Ao Prao Resort — Hotel in Ko Samet

I’ve recently spent four days here at the Ao Prao resort on the west coast of Koh Samet. It was excellent from start to finish! |I drove from Bang Saray. As soon as I arrived at the Port there was a guy waiting to assist and directed me to the correct pier. Parked the car, all very well organised and secure. Staff in the departure building were excellent and explained the speedboat departure time. Restaurants very close by if you need food. Boarded the small golf type buggy and driven the short distance to the speedboat. Couple of minutes later, after putting on our life jackets we sped off. (The speedboat did slow down and showed us the main disembarkation point for those arriving via ferry.) |Within no time we arrived at the hotel on the West Coast of the island. Transfer directly to the hotel included in the hotel cost. No need for a Song-thaew to your hotel here. You have to pay the 200 baht entrance fee onto the island at the hotel. (40 baht for Thai national).|Meanwhile at the hotel jetty. Our luggage was taken away by the many porters and we made our way to reception. Check in a breeze with welcome drink. The hotel was fully booked which, at first concerned me, but no problem the hotel, staff, facilities, sunbeds, etc. could easily handle the amount of guests. The hotel never seemed full, it could cope, even at breakfast. There was always a few sun lounges free at the larger pool and also sun lounges with umbrellas available on the immaculate beach. |I had a Deluxe Hillside Villa booked. It was the last room available on the booking site. I even rang the hotel and even they said they were full. Someone told me there were 96 wooden steps up to the room. I didn’t count them, but if you can’t handle steps don’t take a Hillside Villa. Thank goodness the porters were on hand and carried the luggage up to the room. Well worth the 100 baht tip! The room itself, with balcony was fine, typical for a beach front 4 star hotel. No issues, hot water in the taps and fab rain shower. TV with the usual channels. But here it’s not about the room, there’s lots to be doing outside. Breakfast no problems the usual buffet style, plenty of choices, hot food, variety of western and Thai. Fresh fruit etc. Khun Nui ran the egg station for omelettes etc. they were great. |Regular evening entertainment with a good singer. Extensive dinner menu, all really good, just what you’d expect from a high-end island hotel. Always seating available. |There’s a weekly fire show and BBQ. at the weekends although I didn’t see that. |Ao Prao is a fab hotel on the west coast of Koh Samet. It’s an excellent location if you want a slice of luxury and a quiet few days away. Excellent staff throughout the daytime and evening. Khun Wan, Khun Biw, Khun Kay all stand out members of the hotel team. |There’s a regular 200 baht Song-thaew service to the busy and rather touristy East coast, Sai-Kaew beach. There you’ll find 7-11’s, lots of bars, restaurants, massages and a very vibrant social scene. Went across to have a look once but was happy to be back at Ao Prao to watch the amazing sunset from the comfort of my sun lounger. |There are 3 hotels situated on the west coast. They’re quite close to one another, however walking along the seafront never feels busy. Ao Prao Resort is the far one on the left side. You can also use the restaurants at the two other hotels. I did walk down and visited the Kerala restaurant once, which was excellent. |To sum up and in my opinion, hotel fabulous, location is the best on the island, the staff are brilliant! Two swimming pools one much bigger than the other, excellent beachfront location plenty of sun loungers, hotel never felt overcrowded, great selection of rooms, food very tasty, good choice of restaurants. |You can easily get a Song-thaew to the busy, commercial and rather touristy side of the island, if you’re craving a, ‘Rave up.’ |Departure from the hotel. The hotel staff walk with you to the speedboat and wave a genuine goodbye, a lovely touch. Your luggage is delivered to the speedboat and carried onboard. Ten minutes later you’re back at the pier, collecting your car, pay for the secure car park and off you go. Again all very well organised. |Ao Prao Resort Hotel. Kop-khun-maag-maag-na-krub. |มันยอดเยี่ยม สุดยอด 😀|Fabulous, we’ll...

Dear Khun Winnie and Ao Prao Resort staff,

My family and I has just checked out from your resort yesterday (5/2/17). I would like to thank Khun Winnie and all the associates as well as to share my unforgetable experiences to all travellers here.

My impression starts from the beginning of our arrival at Saeree Baanpae lounge. The lounge was spacious and was so convenient with a coffee shop and a very nice greenery rest room.

As an advance alert that my mom got half-body-handicap and cannot walk properly, the staff escorted her to the pier as a very first person to make sure she could take time manage herself on the boat (with lots of help from staff). Once we arrived the island (with 5-6 staff assisting my mom getting off the boat), a staff with a wheel chair was there waiting accompanied with 2 Front Desk officers standing there welcome.

We were welcomed by a chilled herbal drink while check in. The Check in process was as fast as you could ever imagin (around 3 minutes). The staff escorted us to the room with our luggages delivered just 1 second after we entered the room.

The room was gorgeous with a distinctive lemongrass smell. Our incredible beach view was right in front of our balcony and it was just 10-second-walk to the beach!

The sea was so clear that everything underbeath could be seen! And my family and I had so much joy swimming with different kinds of fish surrounding especially around the rocks area.

Room service was so fast and the food tasted great!

We had an appointment with my dad's friend for a dinner. Once my guest arrived, FO staff called informing us and not forget to ensure if a wheel chair was also required or not. This was so concerned and detailed of your staff towards my mom which was very impressive.

Every waiters during our dinner were smiley and helpful. The food was yummy especially the grilled tiger prawn! 😋

On the way back, your staff assisted my mom in the wheel chair to the pier and almost every staff assisted lifting my mom on the boat. When the boat got off the pier, looking back we saw a group of staff were at the pier waiving hands good bye. That was the cutest good bye I have ever seen in any hotels!

Dear Khun Winnie, thank you so much for your kind offers and special treats to make our stay so wonderful. It is so unfair if I pick a name or two of your staff who maked us an exceptional stay as every single of your staff are parts of our incredible experience. We will definitely come back and will definitely tell my friends how we have marvellous experiences from your resort. It is a true 5-star indeed. Thank you once again!

Thachanun, Jira (the dad)...

Ao Prao Resort is a super nice, pleasant hotel on Koh Samet. We felt very welcomed from minute one. The staff really stand out, especially Wan and Mint from the Restaurant Service Staff are two super warm ladies who make sure you want for nothing. But also the others are very kind. The food is delicious, you have two menu cards to choose from, good wines (I had the two redwine which are served by the glas and not whole bottle). The fruit shakes are fantastic, the atmosphere on the terrace in the evening for dinner is very cozy and the musician who plays in the evening really puts you in a good mood. Every evening we have spent there was a great one!

The beach is fantastic and quiet. The sunbeds are very comfortable, you always get towels, but empty glasses could be cleared away more regularly. No staff or salespeople who want to sell you something are a nuisance.

The two pools are worth mentioning, the smaller one with a direct view of the sea and sunset (!) and the larger one is also beautifully situated, surrounded by trees and palm trees. In general, the hotel is in a very beautiful and idyllic location.

We would also like to mention our cleaning lady, who always replenished everything and worked very cleanly, really excellent! I hope this review will be passed on to the staff, because they really deserve it! The rooms are nice, specious, clean (actually the whole Resort is very clean), good mattress, just the pillows are quite hard and the shower is not the best, but we had always hot water. The view from our room 215 was great and we felt very comfortable in the room.

I can really recommend this hotel. It's a short TukTuk ride to the center for 200 baht (one way), which is worth it as you also have various restaurants there, a 7/11 for snacks on the beach or the travel pharmacy or late night bars (open until 23:00 I guess) Compared to the neighboring hotels, we really made the right decision to book the Ao...