W Koh Samui — Hotel in Ko Samui

The best hotel we have ever stayed in.

The W seems to rewrite what a hotel should be and how a hotel should function. We have stayed at some very special hotels around the world including modern and 'Grande Dame classics' but this hotel has had the envious ability to create a resort from scratch to suit the needs of the discerning modern traveller. The W brand have had chance to design bedrooms and suites without compromise, create communal areas and restaurants that simply work and give their highly trained staff the tools to service such a big and sprawling resort.

When you arrive at the W Resort there is an ethereal quality. You are greeted as if you have arrived at the gates of heaven. All the staff are lined up to say hello and you are ushered through a long and open hall towards the most breathtaking view of the infinity pond with ocean behind. Nick the manager guided us around the resort and superbly addressed any questions we had while we were given drinks and hot towels.

You are transported around the resort by a golf buggy and if you choose you do not have to walk at all - its up to you.

We were taken to our room and without even noticing our bags were already delivered and in place within our room. Our stay was in an Ocean View suite on a hillside over looking the beach suites and ocean beyond. Quite simply we were blown away with the level of detail within our suite.

The entrance hall featured a mini bar with a 'proper' coffee machine and a plethora of drinks and snacks, sun screen and novelties to purchase if required and simple ideas like branded umbrellas and slippers. The hall leads into the sitting area with large TV complete with surround sound, a large amount of international channels and further beyond to the study area which was cleverly laid out behind a sliding wall - complete with plug sockets for all international connections, cable modem, wireless facilities and USB interfaces etc… A clear example of how much thought had gone into the room concept.

The bedroom area comprised a large King size bed with quality sheets - unsure of what thread count they may have been but rest assured that they were good! The bathroom was amazing with twin sinks, egg bath, the all important separate WC and unusually an indoor shower and outdoor shower - this worked really well as a couple as one could use each and there was no waiting around for the other half to get ready!! The exterior of our suite was laid out with a decked terrace, double day bed, table and chairs and a larger than average plunge pool that although cold was impressive. This would have to be are only negative for our suite - the pool was cold and the way in which the suite faces you tend to loose direct sun on the terrace - but given how good the area is around the communal pool this was a small price to pay.

On our first night we opted to eat at Namu, the on site Japanese restaurant. We sat at the chef's station which was a superb experience - we were delighted that we choose to sit at the station and not at a table. Watching how the food was made and interaction from the chefs was captivating, friendly and insightful. The food was truly incredible. I do not eat seafood or shellfish so I was guided around a list of endless possibilities. The thing with the W as a whole is that 'nothing is too much trouble'. It was quite simply brilliant. We love Nobu and this was clearly on a par.

Other restaurants on site include the Kitchen Table where you are served breakfast and food throughout the day at any time you wish to eat, there simply are no restrictions. The breakfast was incredible. Whatever you want. Four different kinds of donoughts? Four different kinds of croissants? International food with no limits - simply amazing. If you like your eggs a specific way tell them. If you would rather have egg whites - tell them. If you like your bacon cooked a certain way - they will do it exactly to your requirements. By not having a menu they clearly are capable of providing whatever is asked of them. Redina, one of the staff of the Kitchen Table was notably brilliant. We were so lucky to have her look after us for our week and thank her for all she did. She is clearly another credit to the hotel.

The spa is exquisitely finished - the main reception gives you a glimpse of the quality of the hotel but as you are walked through it you can soon see just how large it is. Private salons, saunas, steam suites, health bar (fresh juices, smoothies and cool cocktails…) and a network of treatment rooms. One thing to think about is that there are a lot of steps at the W and no alternative if you are immobile, the steps to the treatment room were clearly made for the younger client which to be fair to the W is their client base. I had a mans facial which was very refreshing and thorough although long - as an impatient man who doesn't really have these sort of treatments I was a bit fidgety! Buffed and puffed I was pleased I used the spa as it was an experience.

