Lovely Hotel overall and great setting and staff. Rooms very small with huge beds!. For the price we paid, dont think got the great experience. Rooms need to be refurbished. For a five star was expecting Pangkor Laut, or Soneva Fushi experience. Dont think I got that. Kid friendly though. Samui great location but quite pricey. Great Italian resturants in Chaewng Vecchio Napoli, Shambala Bunglow in Big Budha and Thai cafe at airport. Dont try the cliff over priced and not the best food. My Friend foot massage was great as was Peace Tropical spa in bo phut. Do rent a car from Master car rental at airport, great value.

Our time at the Anantara easily represents our finest resort experience to date. We have traveled a fair bit, and to some very, very nice resorts. The Anantara is the total package. From the fine and friendly reception which included cool and fragrant towels, to the escort to our lovely room. You will find the staff to be second to none, on all levels. We selected the Deluxe Terrace, and found it to be quite lovely. The shower is particularly nice, and the tub very deep for luxuriating. If one had a hip issue, it may even be a bit too tall to climb into with ease. A point of note, some people do find these rooms to be a bit dark. We thought the terrace was wonderful, though, and loved to be able to wander out into the garden, which is a feast for the senses in every way. If you are a gardener or a buff for botanical gardens or landscape design, this is the resort for you. The breakfasts are really amazing, fresh and always with a new twist. We ordered room service many nights (lazy!) and really must say they pull off room service in fine fashion. Hot, fresh and delicious. The Full Moon restaurant is fabulous. The pool fits beautifully with the landscape, and is another one of the resorts showpieces. The loungers are very comfy and service at poolside and on the beach is top drawer. You will hear that the water is not particularly clear on this beach, nor is the sand "soft." These are both accurate points, neither of which prevented us from walking on the beach daily, and swimming several times a day. It's not that the water is unclean; it is just different, you know? Also, there is some seaweed after about 10 meters, depending upon the tide, and that can make some folks uncomfortable. If that is an annoyance to you, lift up your feet and start swimming earlier, or stay in the pool! The spa. Have a treatment soon after your arrival. Had I realized that this may be my best spa experience since I was born, I would have been there every day. Yoga: 3 days a week, Hatha yoga, on the grass unless numbers or weather dictate a move indoors. Loved it, especially grass days! We had booked a different small hotel for the 5 nights prior to a Sawadee booking, and upon arrival there, decided to check out. We walked over to the Anantara who quickly organized us to check in at 10 the next morning, so our original 5 day Sawadee booking turned into 9. This just one more example of a staff that is outstanding and accommodating in every way. Location: The resort is located a short 5 minute walk from the village of Bophut, which is alive with colourful restaurants and little shopping stalls. Directly across the street and beside the hotel, on the main road way, are laundry shops (cheap!) and markets. The hotel doesn’t mind if your own beer makes it way into the fridge. I can recommend the Anantara, with enthusiasm, truly feel it can offer something special for everyone.

Having stayed in Bangkok at the Shangri La for 3 nights,which is most definately a 5 Star,our first impressions of Anantara were that it was not 5 Star. We stayed in a deluxe room on the second floor which was ok as rooms go,we tend not to spend a long time in them.It was very dark due to all the foliage outside,i would suggest anyone to try and book the top floor (3rd) as these looked to get more sunlight in. Breakfast was lovely,superb service from the staff. The best thing about this hotel is the staff. They really make this hotel,from the poolside staff,to the cleaners,they are all very very nice and friendly and always willing to help. The beach is ok ,the sea not so nice,murky and lots of mud if you swim out,not really appealing for those that like swimming in the sea.We were more than happy round the pool,extemley comfy sun beds,with excellent service from the staff. Eating out was great,starfish and coffee,samui spice,smiles,full moon restaurant in the hotel,all great places to eat. We visited Chaweeng a few nights a found a great Mexican Gringos Cantina,what a treat,really excellent,the owner Kirk was a lovely canadian man who was very hospitable a we spent a good hour talking with him at the bar.Definately worth a visit.Chaweeng itself is very busy,but lots more to do than Bo Phut. Had a suit made in the Armani shop just off the beach near starfish and coffee,again great service,brilliant suit.amazing how they do it so quick and the quality. We would go back to tthe Hotel but only because they had such lovely staff.Not a 5 star hotel,and pricey for the rooms,but clean and very very friendly.

Hi Everyone My wife and I have just returned from a great holiday on Ko Samui. We stayed at the Anantara from 14th - 21st June 2008. It is a very romantic hotel, with an intimate feel. Whilst there we witnessed a number of events that the hotel put on; A wedding on the beach, a corporate evening for Amway, an entertainment day and BBQ for a SE Asian Group, a romantic evening dinner for two on the beach, and a few evening BBQ's on the beach. Each of these were of a very high standard and the attention to detail from the hotel staff in preparation and delivery, should be commended. The service around the pool was very good and we found the prices in the restaurants good value. The hotel bars have happy hours (two for one), the Pool Bar is from 4.30-5.30pm, the Eclipse Bar is from 10-11pm. The hotel has its own Spa and we received a voucher for a free 15min shoulder and back massage on arrival at the hotel. Contrary to some other posts I have seen, we experienced no pressure from staff to use the Spa. Also the hotel appears quite happy for guests to put there own drinks in the mini-bar fridge. A couple of times they forgot to replenish the coffee filters in our room. Breakfast at the hotel is expensive, but a short walk into Fishermans Village you will find the Eden Bar, which serves everything from a continental breakfast to a full english for a very reasonable price. On the whole we recommend the Anantara Resort, and although they have a kids club (not used by us, ours are 20 and 23), it is definitely more suited to couples.

The Anantara is a lovely hotel. It's not perfect, but it's good for the price. The good * We were upgraded to a suite upon arrival. Nice touch & a lovely surprise. * The room was very nice - it can't be faulted. Big (the suite is twice the size of a normal room, but even the normal room would be fine), with a modern bathroom and very traditional Thai furniture. As everyone else mentions, the little touches in the room were sweet - the towel origami, the weather written on a leaf on your pillow etc. * The restaurant overlooking the pool was lovely - you may not want to eat there at night (Italian food in Thailand?), but for lunch, it's great looking over the pool & beach. * Every room has an outdoor area for private sunning. The area for the suite was HUGE. But even the ground floor rooms were big (better than a higher floor) * The spa looked nice, but we didn't go in because the prices just across the road were 70% less & the massages were very good (Thanks Trip Advisor for that tip!) * A choice of fragranced soaps in the room - nice touch * We love a Pool bar!!! The Bad * The pool is too small for a resort this large (not the amount of water, but the area surrounding the water). Rows of chairs, two deep & all packed next to each other is just too public for a lovely (romantic) getaway. * Service by the pool was worse than poor Overall, this is a great place to stay, and without doubt Bo Phut is much nicer than Chaweng (we have stayed at both). People complain about the beach, but seriously, there's noting wrong with it. Yes, they only have a small roped-off area, but that doesn't matter - the beach is long and wide and there are more than enough chairs. The sand is not as corse as others say - that's what the sand on Koh Samui beaches is like.