Centara Villas Samui

Writing this review as my wife and I wait for our transfer to Samui airport to start the long trek home. We booked two weeks staying in a deluxe ocean view villa with pool The villa had beautiful views of the ocean, large swimming pool at the villa a massive bed, good bathroom There are three communal pools all of which are fantastic Good Wi-Fi with more than enough bandwidth to use Netflix etc The hotel restaurant and bar are very good and approximately the same price as a standard UK restaurant The beach is lovely and clean water is warm with pal trees The staff are ALL phenomenal, from the very moment we arrived when we were given an ice cold flannel and refreshing drink after nearly twenty hours travel to at the time i write this they have been incredibly attentive and made sure we have had the best holiday ever. can’t recommend it highly enough and we will be coming back next year With our best wishes and sincere thanks Paula & Alistair (iced cappo one sweet,one not sweet!!!) Read less

We’ve just left Centers Villas after a brief three night stop over - I wish we’d stayed longer! Yes, you’ll find more modern, more chic and cool hotels on the Island - there are so many cropping up - however, you’ll go a long way to find accommodation in such tranquil surroundings with exceptional staff - it really is the staff that make these villas stand out for me. Nothing is too much trouble and there’s a smile to be had EVERY DAY from EVERY member of staff (bar one on reception!) and the lovely staff do go out of their way to make your holiday special. As others have said - bear in mind the steps - as someone said before, trudging back up after enjoying the fabulous food at dinner (go to the Thai Buffett on the beach - sensational) and after a few cheeky drinks, it feels like Everest!! Go and enjoy - you won’t regret it! Read less

We have travelled widely but this was our first trip to Thailand. We were looking for a relaxing holiday somewhere quiet and away from it all. We listened to people who said Koh Samui was the place for us so set about booking a place. We had a good experience using Best At Travel to book our holiday and would highly recommend them. We had lots of questions and they were happy to answer all of them. They recommended Centara Villas to us based on what we said we were looking for and we were not disappointed. Like lots of people we read reviews on Tripadvisor before we confirmed our booking and we simply agree with all the 5* reviews. The positives about the place: The resort is located away from the busy centres but with Samui being a small island nowhere was out of reach. Our preference was to be somewhere quiet and relaxing, this resort really suited us on that score. The resort runs a minibus service to a local shop, Lamai Beach and Chewang. The service to the shop is free but costs each way to the other locations. This meant we could dip in and out of civilisation whenever we wanted. Anybody wanting nightlife and lots to do would be better of in hotels in the towns where everything starts to come to life in late afternoon. We thoroughly enjoyed the night markets at Lamai and the Fisherman's market at Bophot, well worth a visit to the hustle and bustle and then lovely for us to come back to the peace and quiet of Centara Villas. We had chosen dinner bed and breakfast as our board basis. We had read some reviews which said the food was repetitive and boring but I honestly don't think these people were at the same place as us. Breakfast was a buffet with choice of pastries, breads, fresh fruit, cereals, yoghurts, jams, various freshly cooked egg dishes, bacon, sausages, potatoes, Thai curry, noodles, cooked meats, cheeses and more. In my opinion there was something for everyone. Dinner was 3 courses or on certain nights there were themed buffets. We mainly ate Thai food which was delicious from either the a la carte menu or the buffets. One night, after having eaten while we were out on the afternoon, I opted for a burger. This came with fries, and all the usual trimmings and was really nice. That was the only non Thai food we tried from the a la carte menu but if it was anything to go by then the other European food should be nice. The buffet evenings were really good, a good variety of food, all delicious. One night was Italian buffet which was pretty good too with the chefs preparing pasta dishes right in front of you. Overall the food was excellent, especially the Thai food. The staff at Centara were amazing, nothing was too much bother and everyone was so friendly and helpful, from the reception to the chefs and waiting staff through to the cleaners and groundsmen, everyone greeted us with a smile. We had a couple of things that needed sorting out and these were done in no time and with the obligatory Thai smile. Top marks to all the staff, especially Anu and Goong in the restaurant who really looked after us. The resort is made up of individual bungalows with a variety of options. We chose a bungalow with a sea view and it's own private plunge pool which was just perfect for us. The pool was small but just about allowed us a swim, 4 or 5 strokes from one end to the other, but really it was more about being able to have somewhere to cool down and enjoy the view over the sea. Our pool and garden were very private and we hardly heard anyone around us so for our peaceful and relaxing getaway it was spot on. The room had a really big bed which we loved plus a daybed for those who had kid(s). For us we could have done without the daybed and would have preferred a couple of comfortable chairs to relax in instead but it wasn't a problem as such because we spent most of our time on the sun loungers or sitting at the table out on the deck. The room had Aircon and a ceiling fans which worked perfectly well for us. The fridge was big enough for our needs, mainly water, beer and fruit. On arrival there is a selection of drinks in the fridge which you can pay for but we just took that out and put our own things in. Bathroom and shower were nice, plenty of room and clean. On days when you don't need room service you just leave the do not disturb tag on the door as usual but the next time you have your room cleaned the house staff leave you a voucher worth 150baht for each day you didn't have the cleaners. These vouchers are for discount off drinks at the coral reef bar next to the restaurant which we thought was a nice touch. The resort has 3 pools, all lovely and with plenty of sun loungers. There are also sun loungers on the beach. For the two weeks we stayed (3rd to 17th of January) there was never a shortage of sun loungers either on the beach or by the pools. Some points to bear in mind: The resort is built on a hillside leading down to the beach so there are lots of steps. We are in our mid 50s and reasonably fit and active so we managed without too much bother. The worst part was walking back up the hill after a large meal and a few drinks! We would have struggled to get our luggage up and down from our bungalow but the porters helped out there. We felt sorry for the guy lugging our cases up to reception as we were leaving but he did it with a big smile. Anybody with mobility problems would find it difficult to get up and down the resort. Likewise anybody with toddlers in buggies. However there were a few families with young children there and none of them seemed to have too much bother. Another point to bear in mind is the mosquitoes. We both got bitten, the wife always seems to attract them wherever we go. We had used jungle formula as a repellent but it didn't seem to do much good but we were recommended to use a local mossie spray available in every shop we went in which really did the job. Having said that you need to be aware of the mossies it's not like there are thousands of them bothering you. We didn't see many flying around and we weren't bothered by many insects at all. We did see a couple of big flying beetles and some big bees as well as butterflies and some lizards but everything seemed to just avoid us. To sum up our thoughts on this resort, if you want a quiet, relaxing place to stay, friendly staff, good food and lovely surroundings then Centara comes highly recommended. Just be prepared for the steps. We loved it and are already planning a return visit next year, something we don't tend to do. Koh Samui is a wonderful island and a great place to stay for a first trip to Thailand. We loved it and will be back Read less

We had a really great time at the centara villas but there are a few things that were disappointing. First of all, we had arranged for a pick up off the ferry from the hotel, but after waiting for 30 mins at the port and not being able to get ahold of the hotel we had to take a taxi. Not a great start. The staff at the hotel we're mainly excellent, especially the staff at the coral and reef bar and restaurant. The same could not be said for the food though. Expensive buffets dominated meal times, which weren't particularly local Thai cuisine. We were also told we had use of our own WiFi in our room which never worked. There wasn't a router in the room for one. The IT service man appeared to come in and try to fix it but he never actually did anything (nor tell us he wasn't going to be able to do anything) until we called him back and he made up some of excuse of there being an error. The villa itself was beautiful and their beach is stunning. The resort is fully self contained; you need not leave. All in all, I'd recommend it as a place to go and relax but the place did feel a little disorganised. Read less