Barceló Coconut Island — Hotel in Ko Kaeo

If you're reading this review, don't make the same mistake we did. Do yourself a favour, avoid this resort.

We arrived in the middle of the day, hot and tired with two small children. When we arrived at the resort, we were told to climb into buggies to be taken to a second check in desk. We sat in this buggy for over 15 minutes, with no one coming to drive us. Eventually someone arrived by then our family and the elderly guests with us were distressed from the heat.

The rooms were the first problem. The bathroom has a distinctive mould smell, like stagnant water and the water pressure was poor. To be fair, I was aware that these might be issues from reading other reviews. What I wasn't prepared for was how dirty the pool was, or how infested with insects the room would be. My partner and I woke up one night with ants crawling on us. Forget relaxing by your pool in the evening unless you plan to be devoured by mosquitoes.

The biggest issue with the room was the paper thin walls. When our small baby would cry at night our neighbours would bang furiously on the walls. I have stayed at dozens of hotels and resorts with small children crying at night, and never experienced neighbours banging on the walls. When I complained about this I had a positive response from one manager, who expressed empathy and offered a partial refund. When this happened a second time I complained to another manager named Enrice, his response was rude and dismissive, "well.. other guests have a right to enjoy a peaceful stay." Great, thanks for that assistance.

The app for the hotel which they use to update you about events isn't accurate. This is supposed to be the way you discover what's on any given day. I very quickly realized it wasnt correct at all. When I asked a manager he said "oh yes, we're having trouble with the app company. Thats the incorrect schedule". There were a number of other events or issues that were not posted on the app. The worst of which related to the shutdown of restaurants over new years eve.

I should also mention that wild dogs roam the resort. Some people take great delight in them. In my opinion they look mangy and flea infested. One evening we came back to our room to find them roaming around our door and eating our neighbors finished meal. Nice.

In terms of general issues, the worst was encountering a staff member driving at reckless speeds down the very narrow walking paths. I was walking out of our room with my 3 year old son when a buggy zoomed past right in front of us. If my son was ahead of me, he could have been killed or seriously injured. It's scary to feel you can't walk safely around the resort.

Also, the resort is very much a work in progress. The entire place feels under construction. There are unfinished rooms and the place looks generally in a state of disrepair. One room under construction had a pool full of black stagnant water.

One night we decided to eat at the fine dining Japanese restaurant. We waited 2 hours for our food to arrived. The incredible part? The table next to us had been at the restaurant 2 hours before us. It took them 4 hours to finish their meal. When I complained to staff that night, I was told that management had allowed a last minute booking by a table of a dozen outside visitors..the chef couldn't manage that huge table as well as all the internal guests, hence the massive delay. Dinner was fully refunded.

To the hotels credit they refunded when we had issues, but honestly I wish they had let me cancel the entire stay and leave early. They wouldn't agree to this. So we were trapped there for 7 nights.

This list of other issues? our boating trip to a nearby island was awful. Equipment terrible quality and weather conditions far too rough for small children. Fully refunded. Leaking sewer drain near restaurant Almost tripped in flooded toilet - no signs No lunch being served at 1130am Beach water filthy - no one swims Vomit on deck floor in dining area not cleaned up for hours I cut my toe one a loose pool tile Many shards of glass in...

Overall a disappointing stay, this is not a 5 star resort.

The worst Barceló hotel we’ve stayed at so far. Currently, this resort is not a 5 star hotel, and is not value for money. This was booked during raining season / low season, yet pricing remains high for service & facilities provided. I would NOT recommend staying here in the current state.

Pros: Friendly staff for front desk, water taxi and buggy service Arrival at Barceló private pier was lovely and the staff there was great. Free water taxi every hour. Set up of room had “happy anniversary” with a cheesecake, which was a lovely touch. 24/7 buggy service to take you around the resort (I.e. collect you from your room to breakfast area etc.) Provided us with a late check-out as our flight was later in the day and it was raining.

Cons: Hotel construction / improvements: Hotel is undergoing lots of “improvement” works which are really needed. When we initially booked this stay, it wasn’t stated until a month before we arrived so we couldn’t change it. Had we known the extent of it all beforehand, we would’ve booked elsewhere.

At arrival, we in particular did not receive a welcome drink and was rushed out of the "lobby" due to it being quite packed. This may be rectified when they re-open their actual lobby, but started the experience off bad. The free “activities” like pool table, table tennis were in lobby construction area so they were bad to use at the moment and felt unsafe to use in the area. Construction work noises across the island meant it wasn’t as relaxing to stay outdoors like on the patio at times. The pool with the slide is also under construction - this was not mentioned until we arrived lol.

