Renaissance Koh Samui Resort & Spa

January 5th, 2022

Posts in this series:

Getting Ready - Thailand Pass and Singapore Airlines Saga

Review - Intercontinental Boston

Review - Japan Airlines Business Class B787-9 Boston to Tokyo Narita

Review - Japan Airlines Business Class B787-8 Tokyo Narita to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi

Review - The Athenee Bangkok, A Luxury Collection Hotel

Review - Le Méridien Chiang Mai

Review - Renaissance Koh Samui Resort & Spa

Review - The Ritz-Carlton Koh Samui

Review - Emirates Business Class A380 Bangkok Suvarnabhumi to Dubai

Enroute:

I was particularly excited to finally get to go to Koh Samui. Having lived in Asia and visited other places in Thailand, I’d always heard about the fabulous hotels and full moon parties in Koh Samui.

We flew from Chiang Mai by way of Bangkok on Bangkok Airways. Although named Bangkok Airways, the airline seemed to concentrate its operations out of Koh Samui. As a matter of fact, it was the only airline flying into Koh Samui when we traveled. Bangkok Airways is a boutique airline with all economy seats, but don’t let that fool you. Its lowest fares include the standard domestic luggage allowance and even operates a lounge for all passengers in Bangkok, which sure is a nice touch. To up your game even further, there’s a separate lounge for Bangkok Airways customers who also have a Priority Pass membership. This lounge is only accessible if you meet both requirements. While it’s nothing like Cathay Pacific’s first class lounges, it does feature enhanced food and beverage offerings, as well as a smaller crowd. One thing I found odd was the lack of alcohol in the lounge, but there was a 7-11 in the terminal so we just bought beers there and drank in the lounge.

Check-in:

We booked our stay at the Renaissance very early in the year, back in May. The hotel was promoting fantastic package rates due to the lack of tourism, so for $200 a night we received accommodation in a private pool villa, a free dinner, massage and one-way airport transfer.

Our stay, however, had one small hiccup. We had arranged the pick-up from the airport, but the driver was about 30mins late. It wasn’t the end of the world obviously, but the whole point of pre-arranging transportation is to have someone waiting for you, and not the other way around. I had chatted with the hotel on the Marriott app, and the hotel proactively offered us complimentary transportation for our departure as an apology, which was appreciated.

Once we met our driver, who was very apologetic, things were looking up. The drive took about another 30mins without traffic. Undoubtedly the island was deserted compared to the heydays, I selfishly enjoyed not having to fight for anything with other tourists.

As we pulled up to the hotel, we were greeted by the friendly porters who took care of our luggage. Like at most resorts in Asia. we were invited to have a seat while check-in was processed. While waiting, we were offered cold towels and mango and lemongrass ice cream.

Given the inclusions in our package, our front desk agent Sugar thoroughly explained in details on each of them. We booked the garden view one bedroom pool villa, and were upgraded to panoramic ocean suite. It was a nice upgrade, other than the fact the ocean suite was situated on a hill above hotel’s lobby level, therefore lacking a pool. Sugar and her front office manager were extremely accommodating - they offered to give us a tour of both rooms so we could pick. We eventually decided on spending the first couple of nights in our pool villa, and the latter two nights in the ocean suite, which they were happy to oblige.

Unpack:

We were escorted to our villa. The hotel itself wasn’t large, but the layout was a bit odd. While most hotels in Koh Samui were built on a hill to boost better ocean views, there was a public road that split the Renaissance in half. The bottom half hosted the lobby, restaurants, the main pool, spa and beach. All the villas were also below the road. The top half was where the lap pool, gym, and more traditional hotel rooms were located.

Our villa was in a walled-in compound. I found the hotel’s style to be authentic. It is not the most photogenic style, but in real life it was extremely charming to walk among what felt like a seaside monastery. The grounds of the hotel were well-kept, as the vegetation were always lush and groomed.

Inside the gate of our compound was ample outdoor space, with a plunge pool, beach chairs and a set of dining table and chairs closer to the door. The pool also had jets in.

You know you have a fancy room when there’s a double door.

When we checked in the TV in the room was playing the hotel’s promo clip with what I could only describe as funky house music.

Underneath the TV was the minibar, which unfortunately wasn’t stocked.

Awaiting on the coffee table were a fruit plate, a welcome note from the general manager and some mixed nuts and cake.

It certainly wasn’t the most updated interior, but it was so nice to have so much natural wood in the room. You really feel like you’re in Southeast Asia.

Before we arrived the hotel had asked if we were celebrating anything special, to which I mentioned it was our first big international trip since the pandemic. That somehow got miscommunicated when we saw the bedroom…

I guess Koh Samui is such a popular honeymoon destination? Regardless, I appreciated the hotel making such effort, and I definitely repurposed the rose petals for a bubble bath later on. And speaking of bathroom, the Renaissance had a pretty good one. Of course you would expect dual vanity:

Then a makeup vanity:

An essential pool view:

The actual toilet for obvious reasons:

And a tub big enough for a ménage à trois (or cinq) was not to be missed:

Overall I liked the room a lot. It was spacious with high ceilings and tons of dark wood.

The ocean view suite we switched to for our second half of the stay was called the Lamia suite, named after the bay in front of the hotel. There were only two of these suites. Upon entry, there was a large enough foyer with a bench.

There were two balconies, one facing the ocean, and the other facing the mountain. From here you could better see the layout of the resort, as well as a great vantage point for spotting the sun setting behind the distant mountains.

