We stayed here for a week after visiting Bangkok and The River Kwai.
Our stay impressed us from getting in the taxi from the airport (requested via the hotel only an hour before arrival) we had cold towels and bottles of water in the car on ice. The staff welcomed us, with drinks before being taken to our room. Our room surpassed expectations! The pictures do not do the rooms justice, they were 10 times better! We had a sala Villa with a sea view in the special requests. There were lots of little extras that made our stay feel extra special, like the oil burner lit every night in our room so it left a relaxing smell, room service just before midnight as it was shutting (our flight was quite late), and every member of staff saying hello! Fresh towels & bedding everyday, it was also lovely to see the same staff everyday. The staff made an effort to know your room number and ensure you were happy around the pool with fresh free iced water and clean towels. They would even move your umbrella to the shade if they saw you get up to do it!
We did eat in the restaurants and bars on the beach on the first day, but chose to eat in the hotel restaurant there after as the food was fresher and kitchens were cleaner. The food was absolutely fantastic, we had a variety of Western food and Thai food, and Wednesdays steak BBQ, it was all beautiful! The staff were fabulous waiting on us hand and foot with a table every night overlooking the beach.
The staff overall (including the chefs behind the scenes) had a really strong presence, giving their heart and sole to the customer!
The only downfall to us were the other guests. Some were quite rude and not very friendly towards the staff, which wasn’t very nice to see when they were working so hard. Some children were out of control, including peeing in-front of everyone by the pool and throwing stones at the buildings, but I think that is purely down to the families individually, rather than the hotel. It did get noted by some staff too!
We did originally book the beyond resort, but cancelled it due to complaints about the smell. Which now, we are so glad about! Overall fantastic stay and would return in a heartbeat!