Koh Samet Resorts

This is a Thai-style detached bungalow. I booked the family garden view room, which is essentially two connecting rooms – one with a king bed and the other with twin beds. First off, the hotel facilities are quite old. The shower water pressure is very low. Also, since it's facing the beach and has an outdoor bar and restaurant at the entrance, the music gets quite noisy at night. If you prefer quiet, don't choose this place; it will affect your rest. It's located at the very end of Ao Pai Beach, and you have to walk through another hotel to get to it after getting off the car. It's a bit difficult dragging suitcases through the sand, but it's only for a short distance. There's a 'songthaew' (local shared taxi) and a mini-mart right outside. I stayed for three nights and also tried the resort's massage, which was decent. Overall, the facilities are quite dated, and it can be noisy at night!

The room itself is comfortable and equipped with air conditioning, a TV, a shower, and a toilet. It is a little inconvenient because it is far from the main beach. However, it is a good choice for those who want to keep their accommodation costs down.

Overall the hotel has certainly fallen over the past 3 years and it’s pretty sad to see this happen, if you’re a single traveler or a couple I would recommend but I couldn’t recommend the hotel to families in its current state. Management: Great management they listen to complaints, they are responsible and try to solve all issues. Sadly the management don’t have so much to work with these days. General staff: A large percentage of the staff are Cambodian and living in limbo with the current issues between both countries. With the exception of one or two Cambodian staff most are either depressed and miserable or damn right rude, unhelpful and disrespectful. (The floor manager explained this himself) Rooms: Nice and simple rooms the do the job but aging fast. The rooms look good but are not high quality materials and it shows the labor and material quality is low and cheap. Showers have virtually no pressure when the hotel is busy and the water won’t reach higher than luke-warm. Location: I have to say it’s one of the best locations on the island when considering location and facilities and I guess this is their main selling point. They have shops, bars, restaurants, coffee shop and more. Patrons: Most of the year the majority of visitors are going to be Tha and Asian, they are respectful, they have manners and they will be great to holiday alongside. During Christmas to New Year there were too many rude Europeans especially Swedish tourists, these tourists camped and took over large areas of the bar and restaurants, they moved around furniture, they were rude and disrespectful to other tourists leaving trash noise and mess wherever they visited. (Staff and management ignored) Note: This used to be a great hotel and I have continuously visited over the past several years. Unfortunately I have begun to see a degradation of the hotel, the attitude towards western tourists (due to poor behavior of westerners) as well as issues related to the diplomatic issues between Cambodia and Thailand. I due hope this improves in the future. With new staff or new immigration laws as well as new investment into the hotel it could easily thrive once more.

I really loved this hotel; everything was clean, and the beds were comfortable. The breakfast was wonderful, with everything fresh and delicious. Just make sure to close the mosquito nets in the room, and the mosquitos won't bother you at night! The beach was excellent, and we had no problems finding sunbeds. We'll definitely be back to this hotel next year!

Pros: 1. Location is ideal ( walking distance between two beach ) and right by the beach 2. Room is big and toilet is spacious with a wardrobe  3. Big smart TV Cons:  1. Hotel is up the hill and it is very steep. It is a 3 storey buildings (our room is all the way up the top). Had to ”hike up” the hills and then the stairs. ( each trip is a cardio ) Not ideal to commute back and forth from the room to the beach. Not for elderly/ ppl with disabilities. 2. Breakfast is very average. There was limited seating so had to wait and refills took very long ( kitchen seemed to be short staffed in the high season )  Overall, the stay was average.

We booked a two-night stay about 3-4 days before our trip. We were allocated room 12. It features a large double bed, a refrigerator, a coffee table with coffee making facilities, a kettle, a hairdryer, a TV with a set-top box, air conditioning, a safe, and a small window overlooking the street. The bathroom has hot water, shampoo, and soap provided upon arrival, along with one bath towel per guest (no hand towels). 0.5 liters of water, beach towels, and a beach bag are provided daily. The location is so-so; it's very noisy, as the hotel is located right on the route of tuk-tuks, which run from early morning until late evening, and the bikes are also noisy at night. The sea is 300 meters away, and about the same distance to a food street and a 7/11. Overall, 1,000 baht per night is fine for a short stay; for a longer stay, you'll need to look for a quieter place.