Next was a sitting area, along with some ancient-looking tea pots, and, uh, equally ancient DVD player?

In the same space as the living room was the bedroom, with access to the second balcony facing the mountain.

When you look out from the bed, it felt like you were staying in a treehouse in the jungle.

This particular bathroom was well designed too, with plenty of closet space, powder area and an outdoor whirlpool on a wooden deck.

Needless to say it was quite serene to be soaking in an outdoor bubble bath whilst having a glass of bubbly.

Having stayed in both rooms, I must say the gorgeous ocean view beats having a private pool. If I return, I’d take the ocean view suite from day one.

Unwind:

After settling in our room, we headed out to explore the resort. Like I mentioned previously, the grounds of the resort were beautiful - the paths were covered by palm trees and tropical flowers, with every twist and turn adorned with buddhist sculptures.

The lap pool was mostly never frequented, as it didn’t have a view of the ocean. Well, except for this one dude in the picture.

The beach pool attracted more attention, but it was never crowded, as there weren’t many guests to begin with and villas had their own pools.

From here you could also get to the beach. The water was pretty and calm.

Since our package included an one-hour massage, we took advantage of that the next morning. The spa was probably one of the most iconic ones I’ve ever been to. Each treatment room was inside a standalone pavilion, and a lot of them were on the oceanfront, which meant you could open the doors and listen to the waves while getting your treatment. Many beach resorts have beautiful spa facilities but are mostly indoors, so I though this setup was perfect. Furthermore, it reminded me of pacing through the ruins of Angkor Wat.

Per usual, treatment started with cold towels and hibiscus tea and concluded with some dried fruit.

During our stay we came back for another treatment, each one was superb.

Refuel:

For dinner on our first night, we went to tawaNN, the hotel’s Thai restaurant. The restaurant was built on a raised terrace, which overlooked Lamia Bay.

I’d recommend coming here for an early dinner or cocktail, before the sunset. We started with a round of cocktails, which wasn’t exactly the best…

Then we were offered an amuse-bouche, which was a nice touch for a restaurant that’s not like super fancy. The dish was a fried oyster mushroom, which was delightful.

For appetizers we went with the quintessential chicken satay, served with toast and peanut sauce, and a seafood tom yum soup. Let me just say now that everything we had at the Renaissance was either extremely good or “fuck, this is so fucking good” good, so that’s out of the way…

For main course, we ordered the fried sea bass with papaya salad and honey fish sauce, and nasi goreng. If you don’t know what that is then you’re missing out in life.

For dessert, we shared a fried banana with vanilla ice cream. I mean, just shoot me in the face already.

The next morning (and every morning after), we went to the Banana Leaf restaurant for breakfast. The view in the morning was breathtaking.

The buffet, while on the smaller side, was fresh, well-made and authentic. The options changed daily, so you wouldn’t get bored after eating here for a few days.

One night we decided to have a casual dinner after a full day of excursions, so we went to the pool bar. There was a sunset hour special for BOGO cocktails. The drinks were delicious.

To eat, we shared a seafood platter, which was probably the best thing I’ve ever had in my life. Have you ever had a dish that comprised of nature’s bounty, human ingenuity and celestial alignment of mood and vibe? It changes who you are, forever. I’ll let the picture speak for itself.

Before we checked out of our pool villa, we had to get a floating brunch. For those of you who are not familiar, it’s a thing (mostly) in Asia where a tray of brunch food is served floating in your private pool.

Although the whole idea of floating brunch was kind of dumb and mostly for Instagram, it was fun to do it once. I appreciate the food was actually good and not just pretty.

We lounged by the pool one morning and got some cocktails, fried calamari and a pizza for lunch. I don’t want to sound basic but the lychee mojito was to die for.

Because of how outstanding our first dinner at tawaNN was, we paid another visit on our last night. Not often in life was the second time better than the first time 😉 but this was one of those exceptions.

Identical to first time, we were treated a complimentary amuse-bouche, in which case was a fried fish cake with chili jam.

The rest of the spread included a seared jumbo scallops, served with grilled artichoke hearts, baby corn, and truffle cream sauce, fried tiger prawn in a tamarind honey sauce, Southern Thai sea bass curry and pineapple fried rice. We over-ordered here, but why live if you can’t indulge 🤷‍♂️.

Our favorite was the sea bass curry. I don’t have a high tolerance for spiciness to start with, but this dish was like fiery hot. However, simultaneously it was also so well-balanced by the richness of coconut milk and the sweetness from pineapples. You will no doubt sweat profusely, yet it was euphoric. It was an exemplary dish to showcase the intricacy of Thai cuisine.

Depart:

We spent four nights at the Renaissance, and that’s a long time for a hotel to reveal its shortfalls. The Renaissance had none. When I first told my partner we were going to stay at a Renaissance in Thailand I detected a faint disdain on his face. But Renaissance in Asia are in a different league. The food was out of this world, the staff was genuine and competent and the resort was beautiful. It was a stay where everything went so smoothly.

For our turndown service, not that most Renaissance would even offer turndown service, housekeeping would lit up scented candles in the bathroom and on the balconies.

I simply can’t say enough good things about Renaissance Koh Samui. While there are many more luxury options on the island, I don’t think service can get much better. As a matter of fact, we went to the Ritz immediately after, and it’s quite a dilemma deciding which one we prefer. At the end of the day, the Renaissance is an amazing hotel, and I’d return in a heartbeat and recommend it to anyone who visits Koh Samui.