The Best Boutique Hotels To Book On Koh Samui Thailand

The popular Thai island Koh Samui is jam-packed with hotel options – which is why we’ve crafted a list of the very best. Book with Culture Trip, and you’ll be in holiday heaven at these hideaways.

Golden sands, glistening palms, forests laced with waterfalls – Koh Samui’s lush landscapes have been luring tourists for decades. Once upon a time, places to stay were limited to simple beachside shacks, but, now, Samui has some of the sleekest accommodations in Southeast Asia. You’ll find strings of classy boutique properties lining the half-moon bays and coconut-palm-filled coves or dotting the island’s steep, forested hills. Here are the best hotels to book on Koh Samui – easily done via Culture Trip.

1. The Sarann

Resort, Hotel

With white palettes offset by warm, wooden floors and shutters – as well as dashes of regal purple from Thai silk scatter cushions – rooms at this cosy retreat feel modish and sumptuous. The best have sea views – over the turquoise waves and the full sweep of the long white-sand Chaweng Beach (backed with plenty of bars and restaurants). The very plushest rooms come with their own private infinity pools – watch golden sunsets melt into them.

2. The Library

Hotel, Boutique Hotel, Resort

This is the kind of boutique hotel the Vampire Lestat would choose for his beach holiday: there’s a blood-red infinity pool, bedrooms have lacquer-box-glossy crimson floors offset by striking baroque still lives, and there are OTT blood-red lace screens, softly illuminated with crimson lamps. If you don’t fancy too much red with your bed, pick one of the minimalist white villas. The location is to-die-for – right on the top beach on the island, Chaweng, surrounded by bars, where the undead can be sure of a strong bloody mary.

3. Code Samui Hotel

Boutique Hotel, Resort

Bang Por Beach may be a good 10-minute walk away, but the sea views at Code are swoon-worthy. Rooms are all-white – from walls to soft sofas and high-thread-count linens. Best of all are the pool and terrace suites, where minimalist interiors offset the turquoises and lush greens of the sea and palm trees you can glimpse outside: gaze through wall-high glass, over an infinity pool and the ocean, to the distant mountains on Koh Pha Ngan.

5. Mai Samui

Resort

Narrow and shallow, Laem Yai may not be the finest beach on Koh Samui, but it does have the best sunset views. Mai Samui is poised to catch them and has three gorgeous pools, winding around the villas. These bask in shady tropical gardens. Interiors eschew Samui’s standard palm-thatch feel; instead, you can expect a more urban feel, courtesy of dark-wood furnishings, heavy-draped windows with ocean views, and deluxe rooms opening right onto the pool, with private swim-off sundecks.

6. Sareeraya

Resort, Hotel

This is a plum spot, right on the sand at the quieter northern end of long Chaweng Beach. Every villa has a private plunge pool, all varying in size. Rooms are made to linger in, luxuriously decked out in heavy woods, with dining tables indoors, sun loungers on private balconies, and intimate light from ceiling-hung rattan lamps. Bathrooms are resplendent with huge mirrors and soak-in recliner tubs. Chaweng village, home to the best restaurants and bars on Koh Samui, is right on the doorstep.

7. Cape Fahn

Hotel

A hotel on a private island? That’s Cape Fahn – occupying an entire islet in Koh Samui’s far north. Villas with glass walls and sundecks are open to nature, and all have either full or partial sea views. Best of all are the Horizon Pools – these are positioned higher than the others, with big plunge pools and magical sunset or sunrise views you can enjoy while in bed. The beach here is a slip of a thing, but Choengmon Bay, across the water on the Koh Samui mainland, is so close you can almost jump across.

8. SALA

Luxury

With so many hotels squeezed in behind the white sand, Choengmoen Beach can feel crowded. But staying at Sala is serene: duplex villas lurk behind high walls in a garden dotted with lily ponds. With separate bedrooms and lounge areas (bathed in light from wall-high windows) as well as big plunge pools and sundecks, these are rooms you won’t ever want to leave. But there’s a huge choice of restaurants and bars nearby if you fancy shaking a leg, too.

Looking for somewhere different? Book into one of the best hotels on Koh Samui, or opt for a hostel across the water on Koh Pha Ngan. For more inspiration, check out all the must-visit attractions on Koh Samui, and find out how to spend the perfect week on this island.

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