Muang Samui Spa Resort

The Muang Samui SPA Resort (not to be confused with its sister hotel, Royal Muang Samui Villas in Choeng Mon) is a beautifully-laid out hotel right on the beach at Chaweng, with access directly onto the sand. There is a huge, landscaped pool with waterfall, as well as a paddling pool for smaller children. What makes this hotel is the staff, their helpfulness, their gentle smiles and wais; be it at reception, at the Lare Lae restaurant or just passing gardeners and the cleaning staff. I have noticed on other recent comments saying that bed and bathroom linen were not being changed so frequently. You need to be aware that Samui has an ongoing water shortage problem. There is a notice in the rooms about conserving water. But, if you still want your sheets changed, ask reception. When we asked, the young boy and girl cleaning our room came back in less than a half hour to take care of it. The lunches and dinners at the Lare Lae were very good (even the western food, if you don't enjoy Thai cuisine). The breakfast buffet had a wide assortment, including an egg station and fresh fruit from a serve-yourself fridge. We didn't eat at the Samui Seafood Grill & Restaurant (the hotel's fish restaurant across the road from the resort), so can't comment on that. The only negative experience we had at the hotel were the attitude and manners of other tourists. At the time we were there (middle of August), the hotel was full of mainly Israeli tourists. Some of these tourists lacked manners, left the loungers at the pool surrounded by rubbish and empty water bottles (many times I removed plastic from the pool whilst swimming) and drowned out the soft music playing at the pool with their own music. I also must say how embarrassing it was to see how some of these guests treated the gracious Thai people at this hotel, lacking any basic understanding of Thai culture and what not to do in Thailand. It is also so very sad to see that it has been necessary for the hotel to include information in the room directory on how to behave in Thailand and what is deemed insulting to Thai people. I suggested to the staff at reception that this information needs to be translated into languages other than English. If you want to reserve a sun lounger at the pool, then you have to put your towels down very early. There were also many tourists from other hotels trying to use the sun loungers on the sand, but the restaurant staff were very fast in telling them that they had to order food and drink if they wanted to remain. At this part of Chaweng, the water is very shallow and never gets deep, as the bay is more a lagoon than open water. Though be careful when you wade out towards the rocks, as there are sea urchins on the sea floor, and you are advised not to enter the water at night due to the jelly fish present at that time. If you want to swim in deeper water, then you will need to turn right and walk for a while until you are past the line of rocks. Book your tours though Paul at reception, including a great private day tour that we did with his driver, Kitty. I think we got to see just about everything on the island, with the highlight being the Big Buddha temple and the elephant sanctuary ('I Love Elephant Samui'). We also took an excursion to Pig Island (Koh Madsum) with snorkelling. As you can imagine, it is very commercialized and the pigs were mostly on the island being washed down and being fed there (not in the sea). The highlight of the tour was the wonderful Thai buffet. I would definitely return to the Muang Samui SPA Resort but maybe outside the European/Eastern Mediterranean summer holiday season. Thank you again to all the staff at the hotel -- khawp khun maak khrap -- you really made the holiday!!

Located right in the center of Chaweang, this resort is a paradise. Beautiful rooms, extremely polite and sweet staff and a breathtaking view of the beach!