Recently I travelled to Koh Samui with my partner. A travel agent we used suggested we stay at Paradise Beach as it was the best hotel left avaliable in our budget range. When we first arrived we couldn't help but notice we may be the ONLY guests in the resort under 50. Every morning these guests would sit at the exact same pool lounge, and the exact same tables, and travel to the bar and restaraunt at the exact same time. After a while we became quite amused by this, but it did dampen our hopes of befriending anyone even remotely close to our age to have a laugh with.
It is located 20 minutes away from chaweng, which doesn't sound like much, but when you are there it feels quite isolating. I would definetely not reccomend this hotel for anyone wanting to experience the nightlife of chaweng in the 20-30 year age bracket, as you literally have to plan your whole day on when the shuttelbus leaves the hotel. And trust me, you will want to leave the hotel or you will die of boredom. Also if you're coming home late there is no shuttle bus and you constantly find yourself shelling out for a taxi home. (BTW we found the lowest we could get a taxi from Chaweng to the resort was 300 baht. You may have better luck but don't be tricked into paying more).
The buffet dinner at the restaraunt was quite expensive (500 baht each) but was definetly high in quality. Ordering off the menu however was a joke as the portions were so small. If you're after an afternoon snack we found ordering off the snack menu (which you have to specifically ask for) was super cheap and a lot better value.
Happy hour at the bar was good, buy one get one free, but otherwise a bit steep and adds up fast.
The staff were extremely friendly, we saw their faces sooo many times a day it felt like they worked there 24/7.
The rooms were quite dated, not 4 star at all. We had recently come from a different 4 star hotel and they were nowhere near as close on quality. Also i would regularly wake up to find 5 lizards crawling up and down the walls, which was horrible but impossible to avoid.
If you're after a relaxing, isolating trip away from absolutely everything go to Paradise Beach Resort. If you however want to experience everything Samui stay alot closer to Chaweng.
- Paradise Beach Hotel
- Paradise Beach Koh Samui
