Review: Amari Hotel, Koh Samui, Thailand

Onyx Hospitality, owner of Amari, provided a complimentary one-night stay at the hotel in return for a review of the property. The hotel’s management have not received copy approval prior to publishing. Read more about my policy here.

The island of Koh Samui is awash with hotel resort options from budget backpacker vibes through to ultra-luxury resorts with most focussed around the Northeastern part of the island around the Bo Put area. Amari Koh Samui is a five-star hotel resort located alongside the Northern part of the famous white sand Chaweng Beach. Let’s take a look at what it has to offer.

Location

If you’re a fan of excellent quality white sand beaches, Amari has this in spades. Chaweng Beach is one of the most popular in the whole island, even if it is not the best, but is extremely spacious thanks to its length at 3km. It’s easily accessible from the hotel although there are no hotel-provided beds or chairs on the beach as it is a public space - which means you may be bothered by people trying to sell you items. This is a great space to relax at and is just a few steps from the hotel.

Getting to and from the main part of the town is simple. We managed to walk to the main shopping mall, Central Samui, within 30 minutes which could be reached either through the road network or along the beach. The airport is near to anywhere, by foot or using a taxi via Grab, in the main tourist areas of the island taking less than 10 minutes to get to Amari Samui.

First impressions

The Amari has an impressive temple inspired structure that is visible from around the area and is the signature design hallmark of the property. The main temple-inspired structure houses the reception and check in area with open air surroundings making it really feel like you are having an island paradise getaway. Rather than make us stand around at the check in desk, we were sat down at comfortable chairs with accompanying welcome drinks while our keys were prepared. As with almost all hospitality staff in Thailand, all the personnel were extremely welcoming and couldn’t have been more helpful with anything we asked for. We did have to wait around for about 30 minutes for our room key but this was because we had arrived at around 12h30, 90 minutes prior to official check in time.

Facilities

Thanks to its island beach vibes, Amari has all the facilities you will come to expect while at a property like this. Upon exiting the imposing reception, you are greeted by the primary pool facility which provides a stunning view across towards Chaweng Beach and the sea. This really allows you to take in all the surroundings and the beauty of this island - particularly when room utilisation is so low.

The pool and reception act as the heart of this property with other key facilities disseminating around it. Next to the pool is two restaurants, Amaya where breakfast is served as well as Prego Italian Restaurant which I did not have the opportunity to review (and besides, I don’t really want to be eating Italian in Thailand). Above the restaurants is a library/co-working space as well as a gym. Again, I was not here enough time to get full utilisation out of them, but my partner did manage to grab some pictures and said the gym had decent equipment available covering all the core workout routines for you.

The hotel is split into two wings, the Beach Wing where the best rooms are located as well as the Garden and Thai Wing. Another pool is located over at the Garden and Thai Wing but is not as impressive since there is no visible sea view and you have to cross the road to access it.

The room

During our stay, we were offered a Ground Floor Grand Deluxe Ocean View room. At 45 sqm., the room is spacious and gives you plenty of room to move around if you wish to do so. It is clad in wood with splashes of turquoise and blue emulating the sea colours, which are pleasing to the eye. Although the furniture is of high quality the colours and some design does remind me of an Ikea-style which does not evoke the highest standard which you may expect at a 5-star hotel. It features an open plan lounge and sleeping area which leads onto the veranda or balcony with direct access to the pool and beach facilities, depending on which floor you are on.

The King Size Bed was extremely comfortable with soft linen and pillows making for a great sleep. It is located at what seems to be a strange angle at first but this is for good reason. This appears to give people lying in bed with the curtains open a better view of the sea as well as making it ever so slightly easier to see the television - but I wouldn’t advise this as there’s a comfortable sofa to sit at instead to watch it.

Around the television is a couple of small cabinets, a mini-bar fridge as well as free bottled water and premium tea from Singapore tea house TWG (which I always used to think was just an acronym for Twinings…). Alongside this featured a large desk with a supportive chair. As somebody who was working remotely during this trip, I appreciated this alongside the plentiful power outlets to charge up my devices - but I didn’t decide to use this area to work at…

The veranda has stylish wicker-style outdoor furniture that proved to be a great place to work at on my laptop and take Google Meet calls. Sitting outside embracing the warm Samui temperatures while my colleagues were sat in the UK enduring the short and cold winter days made me a little guilty - but I made the most of it, as I soon would be back in them cold temperatures! Speaking of remote work, the internet speeds were more than enough to take two-way video calls as well as use collaboration services such as Google Docs - whether in the public spaces, in the room or on the veranda.

Outside the bathroom is a double pane wardrobe which should be a large enough size to fill up with clothes for a 7 day+ stay at the hotel. Inside also features a safe, ironing board, iron and dressing gowns.

To make the room feel larger, Amari have installed a window which provides a view into and out of the bathroom. There is no privacy filter, but a blind can be pulled down to provide additional privacy while using the facility. The Grand Deluxe Ocean View room includes two washbasins for couples to use the bathroom at the same time which sit close to the bath. This was actually the biggest bath I used in the five hotels I stayed at in Thailand and provided almost enough length for me, at 188cm, to stretch out in - congrats Amari and thank you! That is a rarity! The shower, by no means bad, was a poor relation in comparison providing just a basic experience with a detachable shower head. Most five-star hotels now feature a rainfall shower which elevates the standard and experience further - so this was a little disappointing to see.

Breakfast

Breakfast is included in most room rates at the Amari Koh Samui looking at their website today - although I suspect this may be due to them responding to suppressed demand. The setup is all buffet based at the property, which still surprises me due to the stringency of almost all other Covid protocols in Thailand, but there is a couple of chefs to make some food on-demand (such as eggs and noodles).

We were guided around the buffet and dining area by an excellent member of staff who was extremely helpful in explaining all the different dishes as well as the chef-made options we could have. The buffet featured a combination of Thai, Asian and Western options as you would expect at a hotel like this. Most of the food was good, but not outstanding, and was a great way to start the day right - but I would encourage people who are on an extended stay at the Amari to venture outside the hotel to sample more local cuisine. The only item of food I would personally avoid was the wonton noodle soup. Now if you read my recent Cathay Pacific Lounge review you will know I love dumplings, sio mai and noodle soups but the one on offer at Amari was too sweet - it tasted more like a soupy dessert than regular wonton noodles. Besides this, you probably can’t go wrong with the Amari breakfast and it’s great to see them embracing the old hotel buffet tradition.

Verdict

Amari Koh Samui offers a decent combination of large rooms, great facilities and a good breakfast at a price that can be attractive for even cost-conscious customers. With rooms starting at THB 4000 or GBP 90 a night with breakfast for two, or around GBP 160 for the room I stayed in, they offer excellent value with easy access to the main touristic sights of Samui. For most travellers, they will also include transfer to and from the airport, which is a nice touch, even if the cost is not particularly expensive and creates an end-to-end Amari experience.

Competition in the five-star sector on Koh Samui is fierce with lots of choices. The Amari sits at the more reasonable end of the five-star options and, as such, does not provide the frivolous luxury you may get at others - think the Butler Service at St. Regis Hotel. You will experience five-star service from the excellent hotel staff and great facilities, alongside ample rooms and a hearty breakfast.