500Rai Floating Resort — Hotel in Surat Thani Province

The ultimate tourist trap

"Unbelieavle beautity for an expensive price tag"

We heard a lot about the Floating resorts and knew that we will try it. We also heard that most of the Floating resorts have no AC, and that the ones that do, will turn on only at night. The Main reason we (4 people, 2 couples) chose 500rai is that they do offer rooms with ac 24h a day. We stayed there for 2 nights.

Here is the most honest and objective(up to an extent) review:

LOCATION 5/5: breath taking. The Resort is in the lake and we have never experienced this kind of Beauty. It is breath taking and Unbeliveble.

SERVICE 4/5: service was very good. The staff was accomodating to our requests (an electric kettle, bucket with ice, towels). Note that the staff doesn't speak English almost at all, which at times proved itself being very difficult.

FOOD 1/5: I've read reviews here about the food and thought that people are a bit exaggerating. I normally eat everything and enjoy it. But the food here was the worst. It was the worst we (all 4) had In Thailand. Probably nothing you will order will be good.

PRICE 0/5: this is a very expensive Hotel (relatively to Thailand). We were willing to pay the price of $750 per night especially for the ac. Normally you can include the breakfast and lunch(or) dinner in the price. You also get a "kayak tour" for free which is literally going on the kayak but with a "guide". Not sure why we needed him though. The prices in the restaurant are expensive. Globally expensive not just vs Thailand expensive . Some dishes and drinks in the restaurant are the same price as in cities like NY or Tel Aviv. If you need internet, an hour will cost you $12.

GENERAL: they wont let you bring anything from the land (including water). And you will be provided 3 bottles of 500m per person pe day. It took us a few good minutes to get them to give us more WATER. (1 bottle more per person). No coffee stand in the huts at all. You can ask toiletries from the reception.

Overall the trip was a blast. The 500rai team was nice but the general feeling of 500rai is stinginess. It is really a beautiful resort but it feels like whole cute "disconnect" idea is just for them to make more money of guests. The general feeling is that they really try to save money of you and you feel it everywhere. From charging for ice bucket to having a coffee machine open for 2 hours a day only. Charging (a lot) for internet or even surfing board.

Bottom line - if ac 24h is important for you, and there is NO OTHER ALTERNATIVE, I'd recommend this place. But if you can find any other place in the same lake, it will probably be a better value for money.

I will be coming back to the lake, but...

We arrived at 500 Rai and were welcomed with drinks and a kind message, which was appreciated after a long journey. However, I briefly stepped away and came back to find my drink had already been taken away before I could enjoy it.

We were seated at a table, and I politely asked to move to an empty one next to us for a better view. I was told it was reserved — yet no one ever came to sit there during our entire meal. The food was average, and to our surprise, the bar closed at 8:30pm. Even worse, after 10:30pm you're not allowed to sit in the only communal seating area in the hotel at all, because it’s “quiet time.” There were no drinks available whatsoever after 8:30 — despite the fact we paid top money for what was advertised as an all-inclusive stay. Nowhere did it say in advance that service ends so early, and it completely ruined the atmosphere.

One particularly upsetting moment was when I went to take the flip-flops from our room — something I’ve done at every hotel as a keepsake from our honeymoon. Instead, a staff member approached me to say the flip-flops were “missing” from our room and asked where they were. I explained I thought I could take them, and he just walked off. I was made to feel like a thief. I had to go to the reception as I can see them all talking and looking at me and I told the gentleman I had taken them and I was told to give them back. It’s absolutely outrageous — especially when you’re paying over £600 for less than 18 hours in this place — that they give you second-hand flip-flops and then treat you like that.

The view is undeniably beautiful, but that was the only highlight. Our room was full of ants and had the worst bathroom I’ve ever seen in any hotel. For the cost and reputation, this place is incredibly overrated.

We saved up for this one-night stay, thinking it would be something truly special, but it ended up ruining a big part of our honeymoon. I would absolutely not recommend 500 Rai — it’s just not worth it.

(Also the hotel knew we were on our honeymoon and they did absolutely nothing not even a...

Let me start by saying that the location of the hotel is simply amazing. One of the most beautiful places on earth. However, other than the rooms (which has 24 hours A/C, a thing that other floating hotels don't provide) and the view there are no upsides. That and only that got the place a 2 stars rating.

The staff barely knows English, and that's the least of your problems there. You are totally dependent on the hotel, to the amount of water you drink, since you are not allowed to bring anything to the hotel property including water. Then, they charge you even for water in their restaurant (you do get 1.5 liters per person for a day "for free" in the room) The prices are way too expensive, 10 times higher than the normal prices in Thailand, and what you get is 10 times lower in quality.

The food is bad. Really bad. And for the price of each dish I would expect at least something with some good flavour in it. Moreover, on a few occasions, ants were walking on the food (in the morning buffet) and the dishes were dirty, we even got a cup with a few ants walking in it.

The general feeling of this place is that you're in the ultimate tourist trap and they take advantage of it to the fullest, both in prices and the staff attitude. Always lurking, waiting for you to order stuff. You order 1 drink and constantly the reply was "two?", As If they were hoping you'd say yes. It feels like they are really trying hard to spend as little as possible on their guest, which is annoying for the price they charge for a night.

To conclude, if you want the experience of sleeping literally on the water with the most amazing view you'll see, while having 24 hours A/C go for it and book yourself a trip there, just be prepared to spend a lot of money and get very little in return. And if you don't mind being without A/C, find a...