Please be aware: if you don't book the deluxe room, you will not receive a bungalow, but rather a room located in a rather unattractive main building. I found this quite misleading, as all the pictures shown online exclusively featured the bungalows. For this reason, I strongly recommend booking the deluxe room. My negative rating applies *solely* to the standard (non-bungalow) room and the deceptive images presented during the booking process. The photos displayed are NOT what you will get when booking a standard room!

We loved everything. The staff was friendly and polite. The hotel was very clean, the towels were pleasantly scented, and we were given more than we needed. We were happy to extend our stay. The breakfasts were delicious; I really liked the avocado one.

Saikaew Villa 65 is less than a 5 minute walk from the songthiaw drop off to get to the accommodation, after the 10 minute taxi ride from Ban Phe pier. We booked 3 Superior Twin rooms for family but the rooms were definitely not 'superior'. The rooms lacked any finesse, with a broken lampshade, gaps under the doors for mozzies to get in, a broken light in the bathroom and a leaking sink pipe, dodgy fridge connection and dead batteries in the aircon remote. The room itself was clean and the service for room cleaning was good, but the surrounding area around the rooms was dilapidated, with broken down storage buildings, remnants of building works and rubbish bags and cleaning equipment on display in the walkways each day. There was a definite lack of attention to detail. It was backpacker style but not with a backpacker price tag. I booked the rooms on a balcony, with a view of the courtyard garden, but there was nowhere to sit outside the room, no chairs provided, just small tables. The location is very good, a minute or so walk away from the beach. The attached restaurant, 'Joe's', was very efficiently run and the service there was excellent (thank you to the waiting staff, who were very friendly and helpful). For 60 baht for the day, a deckchair could be rented with an umbrella right on the sea front, and the restaurant staff provided towels for the deckchairs when asked. If you plan on spending little time in your rooms, and you don't mind the outside appearance of the accommodation, then Sai Kaew 65 is a great place to base yourself for all that Sai Kaew and Koh Samed has to offer.

I really liked the hotel. During our stay, we experienced different types of accommodations. Initially, we stayed in a separate bungalow. These are located slightly behind the main building, so you don't hear any neighbors, and they have high ceilings. The curtains weren't entirely blackout, though, so it was bright in the mornings. Then, we moved to a ground-floor room in the main building. It was a bit dim, but that was actually a plus as it made it easier to sleep. Even though it was next to the dining area, there wasn't much noise, and we didn't have to deal with stairs. The sliding doors were silent, which is a big plus! Afterward, we moved to the second floor. This room was smaller than the one on the first floor, brighter, and noisier because there are rooms on both sides of the hallway, meaning more people. Kids were running around in the mornings and doors were slamming. If you want to sleep in, I recommend choosing a separate bungalow (cottage) or a room on the third floor. Breakfast is served from 7 AM to 10 AM. We came as late as 9:55 AM, and there was still plenty of food available. They had fried eggs, boiled eggs, and sometimes an omelet. There was always one hot dish – Thai-style rice, noodles, or pasta. Plus, plain rice was always available. There was also a small soup. For vegetables, they offered cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, and cabbage, along with tasty sausages and ham. Pancakes were available, and you could have them with condensed milk. Toasts and delicious coffee were also part of the spread. The staff and Emmy, the owner, are all incredibly pleasant people. A big thank you to them! Check-in is at 2 PM, and check-out is at 11:30 AM. A hairdryer is available at reception. Water and toilet paper are replenished daily. The rooms are cleaned regularly. The owner's two little Pomeranian dogs run around, brightening everyone's mood. There are also cats in the area where the separate bungalows are, and you can pet them.