CELES SAMUI — Hotel in Ko Samui

Very Poor Experience at Celes Samui - Would Not Recommend I’m writing this review to share my disappointing experience at Celes Samui. After years of traveling, this was definitely one of the worst hotel stays I’ve had, and I think potential guests should be aware of the issues we encountered. Let me start with the staff situation. Most of them don’t speak great English, which I can usually work around since we’re in Thailand. However, the bigger issue was their attitude and lack of interest in actually helping guests. They seemed genuinely bothered whenever we asked for anything and acted like we were inconveniencing them just by being there. The housekeeping was really frustrating from day one. Basic things you’d expect in any hotel just didn’t happen consistently. The minibar in our room was never restocked despite me asking every single day. They’d always say “yes yes, we do today” and then nothing would happen. I’d come back from the beach and it would still be empty. This went on for our entire week-long stay. The towel situation was particularly annoying. We booked a room for 2 adults and 1 child, but they kept giving us only 2 towels. Every morning I had to go down to reception and remind them we needed 3 towels, and every morning they acted surprised. They’d promise to sort it out and then by evening we’d still only have 2 towels. This became a daily routine and they still couldn’t get it right. What really bothered me was when we arrived and there was no bedding set up for my daughter. When I asked about it, they said it wasn’t included in our booking and if we wanted bedding for the third person, we’d have to pay around 79 pounds extra. I showed them our booking confirmation that clearly stated 2 adults and 1 child, but they just said that’s their policy. That seemed excessive for a sheet, blanket and pillow. The general attitude of the staff throughout our stay was disappointing. They don’t seem to enjoy their work and their customer service skills are pretty limited. There was no warmth or attempt to make our stay pleasant - you got the feeling they saw guests as a nuisance rather than customers. The checkout experience was particularly unpleasant. Two staff members - Nan and Neung - handled our checkout and were quite difficult to deal with. They made us wait while they did an extremely thorough room inspection, going through everything looking for any excuse to charge us extra. They treated every guest checking out with suspicion, inspecting rooms very carefully. It felt uncomfortable and unnecessary. They were threatening to charge for any missing items and checking every single thing in the room against their list. Other guests were getting the same treatment - I watched this happen to the family ahead of us too. It made the checkout process feel quite tense when it should have been straightforward. The whole experience was just frustrating. I’ve stayed in budget hotels and various places over the years, and I’ve rarely been treated with such indifference. Even places that cost much less provided better service and made us feel welcome. The location might be decent and the rooms looked okay, but the service really impacts your whole experience. A hotel should make your holiday more enjoyable, not add stress with poor service and unhelpful staff. I won’t be returning to Celes Samui and would suggest looking at other options in Koh Samui. There are plenty of other hotels that seem to care more about their guests and provide proper hospitality. We should have done more research before booking, and I hope this review helps others make a more informed choice. Your holiday will likely be much more enjoyable at one of the many other hotels...

If you would like a 2 star service in a 4 star setting then this resort is for you.

I had visited this place for the first time in April 2025 with my husband , at that time as well I had pointed out the discrepancies in the service.

4 months later, it was disheartening to see the same poor service. The head chef really needs to do something about this selective stink eye treatment he gives. We experienced both times unfortunately.

The servers in the morning buffet have such a chip on the shoulder. No pleasantries, not even a smile. The lady with the heavy lashes doesn’t even reckon your presence as she asks for the room number before entering the buffet. So much attitude towards a paying customer is disdainful.

The staff in the reception is no different except for the manager at the reception . She at least at some customer service ettiquetes.

The cleaning lady Whan had the most appropriate behaviour among all the staff.

If you are not a white person, don’t bother wasting your money here. Because the first time I saw the differential treatment , I felt it was just coincidence.

The second time , same thing that’s just discrimination. Felt extremely uncomfortable getting this treatment after paying all that money.

And don’t go by the photos on the website , there is a world of difference in the expectation and reality. I had to haggle for a room with a view as seen in the website this time , but what I got was like an ill maintained backyard. Shabby and depressing.

Definitely never coming back here.

Below is my earlier review from April 2025. Clearly no improvement. In fact choosing a different room type led to a pathetic view as well.

April 2025 The rooms are gorgeous, we got a nice private room which had a lawn in the front. Quite close to the beach. The gym is well equipped, well lit, the pools are nice. The breakfast buffet is good.

