White Sand Beach Resort — Hotel in Ko Mak

First impressions of the resort was a feeling we’d come across an army camp or a council housing estate. All the villas had bare concrete walls and all looked the same (tick-tacky boxes spring to mind). The gardens went someway to break up the monotony but I found the gardens to be not particularly well kempt.||There were signs everywhere of the resort looking a bit tired. Rotting planks and a half-filled rancid pond which once would have looked nice just left.||The rooms/villas:||They were even worse inside than outside. A boring box for a bed-sit with no décor, cheap and nasty lights and absolutely appalling furniture such as cupboards and drawers with no handles.||There’s no room service.||There’s no phone in the room and if you want the room cleaned you have to go down to the restaurant and leave your key in a box. This means if you want to hang on to your key for any reason, your room isn’t going to get serviced.||By far the worst thing about the so-called villa is the bathroom /shower and toilet area. Who ever designed this bit deserves shooting!||There’s a set of sliding doors to the washbasin area which also houses the kettle and another sliding door to the shower cubicle all with bare concrete wall I hasten to add. However, what is particularly bizarre is the fact there is NO privacy at all to anyone using the toilet. There’s only a tatty set of shells on string that does not screen anything. This means anyone wishing to use the washbasin or put the kettle on has a full view of anyone on the toilet.||If this wasn’t enough, even more bizarre was a rectangular hole in the concrete wall separating the shower and the toilet meaning anyone using the toilet has complete full view of anyone using the shower and vice-versa anyone having a shower can watch someone else on the toilet. Why no obscure glass? Horrible!||On top of each concrete block is a roof area with a couple of loungers. Here again, very tatty. There are gaping holes in the grass roof and one of the live switches to the lights up there was in pieces revealing bare live contacts.||The food and restaurant:||Where to start? Well, for starters the buffet breakfasts are simply appalling. All you get a choice of is stone-cold streaky bacon, French toast, some lukewarm Thai dish in watered down sauce and boiled rice. There’s bread & butter and some fruit and that’s about it; dreadful 2-star rubbish.||The evening meals aren’t much better and way overpriced so eat elsewhere whenever possible.||On a positive note, most of the staff are polite and helpful.||This not good value for money particularly as it’s the most expensive resort on Ao Kao area.||I’ve travelled the length and breadth of Thailand and stayed at many of the islands in the area such as Koh Wai, Koh Kood, Koh Chang and Koh Tao and found the accommodations good. I’m also married to a Thai and have a house here, so I’m well versed to be able to comment.||White Sands resort is, at best, a 3-star resort. Oh yes, and the sand is NOT white,...

Just got back from here ... already thinking of returning. Went during low season and I wasn't used to the humidity; the forecast will have you believing it's constantly raining. Not accurate - during mid-July there was a nice variety of sun, overcast, and some rain over the few days I stayed.

I booked everything direct with the resort, including all private taxi and boat travel to-and-from the island and everything went very smoothly. As a first-timer in Thailand, this was a great stress reliever since it's a 4-hour ride from Bangkok and I was worried about missing my flight (next time I'll fly to the Trat airport). Staff speaks English which helps someone like me with almost no command of the Thai language.

I was in one of the beachfront bungalows - ideal view, a 5-second skip to the Gulf of Thailand, and the interior was simple and appropriately appointed. The shower water pressure is on the weaker side, but I guess this is due to the island's eco-conservation efforts. A downside of sleeping next to the water during low season is the constant wave-crashing at night when there's some wind. It's soothing but a bit loud at the same time. Perhaps not an issue during the better months.

The front desk is combined with their Good View restaurant. Menu caters to travelers so if you prefer non-Thai food, they have sandwiches, etc.. Their breakfast buffet includes Thai salad, bacon, eggs cooked-to-order, fruits, juice, coffee, toast, cereal, yogurt, and thin pancakes.

Had a chance to visit the pizza place up the way which was surprisingly good (note: no air conditioning). They make the dough in front of you. There's ice cream for the kids. The Coco Bar next door didn't seem open when I strolled around there.

Wi-Fi worked well and I got some work done.

Next time I may opt to stay there at least a week, rent a bike, and explore the island. Didn't get a chance this time due to lingering heat exhaustion issues from staying elsewhere in Thailand beforehand, but I'm thinking about my next trip during better conditions where I'll...

The resort is really nice, right on the beach and far from any traffic noise, so it’s perfect if you’re looking for a quiet, laid back getaway. The bungalows are super spacious, with big bathrooms, good water pressure in the shower, and well functioning AC (which is always a plus).

Breakfast was a highlight, we loved the variety of fresh fruit, the coffee was great, and the view from the restaurant terrace is stunning. You’re literally just a couple of meters from the beach. We also had dinner there, and the food was very good with fast service.

One of the best parts was the relaxing massage, and I really appreciated that the prices were fair. The beach in front of the hotel is clean and well-kept, though if you walk further along, you’ll come across some rubbish (not the hotel’s fault, of course). We booked directly through their website and got a really good room rate (with buffet breakfast included). We also appreciated that the pick up from the pier to the hotel was complimentary, and also the transfer to the next hotel in Koh Mak. Thank you for that!

If there’s one thing that could be improved, it would be providing more useful information in the room. For example, housekeeping isn’t automatic, you need to hang the sign on the door, which is fine, but we didn’t realize that at first. They also offer complimentary snacks and drinks in the room, which was a nice touch, but there was no note or price list, so we had to ask at reception. A small brochure with these details would be really helpful for future guests.

Overall, it’s a fantastic place to stay in Koh Mak, and I’d definitely...