After some thought, I’m going to give this place four out of five stars. Pros: - The hotel building and grounds are really beautiful; - Staff were friendly and helpful; - The room had a kind of quaint charm; Cons: - The breakfast is held in an open-air space on the ground floor. This is a serious problem. On one occasion I saw a cockroach crawling on the fruit. On another, ants got into a bowl of honey. I actually saw a bird fly in at one point to help itself to a bowl of jam. The staff didn’t seem to notice these food safety breaches, although acted quickly when I pointed out the ants. For a five-star establishment, they need to urgently address their breakfast buffet safety standards; - There is a very busy road dividing the main building from the pool area by the beach, and, despite two security guards stationed by the crossing, it was a frustrating and seemingly dangerous experience trying to cross the road multiple times per day; - The room, while nice, showed some evidence of being a bit run down in places. There were also some grease stains behind the bathroom door that I got rid of quickly by cleaning myself. Some attention may need to be given to updating the rooms to a five-star standard; - The gym is pretty sparse. Obviously not everyone will care about this, but I enjoy regular gym sessions and probably would have liked to see a bit more equipment available; - The resort is located away from the centre of Lamai. Ordinarily I don’t mind walking, but the road to town is extremely busy, choked with exhaust pollution and the sidewalks are an afterthought. Walking around was not an easy nor pleasant experience. For those not planning on leaving the resort this will obviously not be an issue, however it was for me. In summary, this resort was a pleasant experience but fell short of my expectations for a five-star establishment. As a comparison, we also stayed in Bangkok for three nights at a (definite) five-star hotel in Silom, which cost us less per night than Outrigger while delivering better rooms, better gym and a better breakfast experience.

I had high hopes for OUTRIGGER Koh Samui Beach Resort, but unfortunately, our stay was far from pleasant, this is far from a 5 start hotel!!. The biggest issue? The overwhelming smell of mold in the room. If you don’t request an air water humidifier, everything inside will become damp within hours. Even with the humidifier running 24/7, I had to empty it at least four times a day during our four-night stay—an absolutely ridiculous inconvenience for a supposedly high-end resort. The fact they have that air water humidifier is obviously a known issue they are facing. On top of that, the rooms are incredibly dark, making it necessary to keep the blinds open for any natural light. The problem? Our room was right next to the pool, meaning anyone passing by could see straight in. There was no sense of privacy at all. You will need to make sure you get Level 2 or higher otherwise you will have no privacy. The walls were thin and you could hear the footsteps from the room above you and hear people talk from the room beside you. However the hotel staff and cleaners were friendly and had good service.