“Beautiful hotel in a beautiful setting.”

Beautiful hotel in very nice setting overlooking the sea. A little isolated so if you plan to leave the resort at all you need a car which the hotel will happily arrange for you. My only real complaint was the only Wifi available was in the hotel lobby not in the room.

“Our week away from it all - very peaceful”

Hotel is secluded and sits on a very steep slope. Location is very private - the hotel does not have a beach on site, but has exclusive use of a beach on Bon Island which is about a 15 minute free long-tailed boat ride away. Facilites on the island are good: bar offering meals and snacks, just about enough sunbeds, windsurfer and hobi-cat rental etc. The beach is surrounded by a reef which is great for snorkelling if the tide is high enough, at low tide the water will not be much above your knees in the sandy bottomed area before the reef starts (some 10m out). You are not allowed to swim or snorkel over the reef until the tide reaches a certain height - this is to prevent damage to the (partly dead) reef and yourself. Some days the tide times may mean you cannot go over the reef at all. You can snorkel parallel to the reef even in fairly low tides if careful - still many fish to be seen. There is a public beach of sorts next to the hotel with some small local kiosks and food - also sunbeds for rent. Didn't look the best beach for swimming as boat trips leave from there and go in and out at quite high speed. Catering at the hotel is generally very good, breakfast buffet is superb with much choice - try to get breakfast included if you can. The other 3 restaurants ranged from average to exceptional (Into the Sea). As in Thailand generally, wine is very expensive. As the hotel is on such a steep slope, significant steps and walking are involved - even if you use the shuttle.

“£2/$4 for still water”

the hotel was very chic and the location was excellent; the buffet restaurant food was bgenerally not good and it was certainly not good value; the other restaurants were ridiculuously expensive- in the main restaurant the meals start at £40; forget about wine unless you have money to burn; they start at £40 a bottle unless you want the special offer at £20 (wine which usually sells for £4-5) what takes the bisuit is the hotel does not serve table water free- the only water available in the restaurants and on the exclusive island which belongs to the hotel is bottled water at £2 for a small bottle. No free and ready supply of drinking water in a five star hotel in the tropics?!!! exlusive island :only good for swimming at high tide - also watch out no free water!!! and packed like sardines on the beach. try to get out of the resort- get a rental car other wise £16 for a return journey to Patong