ARKbar Beach Club & Resort — Restaurant in Ko Samui

This was my 8th time staying at Ark Bar since 2018, so here we go.

Do you know the photos and videos you see on the internet showing all the cool parties and pretty girls at Ark Bar? Forget about it. That's all past. The place that once was the hotspot for those wild pool parties in Samui looks more like a water park for children nowadays. Yes, Ark Bar allows children in their pool now!

Alongside with the kids you'll find many ladies wearing clothes in the pool. Very disappointing, especially for the many middle eastern guys that come in the hope to see some girls in bikinis... If you happen to bring your wife here, she will be very uncomfortable, trust me.

About the facilities, let's be honest... Ark Bar hotel was never a luxury place. The rooms have always been very rustic and basic, and the toilets were always terrible, especially the shower (weak water flow, temperature changes in the water, the toilet floods every time you take a shower)... I mean, when you have a shower. On the second night there we arrived at the hotel after 3am soaked in sweat after a night out and couldn't take a shower simply because there was no water coming from the pipes! Unbelievable! The hotel shrank from a massive 300 rooms resort to only 70 rooms but the quality hasn't improved at all. Actually it might have gotten worse. They used to offer free transfer from the airport to the hotel and breakfast used to be included. Not anymore. And guess what? It didn't get cheaper, but actually more expensive that it used to be.

What about the renovation works that start at 9am? Nothing works in this hotel before noon, except the electric saws, power drills and hammers. This is a party hotel, where nobody goes to sleep before 3 or 4 am, for God sake! They should have a bit of respect for their guests sleep!

If you're planning to go to Koh Samui and stay in Chaweng Beach, there are plenty of better hotel options nearby Ark Bar. All of them are newer, more modern and cheaper. And don't worry about not having access to Ark Bar's pool in case you wanna party with the children and middle eastern guys while the DJ plays ABBA(!?): anybody can use their pool by spending 500 baht there. That's what you pay for only 4 beers or 2.5 cocktails there nowadays, after they increased their prices recently. They may not have the hottest parties anymore, but they surely have the most expensive Chang Beers in Chaweng.

As a loyal frequent guest for the past 6 years, I feel very disappointed to see what I saw during this last stay. It used to be a really nice place with really good vibes, even when the pool was smaller. When I first came back after the pandemic, in March 2023, it was still fun. No idea how they managed to screw up the place so fast.

And talking about management, I'd rather have had a talk to the manager or owner before writing this review, but even after so many stays in this hotel, I have no idea who they are. Maybe because they're never around? That would explain a lot about the hotel's downfall.

Unless they do something to try to bring this place back to what it was for so long, like putting restrictions on children in the hotel, wearing clothes inside the pool, jumping, playing with balls and doing other stupid stuff like playing beach tennis in the pool (and therefore spilling water on your face and in your drinks), Ark Bar is faded to be forgotten and therefore disappear. I saw many people coming to the pool, looking what was going on there and leaving, and that was not only once but many times everyday along this week.

Ark Bar is lucky for not having any other hotels doing the same kind of business they do, especially the night party at the beach, because when it happens, Ark Bar will be dead. And I will only feel sorry for their staff, who has always been amazing and currently are the only true highlights about this place.

P.S.: Can somebody tell that DJ that plays on the beach in the evening that nobody likes to hear him talking non-stop...

The resort was awesome and truly is a party resort with 3 swimming pools, DJ's playing from the afternoon until the wee hours of the morning. Situated right on the beach with plenty of seating and sunbeds, plenty of pool/billiard tables, and fire shows/dancers every evening.

It also has a very good beach side restaurant serving delicious meals and drinks. I had around 5 meals here during my stay and the food was on point each time.

Me and my mate, honestly didn't feel the need to go elsewhere and majority of our time was spent at the resort. The beach side gets crowded in the evenings and nights because of the fire show and beach parties but it never felt overcrowded and only added to the amazing atmosphere.

I had friends who were staying at another hotel visit us and from day one until they departed Samui, they ended up coming to Ark Bar Beach Resort from the afternoon until night and regretted not booking a room here.

Location: Excellent location right in the heart of Chaweng beach with plenty of transport options available, massage parlours, travel and excursion agents, convenience stores, shops, tailors and the list goes on.

Other than the resort's own party scene, it is within a short walking distance to the many other popular bars and clubs found in Chaweng beach.

We received free airport pickup from the hotel and the driver was waiting for us with a name card as we arrived, and the airport was a very short distance from the resort. All staff were friendly and housekeeping good.

Room: My mate and I booked a superior double room each, located on the top floor (I think 2nd floor). Each room has a balcony with chairs, good working aircon, wi-fi, flat screen TV with plenty of English channels, and a large comfortable bed and pillows.

I preferred the top floor rooms because it gave you that extra bit of privacy. Even though the balcony faced an adjustment room across the foot path, there were still trees which gave that bit of privacy. If you however book a ground floor room, other than facing the adjacent room, there will also be plenty of foot traffic on the foot path with guests and outsiders making their way in or out of the resorts restaurant/beach/pool.

My room was a minutes walk one way to the restaurant with billiard tables, swimming pool and the beach. And the other way to reception and main road.

Even though this is a party resort, we were not disturbed with music/noise coming from the beach side. It might have been a different story if the room was situated closer to the beach hence prior to booking I specifically requested for a room away from the beach.

The room although standard, was comfortable, clean and cool and I had a good nights sleep on each of the 5 nights spent at the resort.

Bathroom: Bathroom was of a good size, clean, fairly modern and with a walk in shower and good water pressure. My only complaint is that there was an odd sewerage kind of smell sometimes which was unpleasant but other than that, all good.

Negatives: There was a bit of wear and tear showing in the rooms and bathrooms. This did not bother me at all considering this is only a 3/3.5 star resort however with 3 pools, the beach, and free entertainment all day and all night!

Conclusion: I highly recommend this resort and it will be my number one option for any future visits...

Terrible Experience at Ark Bar – Rude Staff Ruined Our Night!

I normally don't write bad reviews, but the experience we had at Ark Beach Club with an employee named NOY was so bad that I feel compelled to warn others. My friends and I, traveling from Dubai, New Zealand, and Delhi, came to Ark Beach Club for a fun night. We were enjoying ourselves until the very end when Noy, the bartender, completely ruined our evening. We ordered tequila shots, but when it came time to pay, Noy falsely claimed that we had already received them and that we had "dropped them in front of her." This is absurd because we were never even served the shots! We tried to explain the situation calmly, but she was incredibly rude and started shouting at us. We even asked for camera footage to verify our side of the story, but she refused and continued to be extremely arrogant and dismissive. Her behavior was completely out of line, especially in a place like Thailand, where hospitality is key. The culture is all about being warm and considerate to guests, but Noy’s attitude was the complete opposite. It was shocking how she treated us. When we asked to speak to the manager, she claimed she was the manager! How convenient. Honestly, the atmosphere at Ark Beach Club was amazing, and we had a great time overall – but employees like Noy leave a terrible impression and tarnish the reputation of the place. We didn’t drop the drinks, and even if we had, it would have been common courtesy for the bar to compensate us rather than yelling and accusing us of lying. This experience really left a bad taste in our mouths. Ark Beach Club, please reconsider having people like Noy on your team. She does not represent the warm hospitality that Thailand...