For our getaway weekend with friends in Koh Samui we got fancy and stayed at the Le Meridien. We tried to keep accommodation more on the budget side during our travels in Asia, but it was a “treat yo self” kind of weekend and that was just fine with me. After three months on Koh Tao in our tiny concrete bungalow the the airy rooms and semi private pools felt like a luxury we hadn’t seen in awhile.

Le Meridien is located on Lamai Beach, Samui’s second largest resort area after Chaweng. It’s bit quieter and mellower than the party scene at Chaweng, but still has all the amenities of a more touristy area.

Photo curtesy of Le Meridien Koh Samui

My review of Le Meridien Koh Samui

The Rooms

Photo curtesy of Le Meridien Koh Samui

• We stayed in one of the Pool Access Suites, a cabana style room set right next to a semi private swimming pool. The room itself was gorgeous with big sliding glass doors that lead out onto a covered porch facing the pool. The huge and comfortable bed had 300 thread count sheets that felt like pure luxury to me.
• The bathroom was enormous and had both a shower and separate bath tub. It had glass walls with wooden covering that gave you the feeling of being outside without actually being outside. This was a major plus, they do have rooms with actual outdoor bathrooms, which sounds awesome and nature-y in theory, but in practice you get eaten alive by mosquitoes any time you have to pee.
• The decor of the room was beautiful with native wood ceiling, and bamboo details on windows, I especially liked the wooden deck floor in the bathroom.
• The semi private pool was really nice, and quite pretty with a few trees over hanging it and a small bridge.
• The setup of the rooms around the pool was a little awkward, there were usually 5-6 rooms all set up all facing inward towards the pool. This seems like it would be nice, you have a view of this pretty swimming pool out those large sliding glass doors, but depending on where your room was situated you could be looking directly across the pool into someone else’s room… awkward.
• Instead of the usually door hanger notifying staff if you want privacy or your room made up they use a coconut monkey system. A cute little monkey figurine made out of coconut is placed outside your door if you want your room made up… wait no, if you want privacy? Wait… I honestly could never remember. And while the idea is cute, it’s a little confusing.

Photo curtesy of Le Meridien Koh Samui

Service

• Everyone working there was so nice and friendly. They’ll do everything from bring you drinks while you get checked in, to schedule spa appointments, to arrange taxi’s and shuttle services for you. It was all wonderful.

Price

• The price of the room was a bit more than we would normally spend. Rooms range from around $150 a night to $500 a night, but I do think you get what you pay for in this case. It is expensive, especially for south east Asia, but the rooms are quite luxurious.
• When you book your room you have the option to add on breakfast for an extra charge, we choose not to do this. I did however go down and have breakfast in the restaurant one morning. It was buffet style with tons of options and really nice. I was a bit surprised when the bill came and it was around $16! After being in south east Asia for a few months, $16 for breakfast seemed outrageous. I know it’s a buffet with lots of options and all you can eat, and compared to San Francisco prices that seems totally reasonable for breakfast. But I was used to being able to get a full meal for around $3. That being said I definitely made use of the buffet and made up a huge plate of food to take back to Rob in the room.

Photo curtesy of Le Meridien Koh Samui

Overall Experience

• I enjoyed our stay there, aside from a few weird quirks like the possibility of seeing into your neighbor’s room (just hope they close the shades), the whole experience was really nice and a welcomed treat from our previous backpacker-y ways.
• If you are looking for luxury resort that is reasonably priced (when I say reasonably, I mean under $1000 a night) Le Meridien is a great choice in Koh Samui. The rooms are great, just make sure to get an indoor bathroom, and the location is awesome as well.

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