But the service doesn’t match up. The head chef walks around like a judgemental headmaster. We have stayed in so many 5 star resorts and the service, hospitality is SO much better. The chefs take special care to engage with the guests during buffet, we had had better experiences elsewhere where they would custom make dishes as we don’t eat pork or fish which reduces the number of breakfast options when it comes to broth based dishes . This chef had the most terse demeanour.

We had gone for their live music night . The servers were good but the food was absolutely bland and tasteless. The truffle fries were soggy, aglio olio was like boiled spaghetti. The chicken skewers lacked seasoning. Absolutely a waste of money.

They have a lot of activities but no one told us about it and I saw it while checking out and the receptionist said tersely ‘ you can try it next time’.

One of the laundry bags got misplaced by us. And as soon as we checked out the cleaning lady came like a reporter and reported it to the reception. They charged us 500 thbt for it. Now a laundry bag isn’t big deal for a resort of this calibre. But it hampers the goodwill and left such a distaste when we were checking out.

The pool staff named Boy and another guy there knows how to be hospitable. Also the slim girl who was the server during breakfast buffet. I wish I noted her name. Because she was so welcoming and hospitable. The chef can take a note on how to make the guest feel welcome from her.

The hotel is very business minded. They have absolutely no interest in building goodwill or relationship with customers so they return. Any request like an extension of the check out time by an hour is met with a flat no.

The property is gorgeous and very well kept. Wish they worked on their hospitality and guest...

I’m writing this review to share my disappointing experience at Celes Samui. After years of traveling, this was definitely one of the worst hotel stays I’ve had, and I think potential guests should be aware of the issues we encountered.||||Let me start with the staff situation. Most of them don’t speak great English, which I can usually work around since we’re in Thailand. However, the bigger issue was their attitude and lack of interest in actually helping guests. They seemed genuinely bothered whenever we asked for anything and acted like we were inconveniencing them just by being there.||||The housekeeping was really frustrating from day one. Basic things you’d expect in any hotel just didn’t happen consistently. The minibar in our room was never restocked despite me asking every single day. They’d always say “yes yes, we do today” and then nothing would happen. I’d come back from the beach and it would still be empty. This went on for our entire week-long stay.||||The towel situation was particularly annoying. We booked a room for 2 adults and 1 child, but they kept giving us only 2 towels. Every morning I had to go down to reception and remind them we needed 3 towels, and every morning they acted surprised. They’d promise to sort it out and then by evening we’d still only have 2 towels. This became a daily routine and they still couldn’t get it right.||||What really bothered me was when we arrived and there was no bedding set up for my daughter. When I asked about it, they said it wasn’t included in our booking and if we wanted bedding for the third person, we’d have to pay around 79 pounds extra. I showed them our booking confirmation that clearly stated 2 adults and 1 child, but they just said that’s their policy. That seemed excessive for a sheet, blanket and pillow.||||The general attitude of the staff throughout our stay was disappointing. They don’t seem to enjoy their work and their customer service skills are pretty limited. There was no warmth or attempt to make our stay pleasant - you got the feeling they saw guests as a nuisance rather than customers.||The checkout experience was particularly unpleasant. Two staff members - Nan and Neung - handled our checkout and were quite difficult to deal with. They made us wait while they did an extremely thorough room inspection, going through everything looking for any excuse to charge us extra. They treated every guest checking out with suspicion, inspecting rooms very carefully. It felt uncomfortable and unnecessary.||They were threatening to charge for any missing items and checking every single thing in the room against their list. Other guests were getting the same treatment - I watched this happen to the family ahead of us too. It made the checkout process feel quite tense when it should have been straightforward.||||The whole experience was just frustrating. I’ve stayed in budget hotels and various places over the years, and I’ve rarely been treated with such indifference. Even places that cost much less provided better service and made us feel welcome.||||The location might be decent and the rooms looked okay, but the service really impacts your whole experience. A hotel should make your holiday more enjoyable, not add stress with poor service and unhelpful staff.||I won’t be returning to Celes Samui and would suggest looking at other options in Koh Samui. There are plenty of other hotels that seem to care more about their guests and provide proper hospitality. We should have done more research before booking, and I hope this review helps others make a more informed choice.||Your holiday will likely be much more enjoyable at one of the many other hotels...