Wisteria Voyage

The Ritz-Carlton, Koh Samui has been on top of my bucket list for a while. I have seen many pictures of the ocean view villa, and the panoramic view looks as magnificent as what Maldives seems to be. While I’m saving for my dream trip to Maldives, I’m thinking this resort might be the closest thing I could get. And here’s where I decided to spend my birthday!

Location

The resort is conveniently located about 20mins away from the airport and Chaweng beach area. Ritz Carlton sent us a luxury van to pick us up so the commute was smooth and easy to get to the hotel. What I like the most about the location is I can take the shuttle van to the shopping strip and check out the famous Chaweng Beach but I could always choose to just relax at the resort.

The resort is conveniently located about 20mins away from the airport and Chaweng beach area. Ritz Carlton sent us a luxury van to pick us up so the commute was smooth and easy to get to the hotel. What I like the most about the location is I can take the shuttle van to the shopping strip and check out the famous Chaweng Beach but I could always choose to just relax at the resort.

Ultimate Pool Villa

The resort is only 2 years old with a total of 175 rooms including suites and villas, and I was told the construction is still ongoing and the resort is still expanding.

In general, everything in our room looked new. Spacious living room and bathroom with a view. Although the bedroom didn’t have any direct view, it didn’t bother us. We could close off the bedroom completely with the sliding doors at night and open up to see the sunrise view from the bed through the patio. The villa layout is brilliant that you can’t miss the ocean view from anywhere.

We spent most of our time on the patio and just admired the turquoise water. The only drawback is the sealed doors.

I was told due to the strong wind in the rainy season, the hotel management decided to close off for safety reasons. The original design to have a walkout view which is much nicer but I do respect this is due to safety reasons. The outdoor deck was very spacious and I liked that it has a proper outdoor dining area we could enjoy in-room dining. There’s an outdoor shower as well.

Set the alarm to get up at 6 am, the morning call was well worth it! The unobstructed sunrise view was beyond stunning!

Spa

They have a large main pool in the center of the resort but if you like more privacy, you could also consider booking a spa treatment there and enjoy the quieter pool at the spa. The view was not bad, right?

The Spa is designed like a village and the huts are the private treatment rooms. You may also choose to have massages in the half outdoor pavilions. Our treatment not only had a separate shower and toilet, but it also had a grand shower room that we just lied on the massage bed and a hot shower would be turned on from the ceiling. I never had a grand shower before, told it’s some sort of blessings from locals. Overall we couldn’t ask for a better spa experience and the staff was so friendly and helpful. My husband just briefly mentioned how tasty was the welcome tea drink, the receptionist gave me souvenirs of the dry tea bags, and a handwritten card on our way out. How sweet was she?

Dining

There are a total of 11 restaurants on-site! I’m pretty sure you won’t get bored by having the same food for the entire stay. The most outstanding ones are the Pak Tai and The View Dining at The Peak restaurant.

The View Dining at The Peak restaurant got the most impeccable view overlooking the Gulf and the entire resort.  The French-inspired 5-course tasting menu was creative and delicious.

The Thai restaurant – Pak Tai was Hubby’s favourite and we both loved the ambiance so much with the private dining booth and live performance. I’m still missing the blue crab curry and the Thai tea lava cake so much, it does live up to the 4.6 positive reviews on Google.

Their poolside bar-restaurant - Tides offered a menu that's much more than just cocktails and pizza, I highly recommend you to try their signature ceviche dishes.

The indoor/outdoor booths at the Shook! were very popular among guests during breakfast time. My favourite breakfast item was the juice bar, you can customize your healthy drink any way you want with adding all kinds of tropical fruits.

Service

Everyone from the reception, restaurants, spa and buggy drivers were so friendly and helpful. The housekeeping team also surprised me with the birthday cake and rose bath. We were so excited to come back to the room and found little surprises like locally made bamboo crafts and ginger candies next to our bed.

Seriously I don't think I can ask for anything better and the ultimate pool villa with panoramic view is one of the most beautiful hotel rooms we have ever stayed. Ritz Carlton Koh Samui offers a diversity of accommodation, cuisines and facilities that are not only perfect for couples but also family-friendly.

Link: The Ritz-Carlton, Koh Samui
Address: 9/123, Plai Laem Beach, Koh Samui, Surat Thani 84320, Thailand