MATCHA SAMUI RESORT

Gosh, where to start with this review.. I booked this place on the strength of the location and some good feedback on the likes of Tripadvisor. The photos on the site looked decent enough but turns out they were taken 30 years ago when this place opened. Anyway, I booked this place for 4 nights but upon arrival they couldn’t find our booking. After looking into this, it turns out I had made an error and booked it for the following month! This turned out to be a blessing in disguise as it was fully refundable. I didn’t get a great vibe of Chaba from the get go, so just suggested that I rebook 2 nights for now. I asked if I should book via Agoda as per the previous booking or if it would be cheaper to book directly through them. They immediately said it would be better to book through them and so I asked for a price. After conferring amongst themselves in Thai, they gave me a price that was 50% more expensive than if I booked through Agoda direct! This infuriated me and I asked them to give me a real price and not to try extorting money and they came back with a new price that was still 25% higher. I should have just left at this point but we were hot & flustered and just wanted somewhere to dump our belongings and head out. After a heated discussion they agreed to charge me the same rate as Agoda and let me take a look at the room. I was shocked that this was the same place as the photos online, it was just so tired and dated! The pool area was even worse, gave off the air of a trailer park and the other guests present only strengthened this disturbing image. Hotel has free WiFi but good luck using it for anything other than text. Too weak to download images of any description and I was unable to call my wife when she was in sitting in our room. I actually felt ashamed that I would let my wife stay here and told myself I would immediately find somewhere better for us. After looking at a few potential alternatives online, I set off and had a tour around some hotels. The 3rd one I looked at, I hit jackpot. For the same money we were paying at Chaba, we could get a duplex room at Kirikayan Boutique Resort. Everything about that place was incredible, just meant an extra 10min walk each way when heading out to the main area of Chaweng. The only positive spin that I can put on Chaba is that the food at the pool bar was actually pretty tasty and fairly reasonably priced. If I can give just one piece of advice for Chaweng, it would be to avoid this place like the plague. You’re far better off spending your hard-earned money elsewhere.

Room fiout is ok quite modern and hotel close to centre and on the beach. But repainting is happening, so online bookings get the worst rooms for paint smell, unfortunately. Did I complain? No they know very well and I can't spare the time. Room smells strange, probably the bedding. Breakfast is the minimum that can be provided. Overall, it is good for a day or two if there are no renovations.