Zodiac Sun Resort — Hotel in Ko Lipe

When looking for a place to stay, I have a strict criteria - it must be 100% absolutely on the beach. I want to hear the waves and step out onto the sand. ||There are other more high-end resorts on Lipe but they are either cliff-side, hill-side, or the rooms are set well back from the beach in favour of the common facilities such as pool or restaurant. ||This resort is new - just opened in Dec 2019....timing could not have been worse and I suppose that is why they only have a couple of reviews before me. ||I chose this resort by carefully examining Google Maps and surveying the Lipe coastline ever so diligently. I found no other resort occupying such prime beachfront setting as Zodiac. No-one else comes close. Also, this resort is on the nicest part of Sunrise Beach, away from the hundreds (yes, hundreds) of longtail boats occupying the beach from just south of Andaman Resort, which is next to Zodiac. Further, the sand here is ultra-fine and white, different to the other beaches on Lipe. Pattaya beach I found to be uninspiring, Sunset Beach is full to the brim with rubbish, and that really only leaves Sunrise beach and its hundreds of boats - except for the beach right in front of Zodiac.||You can also just swim across to the small island opposite and go snorkeling there - it is great. If the weather is good, you can kayak over the channel to Koh Adang.||The rooms are simple but have all the required comforts - mattress is firm, but I slept soundly. Aircon was spluttering a bit so I quickly cleaned the filters, and then the aircon was nice and cold. ||The food was excellent and relatively cheap for a resort - huge menu, and I stuck to the Thai food.||The Zodiac bar next door is atmospheric - perhaps more so than other bars on Lipe in the Covid quietness.....indeed Lipe is quiet now, and many shops, resorts, and restaurants are closed. I do feel sad about the huge amounts of rubbish everywhere inland, along the roads and dumped in the the forest. Sad....and longer term this will boomerang on the local population responsible for this refuse. Karma will come calling when the rubbish keeps mounting up.||Back to the resort, I give it full marks - it ticked every box for me. Inexpensive compared to the most highly rated "luxury" resorts, but they in no way come to the setting of Zodiac, and the beach is...

I was really looking forward to this resort.

I arrived after taking a motorbike taxi through the flooded streets to the hotel. Checked in and went to my room to find out my cottage is in the middle of a construction zone.

There was construction material and debris all over around my unit. Right next to my front patio was a pile of empty large plastic water bottles. There was a small excavator digging maybe 6 meters from my building and a group of construction workers directly behind my building drilling and hammering.

I went to the office to see about being moved and was offered one of two other units in the construction site or one with twin beds on the next row up (construction right behind). Nothing else was offered.

It rained for the next 2 days so no construction. Day 3 and the sun is out and 7am construction woke me up and my day started. I got on my laptop, found another hotel and checked out.

No refund. Didn't expect one. They did comp me for my drinks and meal on arrival night but that was less than 1k baht.

In the room the heater for the hot water didn't work but they fixed it. Hair dryer didn't work but they fixed that also.

The room was fine otherwise, the bed was comfortable. TV is just thai channels. No English stations but I didn't come here to watch TV. The staff was very attentive and helpful. It seems like the manager was very limited on what she could do to help correct the issue.

The location is great but there is no peace and quiet. On the first night there the crew worked til almost 7:30 pm banging and drilling.

Breakfast came with the room but the options were limited. They have two nice automated coffee/espresso machines but the coffee was warm at best when it came out.

Would I recommend?

Not now during construction. And talking to some of the restaurant owners they tell us others have also complained about the comstruction for some time now.

There are many other options on this island in the same price range looking for customers. You would be much more happier staying somewhere else other than at Zodiac.

And if you look at all my other reviews you will see it's very rare of me to review like this unless it...

⭐️ 1 Star — The Worst Experience on the Island

Zodiac Resort on Koh Lipe gave me and my family one of the worst travel experiences imaginable. I came all the way from the United States — I took a plane, train, car, and two boats just to get to this island, expecting paradise. Instead, I got disrespected, humiliated, and financially drained.

I originally booked a room for two nights for up to 3 people, as stated on their listing. I traveled with my wife and our Thai friend, but upon arrival, the receptionist rudely told me my friend couldn’t stay unless I paid an extra 1,000 baht for another bed — even though the booking clearly stated it could accommodate 3 people.

To make things worse, my debit card stopped working physically (only online payments were possible). I calmly explained the situation and let her know I was trying to resolve it — and instead of understanding, she became increasingly rude, aggressive, and dismissive.

She even threatened to kick my friend out over 1,000 baht ($27 USD) — after I had already paid $345 USD upfront for the room. Despite me trying to contact Agoda and offering to pay the balance online, she returned to my room multiple times, each time with a worse attitude, pressuring and embarrassing us.

Eventually, I had no choice but to book a second room, just to keep my friend from being kicked out — which cost me even more money. The next morning, this same woman told my Thai friend to “go get your stuff and check out right now” in a demeaning, classist tone — treating her like she wasn’t even human.

The disrespect we experienced, especially toward our Thai friend, was disgusting. This woman treated her like a servant — not a guest, not a person, and certainly not with the hospitality Thailand is known for.

We were forced to check out early, losing money and peace of mind. I was not refunded, not compensated, and no manager even tried to fix the issue.

💔 I came looking for paradise and instead walked into a nightmare.

⚠️ DO NOT STAY at Zodiac Resort — especially if you value kindness, respect, or basic human decency. There are plenty of better places...