A-Na-Lay Resort Koh Kood

Mediocre stay at best. The view and location of the hotel was excellent - the rest was an experience to say the least. We found the hotel in itself to be poorly kept, accommodations were old and quite beat up (mold everywhere in the room, bathrooms in poor condition) - not at all what you would expect from the pictures on their website. The wooden bridge/walk that spans the length of the hotel was very dangerous: lots of planks were loose or not screwed in altogether, rusted nails poking out. The breakfast staff was rude at times, no "good morning", if you'd ask for something they'd point it out with their nose and walk away. The food was okay. Overall, for the price this came at, it was a big letdown.

We visit Koh Kood every year. As a family of three, we drive from Bangkok, park at the paid Ana Lay private parking lot, and then take a shuttle bus to catch either a speedboat or a ferry. Our usual pattern on Koh Kood is spending the whole day at the beach — playing in the sand, snorkeling, and taking some photos. Ana Lay Resort is located slightly on a hillside. As you walk down, you’ll find it surrounded by large rocks, and the property is arranged in a terraced style with a wide variety of room types. They also seem to be continuously adding new rooms closer to the beach. One of the highlights is the wooden walkway built among the large rocks — it blends beautifully with nature without damaging the environment, making it perfect for photos or a relaxing stroll. If you follow the path, you’ll reach the beach. The sandy beach is much larger than it looks in photos. At first, we were worried there might not be much sand, but we were pleasantly surprised by the size. There is also a spot where freshwater meets the sea, which is one of our favorite places. You can clearly see the changing scenery between high tide and low tide at this point. From the pier where the resort’s speedboats dock, you can enjoy diving and snorkeling. On the beach, you can easily spend the entire day playing in the sand. Breakfast isn’t extremely varied, but they offer freshly made noodle soup, bacon, and egg dishes, which we enjoyed. In the evening, the sunset view is stunning. The resort clearly recognizes this and has built the restaurant in a perfect location, making it easy to focus more on the scenery than the meal. I’m not sure if it’s every day, but the staff at Ana Lay also prepare a fire show. The quality was higher than expected, and we were very satisfied. This trip made it easy to understand why this place is popular among Thai travelers. We stayed for four days, and the staff were very friendly throughout our stay. Sometimes we rented a motorbike to go for lunch, dinner, or visit other beaches. A standard motorbike costs 300 baht per day, and a newer one costs 350 baht.