Dan Kao hotels & places to stay

This is a tough review to write because the hotel itself was perfect, but the beach ruined it for us. The rooms were great (though some issues with wi-fi), the staff were so amazing that you'd sometimes just chat with them for hours (Tree is the best!), the food and drinks was the best we had in all of Thailand and the hotel grounds themselves were well set up. The staff made us as comfortable as possible and were always trying to find out how to make your stay even better. Absolutely no complaints whatsoever when it comes to the hotel. Our problem was the beach. It is not like the beach on the other side of Koh Chang. It was extremely rocky everywhere - and sharp rocky so you did not want to go into the water. Also, because of the red sand, on hot days the water gets up to what feels like hot tub temperatures. For us, this made it unenjoyable to swim in. We had initially booked 3 nights, but for us having a beach to swim in is the most important thing in our hotel, so we cancelled after one night and went back to the other side of the island. So if you are not looking for a beach vacation, but just some serenity, this is the ideal place. If you are looking for a beach vacation, but are willing to take a one day break from the beach, again it is the ideal place. But if you are a beach-goer, this is not the place for you. On that note, I have to also add that the owner was so accommodating and flexible. The kind of service you would expect at a hotel back home. When we told him we wanted to leave early, he made arrangements for us to be paid back for our days and was extremely friendly - no issues whatsoever. Amazing service. The only other downfall was that they advertise for a daily car service to White Sands Beach, but it was not available. It is very difficult to get here and back as most of the taxis try to charge you 600 Baht. This was only frustrating because they advertised a daily service at 11 a.m., which ended up not being available.

We loved the Sunrise Beach Resort so much we booked it again. It’s close to the ferry which is great if you’ve been travelling all day. A welcome fruit platter awaited us. We booked the family bungalow and found it to be really spacious, with 2 beds for my kids and a king size for my husband and I. One of the kids beds was in a Room with its own door. But the reason we booked again was because of the staff and owners. They picked us up at the ferry, then the next day drove us to go rent motorbikes and also helped us find a birthday cake for our daughter’s birthday at a bakery in one of the towns. The day we left drove us to where we could catch a Song Thaew. The breakfast food was great and the suppers were fantastic, my kids loved the cashew chicken, I loved the Panang Curry, my husband loved Pad Ka prao. The pool was so beautiful and right next to the bar. The beach and water were clean and we took the kayaks out for a row in the beautiful ocean.

The stay at "The Garden of Joy" was fantastic. Customer service and care from Valentino and his wife(sorry I have forgotten your name) was amazing. They were so friendly and helpful in everyway. The bungalows,set in peaceful and tranquil gardens were terrific, the serenity we both enjoyed. The beach was a rocky beach WHO CARES the swimming pool and spa over looking the ocean made up for that. I cannot tell you how highly I regard this place, service from the host's and staff AMAZING. This place was the highlight of Koh Chang. I had heard so much of the island, so we took the chance and went. The island was disappointing from the non performing waterfalls, to the 3metre wide sand beach strips on the touristy side of the island, surrounded with rubbish. Very poor. The monkeys on the side of the road however were entertaining, you could compare this sentence to the taxi service eagerly awaiting the next unsuspecting and naïve tourist at the main arrival port. "The Garden of Joy" was the saving grace of the island. Word of warning use the Centre Point Ferry port on the mainland as it lands you approximately 3 kms from the hotel, otherwise if you arrive at Koh Chang terminal it will cost you somewhat more, and be warned the taxis will tell you the fee is to the road NOT to the reception office at any of the hotels, that is an additional charge. Saw and heard them scam a group of Italian tourists.

Once there, you learn that you're in the middle of nowhere. To travel to the nice beach on the other side of the island (White Sands Beach or so) you'll depend upon the resort's car; we were charged 1200 Baht for a round trip to the other side. The only other alternative would be renting a scooter, but when you're with small children, that's not really an option. The resort restaurant is of low quality, with not many options on the menu, but quite expensive. Breakfast, included (coffee, eggs, hotdogs) is served 6:30am - 8am. No WiFi in the rooms (in spite of it being advertised).

Blessed is a beautiful relaxing bed and breakfast on the slow paced side of Koh Chang. The artwork and statues throughout are colorful and add to the experience. Although the owners were out of the country, their friends were our hosts. They made our stay enjoyable by their good company, helping with rides to a nearby restaurant and elephant sanctuary, and making us feel at home for our stay. We appreciated that wheelchair access was considered when building the three units since most lodging across Koh Chang has multiple steps. The larger two are most suitable space wise, with the largest unit having the best bathroom accessibility. Highly recommended!

We found Baan Talay Thai easily as it is well sign posted on the main road. On arrival we were quickly and efficiently checked in and everything explained to us. The house was perfect for our needs, very well laid out in a great setting by the sea, the swimming pool and pagoda excellent, a great place to unwind from stresses and strains of life. Although a home rather than a hotel basic requirements were supplied to get us started until we had time to shop. Places to shop were explained to us when checking in. As mentioned before because of the location in relation to shops, resturants and bars it is good to have your own transport, we brought our own from the main land, but hirecar, motorbike or taxi's can be arranged by Baan Talay Thai and rates looked very reasonable. There are resturants within walking distance some will pick you up and deliver. We stayed in the 3 bedroomed 'Gardenia' house, which is well kitted out for 6 persons with 2 double beds and 2 single, plenty of towels and well equipped kitchen. TV with DVD and True Vison sat box had many channels in different languages, enough English language movies to keep our kids happy on the occasional rainey period. The house is very well designed and decorated, but take care in the bedrooms as the wooden floors are quite slippery especially with socks on! WiFi in and around the property is very good, kids managed to keep book faced and I managed to keep up news in general and footie results in particular. Although housekeeping only once a week the management cleaned the house and changed the linen after 3 days, which was good. We in all we really enjoyed Baan Talay Thai, rates were very reasonable for a great villa in a great location with excellent private pool. Thanks for a great time, we will definetly be back.