Ok so this place gave me very mixed feelings. Also, beware, the photos on the property's website are extremely misleading! At first glance, this Sheraton property looked really nice. On arrival to the reception area, no one looked up from their cell phones to greet us, so we had no idea if we were in the right place to check in. I had to approach a desk to ask where we should check in after which the gal, "Gigi," said that she could check us in (for the record, "Gigi's" name tag said "Thipsuda"). So this is how the stay began. When we got to our room (and many times throughout the stay), the room door stuck. It would open with the key (i.e., the door light would turn from red to green) but would constantly stick. Very annoying. Throughout our stay, there was a girl sitting at what looked like a concierge desk with may travel brochures (i.e., where you plan daytrips/excursions) but every time that I approached her, not only was her head buried in her cell phone, she could not speak any English at all (very odd). My main gripe at this property was that, despite reporting it, there was no hot water in the room. That makes me crazy. Come on, Sheraton, really??!? Seriously?? There was also no vanity mirror and the white, non-slip stickers in the white bathtub were black with dirt. Who wants to take a bath on those?? Also, please get rid of those old-fashioned and noisy silver trash cans with the foot pedal in the bathroom -- ugh! The property is located on a steep hill, and it is massive. If you have any issue with walking, climbing, or mobility, there will be no place for you here. No elevators. There were buggies to go from the reception area down to the restaurants on the beach. The buggies aren't so cute after a while as it seems to bring one into way too much contact with staff. One driver, Pierre (or Piek/Piak/Pear?) - an older gentleman - was quite jolly, very enthusiastic and very friendly. Also, sometimes the wait for a buggy is quite long which can be inconvenient. There are two pools: one upstairs and one down by the beach. All of the sun chairs at both pools are dated, old-fashioned and old. The pool by the beach looked filthy: dank, murky, and grey. We could not find the pool towels for that pool. We used the upstairs pool which, although it had zero atmosphere and non-working fountains in the pool itself, was much cleaner and quieter. Upstairs (and downstairs), there were no pool person/s to help and very few pool towels were actually available at the upstairs pool. The towels that were available on a random shelf by the stairs looked completely worn out. Very, very disappointing. The breakfast was excellent as was the coffee (we had only cappuccinos and espressos). There was so much selection and also made-to-order options. However, the breakfast room/area could be more presentable; the blinds were dirt-splotched, dirty and ripped. The staff was very friendly. I wish that I had booked the Vana Belle (another Marriott-owned luxury property) just down the beach. We had fantastic drinks there and a great happy hour there but that is a different review. NB: Their pool looked fabulous. The two restaurants were so-so. Staff must improve their English skills. Blue Monkey is the daytime lunch place but it is also open late. Really nice gal/server there with good English (long dark hair) with whom we had a lot of contact (was "Chanapan" her name??). The more upscale restaurant, Long Talay, seemed always empty in the evenings but we did have a decent dinner there one evening. Try also "Aasia Kitchen" (Thai/Middle Eastern fare) across the road from the property where owner, Aasia, will take care of you with great food, at great prices, in a very casual atmosphere. But that is a separate review so check out that review! One nice thing the property offers is a free shuttle (make a reservation) that brings you to and from a local mall. The shuttle conveniently has Wifi. There is a shrine on the hill, "Khao Hua Jook Pagoda," which is nearby the mall and we visited the pagoda when we got bored at the mall. Definitely worth the steep climb! There was a cafe at the top of the hill with a really nice gal working there and had WiFi (I will cover in a separate review). You can order taxi's easily from the Reception Area. We took a taxi one day over to the Lamai Beach area (no sidewalks to walk around in these parts..) and got out at the Lotus supermarket and walked around, shopped for souvenirs, and visited Wat Ratchathammaram (aka Wat Sila Ngu). I would never stay at the Sheraton Samui ever again. Marriott: do better and shame on you all for letting this place with so much potential fall apart.…
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.