Explorar Koh Samui — Hotel in Ko Samui

I so badly wanted to rate this hotel 5 stars. Overall, it was a really enjoyable stay, but for a 5-star hotel it has a few things that add up to take the shine off. To preface this review, I am certainly not a fine dining/fancy hotel type of guy, so this isn't about having too high an expectation.

I'll start with the positives, of which there are many. The staff are absolutely incredible - friendly, helpful and fun. The rooms are spacious and clean, with a comfortable bed, however, there isn't anything about them that feels 5-star. We booked the deluxe oceanview room and the view did not disappoint. The pool area was very nice, with a swim-up bar, deck chairs and bean bags, with lots of room in the sun and shade. The restaurant served amazing food, with a good mix of Thai and western options, however if it wasn't included in our package, it would have been too costly to eat there every night. The bar had a decent happy hour and served great cocktails, however again, if the free-flow hour wasn't in our package, the cost would have stopped us from drinking here as much.

Now for the negatives, all but a few of which were minor, but did add up given this is supposed to be a 5-star resort. The major one was the bathroom - it was cramped, had just a standard shower head, and a half screen, meaning water went all over the floor every time you showered, and also pooled in the shower quite extensively. We stayed at much cheaper 4-star hotels with better bathrooms, so this was a bit of a let-down. The second major issue was the aircon, which no matter what setting you chose, left the room (including clothes and other items) feeling damp (the floor looked like it had been mopped in the morning when we woke). This was made worse if you left the bathroom door open, with the pooling water in the shower acting like a dehumidifier. This was pretty frustrating. Minor issues included: a small TV with minimal channels that cut out when it rained; the worst designed bed frame I've ever seen, with a shin-hating wooden section that extends out from under the mattress by about 20cms; and occasional slow service at the restaurant (although this didn't really bother us much). Also, as mentioned, there was nothing specifically about the rooms that felt 5-star - they are pretty standard (but nice) rooms overall.

One last issue encountered, which I can only partly fault the hotel staff for, is guest behaviour at the pool. Maybe we just got unlucky, but boy was the selfishness of guests at this hotel disappointing. There were 24 deck chairs and by 7am, most would have people's belongings on them to essentially prevent anyone from using them - but most people would then go back to their rooms or head to breakfast, sometimes not returning for hours. Same thing with the bean bags. Now, this is primarily on the guests to just be better humans and not be so objectively selfish, but the hotel staff didn't really seem to have anything in place to prevent or deter this, even when I politely brought it up with them. During our 8-day stay, we got to use the deck chairs twice, as I refused to engage in the same selfish behaviour others were.

To really drive home what I was dealing with, one couple who had deck chairs, also had two floating bean bags in front of them with their shirts on them. They were having lunch, and having had enough of this selfishness, I swam up, moved their shirt to their deck chair and took the bean bag. She ran over and simply said "that is mine" - not another word, just that. I reminded her of what it means to be considerate of others and continued to float away. So, if you do stay here - don't be like this. Either use the chair/bean bag or let someone else -...

Staying at the Explorar made our trip to Koh Samui absolutely perfect. The location was incredible for what my husband and I were looking for - a luxurious and serene escape. The property is located right on the beach and you have seas view no matter where you are on the property. Due to a typhoon storm in December the beach front was really deteriorated so you don’t have much sand at your feet. That said the water is amazing and the hotel is doing their best to restore the beach. They also offer free shuttle to the closest beach which is about 5 min drive. You can wade to either side of the hotel and get access to beach front very quickly so don’t be deterred by this. Also, the property has created a beautiful section with a man made beach with comfy bean bag chairs under a bamboo pergola so you get the beach feel with the ocean across from you and some shade. Throughout the day the current will rise and fall so you can walk the beach to other restaurants or massage places. We highly recommend Treehouse for both - an authentic meal as well as incredible massages!

The property is superb. It attracts a mature crowd who is looking for self care. The staff is incredible and will do anything to support you. A special thank you to Loy, Golf, Nye, Som, Jan, Tiki - you are all incredible humans who made our stay especially memorable. The views and chic design with the balance of perfect greenery feels like a bonus on top of the perfection this resort offers. Go do some rooftop yoga with Sophie - she is incredible!

Explorar has a chef from France who is in charge of the food. There is an extensive western and authentic Thai menu that you could truly eat something new for each meal and honestly not have to leave the property. We did dinners on the beach each night under the stars and moon with live music playing almost each night.

We booked the Ang Thong National Marine Park speedboat tour which is a must to experience some of the most beautiful sights of untouched nature on the 42 island tour. It took us to an island which had a population of 700 where they cooked a superb meal for us. We also went to the Elephant Sanctuary - this is where rescued elephants are nurtured back to health. We had no idea how much elephants are tortured to please the ignorance of tourists looking for entertainment. We were a part of their care including making their food, feeding them and doing a mud bath with them! A once in a lifetime experience! Finally, you have to do the temple tour to experience the spiritual magic which seems to be a foundation of why the people on this island are some of the most loving I have ever encountered. We felt incredibly safe and supported at all times.

We did a cooking and language class at he resort. There is always something going on and I encourage you to participate to meet new people and learn about the culture. You would be surprised at how far learning ‘hello’ and ‘thank you’ goes. Your efforts will be much appreciated by anyone you meet.

There is a true vibe and magic in the air here. We really hit the jackpot by uncovering this gem 💎 Even on our last day before we had to check out we were given a day room so we could shower before we left - I have never experienced such hospitality throughout my travels. We will definitely return here and recommend it...

The Explorar Koh Samui kept leaving us feeling like something was not quite as expected throughout our stay. Upon check in we learned that we booked a different room type than we thought. When we asked about it the staff said they would look into the "upgrade" and see if the other room type was available for an additional charge. They did not look into it. We had to ask repeatedly for help with this and eventually had to stand at the front desk to ensure some action was taken. The room type we wanted was less expensive than the room we booked but as soon as the staff member realized that they unconvincingly tried to explain why it would be impossible to get the difference refunded or even as a credit at the resort.

The breakfast area would have been nice if it wasn't full of flies each day. At one point there was also a large ant colony marching through the indoor dining area and a dog walked up off the beach and sat down on a bench with some people eating outdoors. At the very least this dining area needs fly paper in the kitchen at all times and in the dining area overnight.

The hotel claims to offer a shuttle bus to the local street market. When we signed up for and took the shuttle to the market it would only make sense that the return shuttle was the same sign up. When we got to the pickup point a hotel employee told us that we weren't on the list for the return shuttle and there was no way he could possibly allow us to ride in the giant van behind him. I asked if we could wait until the imminent scheduled departure time to see if there we any unfilled seats. He refused. He called the hotel reception and handed me the phone. After asking multiple times for a direct answer, the reception staff finally said that if there were empty seats at the departure time we could ride in this shuttle van. The driver walked around the market beyond the scheduled departure time in an attempt to find enough guests to fill the van so that we could not ride. When he failed to find people to fill the seats he finally opened the door with tinted windows to reveal 2 people in a 10 person van. All of his posturing and role playing as a night club bouncer who's only joy is in exercising power in a low stakes situation was completely unnecessary, unprofessional, inhospitable, and based on the false premise of van seat scarcity.

At another point when one of the lights in our room was not working I asked about getting it fixed at the front desk. Of course it took multiple requests before anyone took any action on that request when one request should be plenty and really this is the sort of thing that should be working properly to begin with. Once the reception staff actually started responding to this request the maintenance team were extremely quick and good at their jobs. If only they were alerted to the problem the first time I reported it to the reception or before we arrived, that would have been what I expected from...