Sala Samui Choengmon Beach Resort

This resort is all about the staff.

Located at the end of Cheong Mon beach the Sala has beautiful grounds and beach front. The two pools are at the front of the hotel with all the villas and rooms behind them and the restaurant.

We were in a 2 bedroom villa with its own pool. The bedrooms are decorated in wood and white, with some Thai style accents and are a pretty good size although our teenage daughters struggled for storage space. Between the 2 bedrooms there was only one modern charging point for devices, something that the hotel should look at upgrading. We asked for adapters which were provided.

One of the cupboards actually houses all the electricals for the room so it cannot be used for clothes. The beds are very comfortable and we all slept well, I liked the duvets and pillows. Not sure about the evening tea, they were all super sweet and served cold, but that is my personal preference.

We asked for more mirrors as the one inside the wardrobe didn't suit our needs. It was also an odd decision to place the hairdryer in the outside bathroom- you cannot use heat in an already hot and humid room so they had to come inside and I rigged up a sort of vanity area with the additional mirror and hairdryer plugged in near the coffee machine. I do find this lack of vanity area a common thread in 99% of hotels ( ask a woman for room design ideas!)

The outdoor bathrooms are interesting, I wanted to embrace it- the idea of showering surrounded by tropical plants is such an evocative one. However, the shower and sinks were actually fairly internal as they are tucked under the roof ( although our daughters felt that their shower was more "exposed" in feel) but we all lowered the screen to make it more private because the toilets in both our bathrooms were right on the outside edge of the bathroom so if anyone was sitting outside or was in the pool you would most definitely be seen or heard!

All the villas have high white walls providing privacy (but that doesn't stop noisy neighbours) which mark out the attractively landscaped pathways of the hotel grounds. The rooms are in separate buildings at the top of the property with large balconies ( but cannot have sea views as at the back of the complex)

The air-conditioning was effective which was important in July. We also asked for a fan to be bought to our outside space because otherwise it was uncomfortably hot and we couldn't make use of it. The pool is deep and has a long seat along one width which is lovely for cooling off. The frangipani trees provide some shade and tropical aesthetic. We did like our own pool, felt very decadent!

The other two pools are adult (18+) and family. We used the adult pool and it was absolutely gorgeous, getting a poolside Sala was a great spot. My husband had a poolside massage and he said it was one of the best he has had. He also took a paddleboard out for 30 minutes across the bay.

The beach is clean and the water is warm, not rough at all although make sure you go in away from any rocks- there isn't a huge tide but you can see some exposed at low tide.

The restaurant is lovely, but can get busy at breakfast so they have an additional marquee for extra seating. It is all outdoors and there are fans but there is no bar or restaurant which has air-conditioning. I do wonder if converting the marquee into an airconditioned bar/coffee shop might be a good idea as currently there is only the one restaurant for all your meals. We did take the recommendations from the hotel and ate out locally a lot, there are plentiful spots for lunch and dinner very nearby. We all enjoyed the breakfast, with its mixture of menu and buffet. We tried several items on the menu and they were all delicious. We also had room service and the Caesar salad is exceptional!

Rather than spend a lot on the typically overpriced hotel laundry we nipped around the corner and found a laundry service which charged us 60 baht per kilo- we washed 4kg of dirty washing!

The 2 happy hours at the beach bar were very very good (but again, there is just the one outdoor, sandy bar- maybe provide an alternative?) and all the cocktails were delicious. However, what a spot to sit and have a drink and admire the beach views.

The Thursday evening Thai night is great fun, a BBQ and Thai dancing and a fire show on the beach ( wow, the heat coming off those flames!)

I wanted to love this resort, it has all the ingredients to be wonderful, it ticks all the boxes in terms of what it looks like and what it tries to deliver but I cannot shake the feeling that it was a bit overpriced and not quite getting it 100% right.

The staff, without exception are wonderful - they are what makes the SALA sing- I think with a few updates and tweaks the resort would be as fabulous as the people who work for them.

Just wow. Probably the best hotel I have ever stayed at. We had 2 interconnecting pool villas - so beautiful, and everything had been thought of to care of us and make the experience more special. Excellent food (we enjoyed 3 breakfasts, 1 dinner and a couple of lunches). The communal pool areas are very well maintained and the adults only pool is absolutely stunning. Complimentary kayaks and paddleboards are provided which we enjoyed the first evening we arrived. The overall vibe is very quiet and relaxed, family friendly. The staff work exceptionally hard to make everyone feel welcome. Without us saying anything at all they realised it was my daughter’s 15th birthday on the evening of our arrival and sent a surprise cake to her room! The pool bar staff even come down on to the beach to offer water to the guests to make sure we stay hydrated. We connected with a local guide via our travel company (Trailfinders), who was very helpful in suggesting other local restaurants and shorter experiences during our 2 day stay e.g. Fisherman’s Wharf. But honestly you could have a great holiday without leaving this spectacular hotel. There is also a spa which we didn’t use but if the quality is similar to the rest of the establishment I doubt you will be disappointed!