The Ritz Carlton Koh Samui

We had the perfect honeymoon at the Ritz-Carlton Koh Samui. It has beautiful rooms, great food and excellent facilities, but it is the quality of service, above all, that makes it such an exceptional place to stay; the place we had the best holiday we’ve ever had.

We stayed in one of the ultimate pool villas with an unrestricted ocean view. If you can afford it, is most definitely worth it, as you can see nothing but ocean from wherever you are: living area, bedroom, bathroom, etc.

The room had everything we could need, together with a whole host of small touches from blackout doors for the bedroom to complimentary mosquito sprays (their approach to mosquitos is particularly robust, with resort-wide mistings taking place every few days to keep them away). They knew it was our honeymoon and so both in the room on arrival and throughout our stay there were a series of things in our room and in restaurants we ate at to congratulate us, including cards, chocolates and fruit.

The food is excellent. There is a very wide choice of foods for breakfast and nothing you could want that is not on offer. There are also a series of great restaurants including a thai restaurant, Indian restaurant and meat/fish grill restaurant, that all provided excellent food. A particular favourite for us was the One Rai restaurant, where Chef Armaan’s food was some of the best Indian food we have eaten in any country, particularly the murgh malai tikka, dum chicken biryani and naan breads. We ended up eating there 3 times. The Thai street food market they put on is also very much worth going to for a wide range of food and good entertainment.

There are lots of activities you can take part in every day. Particularly good are the Muai Thai classes, where Mick and Sean are very good, fun teachers. The main pool is large and does not get too crowded whatever time of day it is, and the gym is nicely designed and similarly not busy. There is an excellent buggy service that is available at a moment’s notice and transports you from location to location if you are feeling it is hot or somewhere is too far to walk. We stayed for 10 nights and during that time there was also several events the resort put on to give guests free cocktails and canapes.

It is however the service that makes the Ritz Carlton Koh Samui so exceptional. At every position across the resort the staff go above and beyond to ensure you have everything you need. Beginning with Tee, one of the managers, who gave us her number, made lots of good local recommendations, was contactable at all times if we needed anything and ensured we were always taken care of. Chef Nan, the resort’s pastry chef, has a lovely, bubby personality and made a huge range of delicious pastries (orange chocolate madeleines being a particular favourite), circulating round tables in the mornings to ensure you were having a good stay. Ping was also great at breakfast and around the resort ensuring you had everything you need.

In some ways it is unfair to single out particular people as the standard of service is so high across the board, but special shout-outs also have to go to Yok and Raj at One Rai who were very attentive and provided great conversation, as well as Wannisa, Megan, Mai and Immie.

But throughout our stay, everyone was excellent and we could not have asked for more, hence it being the perfect honeymoon. Choose the Ritz Carlton for your Koh Samui stay – you won’t regret it.

Pros: • the rooms are very comfortable and spacious, with good size balconies. • there’s a wide variety of food available and, if you choose to use it, room service is prompt. • to be fair, the management are so an excellent job of addressing any issues you might have. • the staff are very friendly and, perhaps with the exception of some at breakfast, attentive. • the tennis court is in decent nick, with rackets, balls, towels and cold drinks readily available gratis (you’ll need the later two!) • our lad says the hymn way in good condition.

Cons: • we didn’t accept the first room they offered us as it hadn’t been cleaned properly and the ceiling was clearly letting in water. Our second for the kids room wasn’t available forty five minutes after it should have been. • on a couple of occasions our food order or the subsequent bill were incorrect. • don’t go into the sea without shoes on of some description. There are razor sharp rocks just under the surface until you have swum out a good distance and the warning signs aren’t obvious. Best to stay by the pool unless you're using the kayaks • the level of service at breakfast was hit and miss, especially if you wanted a coffee or an omelette - they take ages !

Conclusion:

This is a more than decent place and I would have given a higher rating if the breakfast situation was more organised, but it’s clearly nearer to ‘good’ rather than ‘very good’.

Absolutely fantastic. The property is beautiful, the standard rooms are extremely spacious and the staff is the friendliest we have come across in Thailand. Food in the resort is expensive, and the beach is not really for swimming due to large rocks (but makes for nice scenery). Would definitely come again.