Stayed here for 7 nights in July after spending 8 days at the wonderful Sheraton in Pattaya (a true 5 star hotel). Was hugely dissapointed with all aspects of the Sumadra (also known as the Peninsula). Mediocre and overpriced food, shabby furnishings in the rooms and restaurants / pool area. Pool deck was worn out and coming apart / rotting away. On our next to last day the pool pump broke and the water turned green with algae. Staff were kind but unattentive. Pool areas are undersized for the number of guests the resort can accomodate. Cleaning of rooms was dodgy, used soaps and towles weren't replaced. We ate out every night at different places on Chaweng Road / Beach. Found several great places which could easily compare to the Sheraton in Pattaya for the same price we were paying at the shabby Samudra / Peninsula. The place is bulit on a hillside. If you are out of shape, physically handicapped, or have small children then I would strongly advise you to stay away from this resort. And as others have written, its a long ways from anywhere and will cost you $?? to get anywhere by taxi. There are no facilities for small children, not even a children's pool. There is a large fountain at the main pool which they call the children's pool. In conlusion, this place needs a serious revamp in order to justify the prices they are charging. Otherwise I think the prices should be reduced by 35%. Stay away.

hotel room was a disappointment. it looked good, no doubt, but it had a terrible bug problem. the bath tub was lined with dead flies (i might be exaggerating cos i really hate insects but you get it.. my friend had to wash the flies down with water). there was a dragonfly wing on the bed (UNDER THE SHEETS). from time to time i'd see ants on the bed. YES IT WAS GROSS. so much for a 4.5 star hotel.. ive stayed in better 3 star hotels. on my 2nd last day there, when i was turned on the water for the bath, no water came out at first and when it did, it did in spurts before pee-colour water started flowing out. i called the front desk to lodge a complaint and despite promises to send a technician, they sent the housekeeping lady. all she did was let the water run until it became clear again. when i asked her what the problem was, she could not reply me due to her poor command of english. when i pressed further, she said she'd be back and she left my room- she never returned. so i called the front desk again. they gave me the same promise and did the same thing, jsut that they sent another lady, who did the exact same thing. after the 1st lady left, the water turned pee-colour again. however, after the 2nd lady left the water was fine for the rest of the trip. still, i have no idea what happend to cause the change in the water colour. yet, the hotel wasnt all that bad. hotel grounds were beautiful. excellent landscaping. front desk services on all other occassions were exceptional. royal siam restaurant has an above average baked pineapple rice. (dont bother with room service, really) and the pool bar makes a great pina colada. happy hour makes the cocktails very cheap so its good too.:D

It seems to be a common problem at this and other Quality Vacation Club (QVC) hotels. People are given a scratch card and told they have won a "dream vacation". Turns out it's in a 2 star dump. The Thai staff at The Samudra are very nice and well presented at all times. The rooms are ok, but it's a heck of a hike up and down to the rooms. This is no place for the old (over 40: ). It's out in the middle of nowhere and taxis are too expensive. The food is good, but expensive too. I would go back if the QVC staff were not there trying to sell timeshare to everyone.

We stayed here for 4 nights recently in a pool villa after having spent 5 nights at the Impiana in Chaweng Noi. I expected a bit more from this place with it being 5 star and all - the room was a tad filthy (the shower needed a very good clean), our air conditioner broke and we woke up to a huge pool of water, the housekeeping staff were either lazy or too busy but the room was not very clean when we returned in the afternoons. I don't think they changed our sheets once the whole time we were there! Besides all this though, they have fantastic views, great food (the Royal Siam restaurant is awesome - try the chocolate brulee!), the pool bar staff are fantastic (keep POP - he is awesome) and service was quick and efficient. It's a bit in the middle of nowhere though so unless you have lots of money to travel into Chaweng, don't stay here. I wouldn't stay here again based simply on the fact I don't think it was worth the money but it really was a beautiful resort...the cleanliness of the room just let it down!

I have recently returned from my honeymoon in Koh Samui and it was the best holiday we have ever had. I am sad to read some of the previous reviews as we had a fantastic time at the Samudra and couldn't fault a thing. It was our first trip to Thailand and booked the hotel and flights online. We arrived at the airport and we were totally gobsmacked when we saw the airport, it looks like a hotel with it's thatched roofs and 'posh' toilets...there's a huge tropical fishtank in the mens. We hopped in a taxi (500 BHTS) and when we arrived at the hotel we were greeted by lovely hotel staff and a refreshing drink. Check-in was efficient and we were immediately taken by golf cart to our room. Like others have said the resort is on a hill and we were at the top but the carts are always whizzing about so you can get to your room. Our room was very clean, no mouldy showerhead or dirty towels. In fact it was the opposite. The cleaners were in at least once a day and when you returned of an evening the bed had been made and there were flowers on the pillows which we thought was a nice touch. The pool areas are very clean and we found all the staff very attentive or you can visit the beach which is only a few mins walk away. The resort of Choeng Mon is fairly small but there are a few nice bars where you eat or you can get the shuttle bus to and from Chaweng which is far livelier if that is what you are looking for. Overall we had a fantastic time at this hotel and we would definately recommend a stay there.