The gym is huge. If you are looking to work out whilst away, you will find all you want in here just remember to bring your trainers! There is also a tennis court if you fancy a game. They provide rackets and balls although if you are a tennis pro make sure you bring a better quality racket with you.

We stayed at the W for the week leading up to and including all New Years celebrations. The W team pulled out all the stops for an amazing New Year. The party started with drinks for all residents around the pool with a top Thai DJ pumping out some great tunes… We eat at a superb buffet from The Kitchen Table although it was predominately seafood based which was a bit of an issue for me… never the less I eat well and enjoyed it. We then went up to the Woo Bar and W Lounge for cocktails and champagne which was clearly sponsored by Verve Clicqout with Thai bunny girls dressed in orange bikini's, fire throwers, exotic dancers, a truly superb DJ and MC who was specifically flown in for the occasion. Quite some effort by the W team, it was very impressive. As the clock struck 12 the firework display started and it soon became clear that the W was trying to beat the neighbouring resorts with a bit of firework rivalry!!! A great night and one of credit to Nick the GM.

On leaving we suffered torrential rain and high winds. We were kept informed by hotel staff and Nick the GM offered us the information we needed to know. They really do look after you. It was obviously a freak weather season for Koh Samui as I have been to the island before for New Years and the weather was gorgeous… The island has had some strange weather throughout 2010 - I do hope it gets better for them in 2012. The W is so good that if the weather isn't great you do not feel like you are stuck. The suite is enormous and the communal areas and restaurants are superb so it didn't effect our holiday.

You can probably guess that we loved this place. It was everything we had hoped for and more. Amazing service and an breathtaking hotel. If this is an example of how all W hotels are, I look forward to staying in...

We stayed at W Koh Samui during a mattress run to try different hotels including Vana Belle which is also part of Marriott. Overall I was pleased with W and I can recommend it although it’s a very different style than Vana Belle so for people looking for the best option within Marriott I would say it would depend mostly on what people value more. For the beach and dining VB would win, but for the best villas, common areas and drink venues then in my opinion W would be the better choice.

I booked the standard room at W and received an upgrade as Marriott Ambassador Elite guest to the Ocean View Escape Villa on the last row on top of the hill which is in dead end pathway. The villa had great privacy from both sides, in addition I could not see the terrace of our neighbors below us due to the shape of the roof of each villa.

The overall size of the villas at W (even the basic villa) are far bigger than the lower level of rooms at VB so a more balanced comparison would be between the higher room types at both hotels. At least for my dates the price premium between the standard room at W and the Ocean View Escape Villa was reasonable so if I had to return in times of high occupancy I might book the Ocean Escape outright because for the money that W is charging I would want to avoid being at the bottom of the resort without views, if upgrades are unlikely.

This being a W brand hotel, the villa itself looked attractive in design and definitely more interesting than the more traditional one at VB which some guests might even find a bit boring. The villa at W was very wide and narrow which maximized the window frontage with sea views from anywhere in the room. There were two showers, one outdoor which interestingly was entirely within the external walls of the villa, but with three glass walls inside, therefore visible from everywhere in the villa. There was also a normal shower indoors, also with a glass door, allowing to have sea views from there as well.

The pool was far more than a simple plunge pool – it was very long and swimmable, in fact longer than the one at VB where about one third of it is shallow water so not suitable to swim. The only drawback of the pool at W was similar as at VB: the orientation of the pool was such that most of it was in the shade during the afternoon sun so the water was a bit cool, unlike at Conrad where the terrace and the pool are exposed to the sun all afternoon.

Breakfast was offered at the restaurant / bar near the beach. It was a fantastic spot for breakfast, in fact they temporarily installed some private tables right on the beach that some lucky guests could pick when available.

Regarding the menu it was not that great unfortunately, inferior to other hotels in this price range and it was too western-oriented in my opinion. There were not many protein dishes available and many pieces of chicken were not the best quality.

