Melati Beach Resort & Spa

Everything about our stay was amazing! There are 2 communal pools, one is in the middle of the resort and very calm, the other is by the beach and has the pool bar where the majority of the guests go. The accommodation was beautiful, we had our own pool and I loved the outdoor shower! The staff went above and beyond, nothing was too much trouble. The accommodation and private pool were cleaned daily and there were daily sweet treats left for us. The food was delicious. There was a lot of choice for the buffet breakfast, Continental and Asian options. The resort has two restaurants, both served outstanding food by outstanding staff. We would definitely go back.

This was a 2 night stay at end of a wonderful trip. We Wanted to stay somewhere different in KS. The hotel does have a beautiful pool and lovely grounds but it is far away from anywhere..you cannot walk to other eateries or Choeng Mon village. You have to take taxis. Choeng Mon beach is gorgeous and we had a lovely meal there but had to taxi-ditto Fisherman’s village. Melati puts 10% on all its food and drinks therefore a v simple lunch was the cost of a meal on Koh Pha-Ngan! No happy hour. The staff were nice and can’t fault the breakfast offerings which were generous and plentiful. The room was ok-terrible pillows-but not sound proofed and the bathroom was oversized and very hot. We got a deal through Agoda and it was nice to laze by the pool and swim at their little beach but I would not return. Far better value elsewhere.

I think I understand the broad range of reviews for this hotel. I suspect that those who give it top ratings don't have much experience in 5-star hotels. If you're not accustomed to the kind of detailed perfection in a proper 5-star establishment you might mistake Melati for top quality. Having said that, it was a very nice hotel, with some great facilities. Many details, however, were not quite to standard. The staff were generally very helpful, though they were also generally very young and perhaps a little inexperienced. The front reception need to be impeccable. Fully knowledgeable, attentive, and eager to help. Unfortunately, they were not this. They were friendly, but disengaged, often more interested in their own conversations than attending to customers. There must be a kind of 'tropical entropy' in places like Koh Samui. Everything is in a constant state of falling apart in the heat and humidity. The staff did a wonderful job of keeping up with the gardens; sweeping, pruning, etc. Every morning the grounds looked like new, and there was constant work to maintain the trees and plants. The same could not be said of the villas and rooms themselves. Everything was on the edge of breaking, with some things actively doing so. It feels like a hotel that would have been amazing about 7 years ago. They haven't really kept up with the maintenance. A great example of the 'not quite good enough’ was the gym. It is a miserable little affair. The equipment is old, needing repair or replacement. The space itself is tired. In fact, that would be the best description for the hotel as a whole; a little bit tired. Towels that are approaching threadbare, sink plugs that don't work, moldy woodwork in the shower (all pictured); many things were just a little half-arsed. No doubt it is a hotel that requires a LOT of maintenance. Unlike a large high-rise facility, the individual villas would mean that the ratio of maintainable building to paying customer must be very low. Nevertheless, we've been to hotels where they managed this; true 5-star quality. This hotel ticks the 5-star boxes, but isn't the top quality, attention to detail, experience that you can get. The beds are very comfortable, the pools magical, the food delicious, the buffets extensive, the rooms spacious. Do not think this is a terrible place; we still had a lovely time, and our private pool villa provided fantastic privacy for a romantic time. The middle pool appeared undervalued, and we spent a lot of time there (coming from Sydney, we weren't as obsessed with the beach, which was nice enough). It is a long way to anywhere, so you'll likely be eating many of your meals in the hotel. We did, including a lot of room service. Over the 10 days we spent about AUD$900 on all the various expenses (including Beach BBQ, evening buffets, etc) for 2 people. Overall, although the place is due for a thorough refit, it was still a wonderfully relaxing and refreshing experience.