The Sarann, Koh Samui (SHA Extra+)

I wish I had spent more time reading the reviews on here because they are reflective of the reality and not what I hoped it would be, or the BA website and others would have you believe. The hotel is fundamentally tired, and while the service is ok, the two things combined mean at best its a 2* hotel. Its not luxury, premium or boutique and that is a real shame. I imagine the rooms with their own pool are better because you aren't reliant on the main pool that is small with few loungers. The food in the restaurant was good, but the restaurant itself was disappointing and service not great. The continental breakfast was cereal. At one point a stray dog walked across the dining area. The room I had was tired and not clean, looked nothing like the images online with rose petals in the hot tub (it was empty) and intricate towel arrangements (there were none). The hotel runs alongside one of the main roads and so noise was high all night. I knew within an hour that it wasn't what I wanted from my holiday and so I paid to move to a different hotel and had an amazing week. I am lucky that I could do that, but if my whole holiday was reliant on staying at the Sarann I would have been really disappointed. It has the vibe of a once nice hotel that now feels more like a hostel and for some thats absolutely fine, but thats not what I paid quite a lot of money for.

Our family stayed at The Sarann for 9 days as part of a mutli centre holiday around Thailand. Overall we enjoyed our stay, the food was decent and plenty of choice on the menu. The staff are lovely, especially Tommy, Koko, Pang and Ang and as we stayed in a room with our own pool adjoined it made it a little more special. However, our visit mirrors most of the recent reviews. The decor in general is tired, as is the decking at the main entrance between the pool and our suite. Nails were sticking up from the ground and the decking itself needs replacing. The cleaning consisted more of dusting the floor and replacing the towels. The bathroom sink was never cleaned (only by us) and for a 9 night stay, our bed sheets were not changed once. Our beds were only made once by the staff, remainder of the time we made them. Not the biggest deal of course but would always expect this to be done by the cleaning crew. Plates, glasses and cutlery were only sporadically taken away, often gathering in an area outside rooms for a day or two. On this basis, I would rate The Sarann as 3.5 star

The Sarann is located at the quiet end of the beach which is accessible from the hotel at low tide. We stayed in a Jacuzzi Villa which was spacious and private, the whole hotel is close to a busy road so there is noise from it. The pool and grounds are lovely and kept spotless. The pool villas looked nice and in hindsight we would have preferred to have stayed in one of those for the sea view. Our room was well looked after by Wandee and the bar/restaurant staff were equally helpful and friendly especially Tommy. Ang in reception is a credit to the hotel and gave us good advice when needed. We did a half day tour of Kho Samui which was well worth doing and a boat trip to the marine park again well worth doing.

The bones of the hotel are good but now somewhat tired. Food at the restaurant was lovely, staff friendly BUT apart from your initial drink you won’t be approached by any staff to get another or order a desert. Lots of road noise and our room has unfortunately backed onto the road. The views are great but you will need transport to leave the hotel as no footpaths and high speed traffic make walking impossible. Finally, after specifically asking about a late checkout and been told yes and the price (at this point we weren’t asked to pay but told we could pay on checkout) we were unceremoniously hauled from the pool area shortly after check out time as it hadn’t been recorded on their booking system. Ensure you pay in advance and get a receipt if you want a late checkout. Whilst the manager was apologetic it doesn’t alter the Faulty Towers result

For a hotel which has won awards it was disappointing the reception is chipped and scruffy as is the bar - the traffic noise in our room kept us awake all night and the food was poor unimaginative badly presented and tasteless. The staff were on the whole helpful but the restaurant is badly understaffed and service was slow.