The beach has some pros and cons. The overall area is quite large and only accessible from W, which is better than some hotels which must share the beach with passersby. It makes it an ideal location for a beach party at the hotel, which is a good fit for a W. However for swimming guests cannot go very far in the water and must stay in the cordoned off area to avoid interfering with the boat routes.

Up on top of the hill near reception is Woobar which is very popular for pictures, in fact many non-hotel guests came every day to take selfies. That spot is so great that Marriott even uses pictures of it on the website home page on occasion because it’s one of the nicest bars in the Marriott system anywhere, worldwide.

Overall we had a good stay at W and we loved the villa. Unfortunately no hotel is perfect so I wish we could combine W with dining from Vana Belle, but W was good enough that I can recommend it based on individual guest preferences as it has different strengths than other 5-star hotels in Koh Samui like Conrad...

From before I even arrived the the hotel, I had a gut feeling that the W may not have been a good choice. Sometimes these “sexy” brands sell you the dream and look good online but can’t execute like the top tier hotels (banyan tree, ritz, four seasons, etc). So here we go:

prior to arrival, I emailed he concierge many times, usually with multiple questions. On almost every occasion she wouldn’t answer all of my questions and her information was all over the place. Long story short, we didn’t book anything through the hotel and it was frustrating getting basic info. we arranged for a car that is sold as “W Wheels”. We expected a clean, W branded car. What showed up was an extremely dirty Toyota truck with no W branding at all and a grumpy driver (much different then the comp s500 Mercedes we got picked up at in our last hotel). Essentially they called me a dirty cab. Why sell it to me as “W Wheels” when that’s not the case? Again, this is a hotel that is trying to act like a premium brand but can’t seem to execute. Really bad move in my opinion. upon arrival, there was no one outside. I’m used to getting attacked by staff at the door after traveling all day. Finally after WE unloaded our own luggage, someone came out and greeted us. At that point that asked us to sit in a couch and wait. Ten minutes went by and still nothing! They completely forgot about us! We finally went to the desk and then they checked us in. while the pool villa room is nice, it has zero view. Literally zero. No trees, nothing. You are looking at a wall for $800 a night. Almost all of the competition has stadium style seating up a hill so each villa gets amazing views. Not here, a large majority are ground level with no view. I would never pay the price they are asking if the room doesn’t have a water view. the beach is horrible. Water is dark and murky. Sand is hard and rocky. The wind is crazy, to the point where my French flies were going off my plate. Not relaxing ! The food menu is extremely limited for a large resort like this. Due to that, we went to the pool. Filled with kids and literally there are only 15 lounge chairs so it was packed. To make it worse, they have no pool bar!! I mean really? This is the W, where is the young cool/hip vibe? all over the hotel there are odd smells. I can’t even tell you what they are. called the front desk multiple times for various requests (transport, reservations, etc). You have a 50/50 shot that they will pick up. Another sign of a subpar hotel! breakfast is mediocre at best, although the view is great. I arrived at 10:50 and as soon as I sat they told me I had 10 minutes to get my food! I mean really? Regardless of when a guest sits, if I make it in before closing time, you do not rush them. This is hospitality 101. after all this we decided to meet the the hotel manager Brad and discuss how unhappy we were on our special weekend. Seemed like a nice guy at first, but then he changed his tune. Initially he was very apologetic about the experience and told me I could check out and get a refund the next day. We appreciated that, the hotel just wasn’t for us and we jumped all over his offer. We booked the banyan tree immediate and it was one of the best weeks of my life (that’s a whole other story). After we left, we found out that the manager was not honoring our conversation and essentially dodged our calls and requests for a few days. I finally got an email from the GM and he was just as rude (Daniel Simon was his name). He basically said that he was backing up his manager and sees no reason why he would have said to me that we could leave? They are absolute liars. I’m spending thousands of money on a honeymoon, do they really think this is what I want to be dealing with? I’ve never been more insulted from a hotel management team in my life!

Stay away at all costs, so many better options out...