn't feel worth this price. Cleanliness was the biggest problem. The private pool and bathroom had dust and ants from check-in through check-out. Staff cleaned the pool on the checkout date, but it was still dirty with many ants afterward. Housekeeping missed details too: the rain shower was dusty, and mirrors and windows had visible fingerprints. The fan didn't work, the bathtub hand shower wasn't connected to water, the faucet tap didn't work, and the silicone sealing around the windows was very poorly done. Other details added to the sense of carelessness. The floating breakfast basket and dishes were left on the beach until around 17:00. The bed decoration looked impressive but felt unnecessary and time-consuming, with many red beans, while basic cleanliness wasn't properly handled. Three housekeeping staff came for a simple turndown task, which seemed inefficient. There were no complimentary minibar items or snacks, just basic coffee, tea, and water. For a honeymoon or anniversary at this rate, I would've expected some personal touch. There was no handwritten welcome card, only a cheap printed cocktail voucher with barely readable text, and no follow-up about guest satisfaction or a survey through the Handigo application. At checkout, the agreed 10% dining discount wasn't applied to the bill. I understand that can happen when it's busy, but the resort was relatively quiet, and the information seems not to have reached the staff member handling the bill, causing an unnecessary hassle. Some of these issues, especially the first four, also appear in earlier reviews, yet don't seem to have been fixed even after three months. Pool and garden maintenance and housekeeping seemed short on attention to detail. There may also be gaps in on-site or general manager oversight affecting quality control and guest satisfaction. The Sous Chef seemed unapproachable, with a consistently unhappy or stressed expression, and a grooming standard that didn't fit a resort in this category. A female staff member in a black shirt, Karn, seemed to represent "management," but more structured training and proactive leadership would help improve service standards. The resort has a pleasant concept and clear potential, but this stay didn't justify 14,000 THB per night. Cleanliness, maintenance, efficiency, and personal service need work, including better entertainment. Since many guests seem to spend more time and money outside the resort, more competitive, guest-friendly prices for activities, excursions, spa treatments, and restaurant services could make the property more appealing and encourage guests to spend more there.