The villa:

The villa was not cleaned properly and we didn’t get sufficient towels (I.e. only a body towel was given, no face towels etc.) The villa pool got dirty quick from branches/leaves etc. when we arrived it was already like this, so it’s disappointing. This part was not cleaned so we ended up not using our own pool for the duration of the stay, until we saw the pool man and asked him to clean it in our last hours. Wi-Fi is TERRIBLE!!! Without our 5G network, not even basic pages would load, let alone stream anything. This needs a major improvement. Lots of bugs on the island and if you open a door at night, expect guests. If you’re not into bugs, perhaps somewhere else. Power outages happened quite a few times both in the villa and across the other areas of the resort.

Service & food:

Only 2 restaurants open out of 4, we mainly wanted to go to KOKO - but this was closed. Service at laku beach bar lacked: we attended for happy hour drinks, and were only given 1/2 drinks. We waited a while and then had to go ask for it, considering there was only 2 tables sitting, we were shocked we had to remind them, and left shortly after. Positive only was that they gave us mosquito spray. Room service: we ordered room service (which has a minimum of 500 baht an order). Got the food and was very disappointed, the food was not yummy or displayed nicely. What we received was takeaway like, delivered in a brown bag in containers. Next time use the request area and ask for it to be plated for you. You have to book the free water taxi boat service and collect ticket. Although I can understand this, it means you can’t be spontaneous to leave the island, as you need to book 2 hours before and let them know what time you want to be picked up. Breakfast spread was not that great, and we actually decided to not eat there after the first day. There were so many wasp/flies, especially by the omlette area. seating was super limited.

The beachfront is not the best or beautiful to stay, I would suggest just staying in the mainland of Phuket and not have this “get away”. Lucky we only booked 2 nights here, and couldn’t...

We booked an outdoor jacuzzi suite for our honeymoon, hoping for a memorable and relaxing experience. Unfortunately, it turned into the worst hotel stay we’ve ever had.

From the moment we checked in, the problems were obvious. The room was old, dirty, and covered in visible stains. Despite this, we tried to stay optimistic. However, after showering and preparing for bed, we discovered a long black worm crawling on the ceiling above the bed. We killed it, assuming it was an isolated incident. Minutes later, we found another worm under the blanket—a truly horrifying moment.

When we tried to call the staff for help, we discovered the phone in the room didn’t work, leaving us helpless and frustrated. With no other option, we had to walk to the reception to report the issue.

By this time, it was 11:30 PM, and since we were on a remote island (Coconut Island), leaving wasn’t feasible. The staff offered us another room in the same category, which we reluctantly accepted out of exhaustion.

The second room was slightly better but still far from acceptable. While there were fewer worms, we still found some the next day. The pillows were filthy, with large yellow stains, making it impossible to feel comfortable. To add to the discomfort, the air conditioning was unbearably loud, sounding like a tractor engine, and disrupted what little sleep we managed to get.

The following morning, we were prepared to check out early due to the issues. However, the general manager approached us, sincerely apologized, and generously upgraded us to a pool villa. This was a kind gesture, and the villa was significantly better—cleaner, with fresh linens and no worms. However, one unsettling incident occurred when a pool cleaner entered the pool area to clean it without notice, which was alarming.

Later, I requested a late checkout since our flight was at night. Initially, the front desk declined, stating the room was needed for other guests. However, after contacting the general manager, we were graciously offered a complimentary late checkout.

Regarding the resort: Being located on an island, it’s understandable to encounter harmless insects or worms occasionally. However, if the issue becomes excessive, it’s essential to report it promptly. While the general staff seemed limited in authority, the general manager was effective in addressing and resolving issues, which significantly improved our experience.

The staff overall are polite, though they sometimes appear tired or overwhelmed, likely due to the high volume of guests. While we’ve had better service at other hotels, those stays came with a higher price tag. At Barceló Resort, the service aligns with what you pay for—though it’s not a five-star experience by any means.

Having traveled extensively and stayed at numerous hotels, I must sadly say that this resort does not meet five-star standards. I hope management ensures rooms and beds are thoroughly cleaned before guests arrive and invests in updating old furniture, especially in the standard suites.

As for the location, the resort is not far from Old Town, but make sure to book the boat transfer in advance. Even then, be prepared to either negotiate with a taxi or wait for a Grab upon arrival.

Initially, I rated the resort 1 star, but thanks to the general manager’s effectiveness in addressing the issues we faced I’m raising it to 3 stars.

The pictures are from the first 2 rooms and the...