Saikaew Beach Resort

“A wonderful time here in this beautiful resort”

Thank you for bringing us to five beautiful days in Koh Samet on this beautiful resort. They stay here have been wonderful the atmosphere , the music , the show , food and all the wonderful staff We are so lucky to have so good friend here in Thailand look forward to see you all soon all of our lov… more

Thank you for bringing us to five beautiful days in Koh Samet on this beautiful resort. They stay here have been wonderful the atmosphere , the music , the show , food and all the wonderful staff We are so lucky to have so good friend here in Thailand look forward to see you all soon all of our love.

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“Nice hotel, amazing staff.”

Just completed a 4 day stay. Very peaceful hotel in beautiful grounds. The room is big enough, comfortable beds and good aircon. The wi-fi is not great but I have an ESIM so not a problem. Shower also struggles but remember it’s a small island so make allowances. Hotel restaurant is excellent and r… more

Just completed a 4 day stay. Very peaceful hotel in beautiful grounds. The room is big enough, comfortable beds and good aircon. The wi-fi is not great but I have an ESIM so not a problem. Shower also struggles but remember it’s a small island so make allowances. Hotel restaurant is excellent and recommend booking a table as it gets full. Music every night and a fire show. But the best part of the hotel, like so many in Thailand, is the staff. Every single one greets you with a smile and is very helpful and polite. Hotel is on the beach which is beautiful and also has 3 very nice pools. Also has its own boat transfers from Ao Prao pier which was very smooth and efficient.

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“This Koh Samet Resort gets almost everything right — then trips over a broken plastic sunbed”

Overall position — 4/5 Sai Kaew Beach Resort feels upscale, fairly modern, and professionally run. The buildings and public spaces come across as relatively new and well maintained, the logistics are unusually smooth for an island resort, and the Deluxe Premier category delivers a genuinely strong… more

Overall position — 4/5 Sai Kaew Beach Resort feels upscale, fairly modern, and professionally run. The buildings and public spaces come across as relatively new and well maintained, the logistics are unusually smooth for an island resort, and the Deluxe Premier category delivers a genuinely strong room-and-location product. A small set of avoidable shortcomings—room access, beach loungers, sunbed “reservation culture”, and a couple of comfort/food gaps—keep it from feeling fully polished. Arrival, Ao Prao Pier lounge, transfers, and luggage handling — 5/5 The experience starts well before you reach Koh Samet. At Ao Prao Pier on the mainland there is an air-conditioned lounge, with a small clothes shop and a café, which immediately makes the whole transfer process feel more premium and organised than the usual pier chaos. From there the operation is exemplary. After handing over my luggage at Ao Prao Pier, I did not see it again until I was at the hotel, which is exactly how a resort transfer should work. The hotel’s own boat and its own pier remove uncertainty, the sequence feels controlled and calm, and the handover into check-in is seamless. The national park fee is collected at the hotel, which keeps the admin out of the travel flow. Check-in and first impression — 5/5 First impressions reinforce the “upscale resort” positioning. Staff are efficient, public areas are well kept, and the property looks and feels like a coherent resort rather than a patchwork of older structures. The tone is calm and professional, and the resort gives the impression of knowing how to run an arrival properly. Room category, location, and comfort (Deluxe Premier) — 5/5 I stayed in a Deluxe Premier room, and this category matters. These rooms are located in the only block with true, direct beach access, which changes the experience: the beach becomes something you use naturally throughout the day rather than a destination you have to plan around. The room itself is large, well laid out, and genuinely comfortable—better than many nominal five-star rooms in Thailand in terms of usable space and liveability. This is one area where the resort clearly over-delivers. Room access and security — 2/5 The one feature that feels inexplicably out of step with the otherwise upscale feel is the key system. The room uses an old-fashioned physical key, and only one is provided. It is inconvenient, dated, and it nudges guests towards poor workarounds—most obviously leaving the door unlocked because coordinating a single key between two people becomes an unnecessary daily hassle. This should be modernised. Beach experience overall — 4/5 The beach is a major asset, especially from the Deluxe Premier beach-access block. The setting is attractive and the location works extremely well. The weaknesses are not the beach itself, but how it is equipped and managed. Sun loungers and beach furniture — 2/5 All loungers on the beach are plastic, and several are broken or clearly past their best. That is not a minor detail: it actively clashes with the resort’s otherwise premium presentation and feels behind neighbouring properties that use sturdier, more comfortable loungers. On top of that, by around 09:00 most loungers are “taken” with towels, even though many of the reserving guests do not turn up until late afternoon. The result is a beach full of empty claimed beds while guests who actually want to sit down wander around looking for space. The resort needs both better loungers and a fairer, actively managed approach to reservations. Pool experience — 4/5 The pool area is pleasant and well maintained. Access is managed by a pool attendant, which keeps things orderly but can feel slightly over-managed rather than effortless. Overall, it fits the resort’s controlled, upscale vibe. Balcony comfort (Deluxe Premier) — 3/5 The Deluxe Premier balconies have built-in wooden benches, but without soft cushions they are harder and less inviting than they should be. For a premium room category, this is a small but noticeable omission. Proper cushions would materially improve comfort and make the balcony a place you actually use. Breakfast at Mango Restaurant — 3/5 Breakfast is served at the Mango restaurant near the lobby, away from the beach. The offering is adequate and functional, but it is not a highlight and does not fully align with the otherwise upscale feel of the resort. It gets the job done, then you move on. Winkks Beach Club atmosphere, food, and evening show — 4/5 Winkks Beach Club, which is part of the hotel, has an excellent atmosphere—lively, well set up, and genuinely enjoyable in the evening. The food does not reach the same level as the vibe; it is fine, but not where the resort truly shines. The nightly fire show at 20:30 is a must-see. It starts on the stage next to the steps leading down to the beach, and only the short final part takes place on the sand itself. The staging works well, the timing is easy to plan around, and it adds a memorable “island night” moment to the stay. Value for money — 4/5 The resort feels upscale, well run, and modern, with a standout room category and an unusually smooth transfer/check-in operation. The shortcomings are specific and fixable rather than structural. Modernising room access, upgrading the beach loungers, managing sunbed reservations more fairly, and adding a few comfort/food refinements would tighten the value proposition considerably. Final verdict — 4/5 Sai Kaew Beach Resort delivers a polished, upscale experience with excellent logistics, a genuinely excellent Deluxe Premier room product, and a strong evening atmosphere via Winkks and the 20:30 fire show. It is not held back by age or neglect, but by a handful of practical decisions that no longer fit its positioning—especially the single old-style key and the plastic, broken loungers. Fix those, and the resort would feel properly complete.

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