Mali Resorts Sunrise Beach — Hotel in Ko Lipe

We were initially pleasantly impressed when we first arrived at the Mali Sunrise Resort and Koh Lipe. However, after a short time, we had a few “gripes”.||The Pros:||Complimentary pick-up from the ferry to the hotel and also on departure.||Helpful and pleasant reception staff.||Nice clean, spacious room on the upper floor (Balinese Suite) with a good size balcony to sit out on.||Central location with good proximity to Walking Street.||The Cons:||There is no-one in reception after 5.00 pm nor any security that we could see at any time of the day/night.||The breakfast was disappointing with not much choice and lacked both quality and quantity. Only water, orange juice and poor coffee offered. We would have thought a resort of this calibre could make more of an effort with the options and service. Also, one of the girls serving breakfast looked really unhappy and fed-up as though she really didn’t want to be there! Some of the staff were picking up cats during the breakfast service which is obviously not very hygienic. We travel quite a lot and this was one of the worst breakfasts we have experienced anywhere.||The pool was not very clean. We appreciate there is a lot of foliage around which falls into the pool but we think more effort could have been made to keep the pool and surrounding area free of leaves and general debris etc. Also, most of the time we were put off swimming in the pool owing to the number of small children in there!||The sunbeds on the beach were too close together and because of the foliage causing shade at certain times of the day, some people did not respect other guests’ personal space and were constantly moving their sunbeds around to lie in direct sunlight thus making the area even more cramped!||Although not the hotel’s fault, Sunrise beach itself was very disappointing. It was not particularly clean, too many long tail boats and the sea most of the time was quite murky and not the crystal-clear water we were expecting from looking at numerous Youtube videos. I had to walk a bit further up the beach when snorkelling just to see a few not very interesting looking fish! Maybe we were unlucky with the time we were there but was led to believe that Sunrise Beach was the best beach on the Island. Our own observations were that the sea near the Zodiak Bar and even Pattaya beach were a lot clearer and cleaner.||Four out of the five days we stayed at the Mali Sunrise the water from the bathroom sink and shower would just be a trickle and then go off completely. We were told by Reception that this was a pump issue. Although this problem usually only lasted about 15 mins, this was not what we expect of this class of hotel.||All in all, although we made the best of our time at this hotel, we would not return to The Mali Sunrise Resort nor indeed Koh Lipe. It was certainly not the “Maldives of Thailand” as quoted in a lot of the information we...

Mail Resorts is situated near to the end of Sunrise Beach and is a quaint resort that is quite different from other resorts offered on the Island of Koh Lipe.

The Resort offers free transfers to/from the ferry when you arrive/leave the island and is very communicative prior to arrival.

The resort offers rooms that are Garden View or Pool View, the key difference being the Garden view is situated slightly closer to the beach (but only just). The resort is tidy, and well kept with very friendly staff throughout.

The rooms are very spacious even at the lowest room offering and offer firm and comfortable bed, small fridge, TV and ensuite. There is wifi on the property, although note it is quite slow and really should only be used if you have no connection at all. The rooms are comfortable to sleep in with fans and air conditioning available, although note there is a large number of noisy wildlife (frogs and birds) at night that may impact your sleep.

The pool is huge, warm and suited to those with small children, in fact, if you don’t enjoy children, I would recommend staying elsewhere as it is definitely a hotel that is great for those with kids.

The restaurant has standard options that is palatable, it is nothing hugely fantastic and there are better options, Thai or European across the island. The offering of free a la carte breakfast was welcome although some of the food is under heated (but thoroughly cooked).

The Beachfront is small, but comfortable and allows you to walk quickly to other areas of the island, you could comfortably remain at the hotel, or wander elsewhere.

Some things to note: Noises at Night, cannot be helped by the hotel, but something to be wary of. The animals are loud and can wake you up, suggest taking ear plugs. The Noises from Boats cannot be heard from the rooms, but if you are new to Koh Lipe, it is something you will quickly become aware of. Kid Friendly - While it was no issue for us, this venue is great for kids, with a big pool and family friendly rooms, the expansive garden is also very appealing. Location, while at the end of Sunrise Beach, it is a 5 minute walk to the Popular main roads and is ideally situated. Transport is not necessary, and a taxi can be found if needed.

Would I stay again? Yes, the complaints I have of my stay are minor and hopefully resolved before I return and mainly are around the noise of animals (which cannot be helped) and the temperature of the food, which can be avoided if necessary. The wifi was slow, but for me wanting to switch off, it was a welcomed inconvenience.

Thank you for...

I want to make it clear that I’ve stayed at countless hotels and very rarely leave negative reviews. However, this hotel undeniably has serious issues. The facilities are old and worn out, and despite cleaning, the rooms still feel unclean. The shower handles are rusty, and the showerhead emits a bad odor when the water is turned on—all signs of deep-set grime that hasn’t been properly addressed. But more importantly, it’s the attitude and service mindset of the hotel staff that truly determine the overall rating, and in this case, they were deeply disappointing.I understand that being on an island means having to deal with mosquitoes and less-than-ideal conditions. But what truly ruined our stay was the behavior of the staff.1) At breakfast, the servers misunderstood our orders but instead of apologizing, they became defensive and even aggressive with us. They gave nasty looks, insisted we ordered items we clearly didn’t, and ignored guests entering with a polite “good morning,” instead remaining glued to their phones. Only when we showed visible displeasure did their behavior suddenly shift.2) Our boat was scheduled for 3 PM, but since checkout was at 11 AM, we asked the front desk if we could change to the 1 PM boat. The front desk woman, who spoke fluent English, told us it was possible and sent us to the pier. However, upon arrival, we were told we had to buy new tickets and that it was a completely different boat—something that wasn’t explained at all while we were still at the hotel. When we said we wanted to go back to the hotel, the middleman (who either genuinely couldn’t speak English or was pretending not to) simply said that the front desk woman recommended we stay at the pier, and that he had to go back to receive new guests and couldn’t assist us any further.3) At exactly 11 AM, a staff member suddenly appeared outside our room, gesturing for us to leave and pretending to help with our luggage. But after taking just one bag, he disappeared and never came back. When we dragged the rest of our luggage to the lobby ourselves, we found him idly scrolling on his phone. The entire staff only pretends to be working, lacks any genuine sense of service, and only becomes courteous when tipped.This experience has left me with a negative impression of Thai hospitality, and I have no desire to ever return to this...