The hotel is in a good location on Lamai as the entrance is right on the shopping/restaurant strip and the well presented grounds go through to the beach. The other positives are that the pool and restaurant areas are good, the food / breakfast also good. The negatives are the rooms and staff service levels. I booked three glass front Bungalows for family and friends. They look OK at first glance but on close inspection are shabby, dirty and in dire need of upgrade/ rebuilding, particularly the “bathrooms”. I expressed my dissatisfaction and looked at other rooms because I was happy to pay more if they were better but they were only marginally better and also needed a lot of work to bring them to an acceptable level. Staff were generally well intentioned and quite friendly but are poorly trained and lack customer service focus. When I asked the staff to reconfirm flights they sent me to their office over the road – not good when it’s raining. It cost 100 baht, which may be a little scam, but I was annoyed that the service level was so poor that the satff would not make a phone call to reconfirm their guest’s flights. I think that reflects the management style. It’s a shame because with some further investment in the rooms and staff training it could be a great spot. I’ll go elsewhere next time in Samui.
- Golden Sand Beach Hotel
