Une note claire de 5 étoiles pour ce magnifique complexe 😍 L'emplacement 10/10 ! Le calme et le silence là-bas 10/10. Plage 10/10. Nourriture au restaurant 10/10 ! 🙂 Service INCROYABLE ! NATURE et faune MAGNIFIQUES ! 🙌 Le seul inconvénient était qu'il faut se lever très tôt pour réserver une place sur la plage 🤷
Lots of Thai islands offer lovely resorts, beautiful scenery, white-sand beaches, turquoise sea, palm trees, delicious food, etc etc. So please believe me when I say I particularly enjoyed THIS resort on THIS island!
The staff were excellent: friendly, helpful, but not intrusive. If you asked for something, the answer was usually 'yes' and it would happen swiftly, even when everyone was busy. It wasn't unusual to return to our room in the afternoon to find towels crafted into swans with fresh blossoms arranged on them! Beautiful, and such a thoughtful touch.
The location really is stunning, right on the beach, looking out to sea, with a backdrop of karsts and other islands. There are enough sunloungers to go round, but you can enjoy the view from the pool, if that's your preference.
Breakfast was good, except for the coffee, which was bitter. Lovely fresh fruit, yogurt, egg station etc. We had lunch at the hotel restaurant one day, too, and that was delicious.
Some people will find the island too quiet – there are no roads, fire shows on the beach, night clubs, and so on. TBH, I was afraid we'd get a bit bored. Wrong! As well as hanging out at the resort's picture-perfect beach, we also had a lovely 20-minute walk through jungle to Paradise Beach; another time, we did a boat-hopping/snorkelling day trip; and there are enough restaurants/bars that we ate out somewhere different for most meals (we were only there for 5 days, though). In comparison, on Koh Tarutao, there was one restaurant and we were the only customers! On Koh Ngai, there were enough people around to provide a bit of atmosphere, and variety re eating out.
There are no ATMs on the island, but we were able to use QR codes to pay. Obviously you'll need to take lots of cash if you don't have that. Or you might be able to pay with a card – sorry, but I don't know about that.
Travelling to the island on the long-tail boat was fun, and easy to arrange from Pakmeng Pier (then back, from Koh Ngai).
I hope to return!