Koh Samui

[ben_h100]

Hi all, can anyone recommend a half decent place to stay in koh samui?

Needs to be reasonably close to the beach, nightlife etc.

Ideally we would like our own rooms (there are two of us).

Oh, and as cheap as possible..!

Cheers, Ben.

[shakotan]

Everywhere is cheap to stay on Koh Samui.

But be prepared for the beachfront road to be an endless parade of shops selling knock-off Adidas, massage parlours, and "massage parlours", with pickup trucks booming out techno every 5 mins and advertising the local Thai Boxing.

[anonymous-user]

Anywhere, we never book, just turn up and walk any of the beach roads, the cheaper places tend to be at the end of the beaches, and are for my me better as they are quieter then being in the center, you should easy get somthing clean for a 1000 bht a night.

[blueg33]

We stayed at a lovely resort called Napasai, it has a private beach, is away from all the massage parlours, but its not very cheap. If you can get to Koh Samet you will find lots of decent but cheap accommodation on the beach.

[Nobby Diesel]

ben_h100 said:

Hi all, can anyone recommend a half decent place to stay in koh samui?

Needs to be reasonably close to the beach, nightlife etc.

Ideally we would like our own rooms (there are two of us).

Oh, and as cheap as possible..!

Cheers, Ben.

If you can give me a little more info, I can probably suggest something for you.
Dates
Budget
Duration
Any preference on resort

[bullies180]

If you want near the beach and near nightlife then chaweng is the place for you, loads of places to stay, prices will be around 800 baht a night, Bo Phut is also lovely but its not near any nightlife.

[Nobby Diesel]

OK, so without knowing your more detailed preferences or needs, take a look at this http://www.sawadee.com/hotels/samui.html
As said earlier, Chaweng is livliest, closely followed by Lamai. Anywhere along the north coast will be next in line, but considerably less busy with alot less nightlife than the first 2.
800 Bht will indeed get you some pretty basic accomodation, perhaps with varying degrees of cleanliness and security.
Without knowing your budget it's difficult to advise, but I would look to get yourself into at least 3 star territory. At 1000-1500 Bht, you could put yourself in a very comfortable place.
Again, bear in mind that without knowing your dates it's difficult, as some rates will double around Song kran time.
In general, hotels are struggling at the moment. you could do worse than checking at the hotel counter as you arrive at Samui airport. Alternatively, book a couple of nights in Chaweng and ask around. Get suggestions from others and visit a few places, then move to somewhere you like the look of.
The place is packed with every conceivable choice and price. Have fun.

[Dav_s]

Definitely Chaweng if you're after clubs and bars - we stayed at Zazen (near Fisherman's Village) in October. Visited Chaweng, but only lasted half an hour before we'd seen enough and decided to head back to the Bo Phut area!

[jbudgie]

Stayed in Bophut a few months ago .

But realised could have done it cheaper if hadn't organised the accomodation before getting there.

Lovely place.

[Saddlebag]

Stayed here foe 10 days.

Very nice rooms.

http://www.billabongbeachclub.com/

[Ynox]

I stayed in Chaweng - http://www.kandaburi.com - it's towards the north of Chaweng beach (away from most of the noise) and a cheapish pick up truck / cab ride into downtown.

Hotel is nice. Chaweng - Initial thoughts when I got there was - fk, what have I done, this is a st hole! But it's not *that* bad.

Nightlife is pretty okish, some reasonable restaurants too. Beach is pretty good.

Did some fishing off Ko Samui in a boat, that was pretty cool and a jeep safari (where they take you to the waterfalls / monkey show etc).

[Fats25]

I spent 3 or 4 nights in Lamai, and a couple of nights in Chaweng. However most enjoyable place in this area for me was in Ko Phangan - approx 30 mins by boat.

Cannot remember names of hotel - but on Ko Phangan turn left from the ferry road, walk approx 400 yards and is a place with individual chalets, and run by a Sri Lankan fella. Brilliant relaxing place to stay.

[ben_h100]

Haha my OP was a long time ago..!

Good place on Phangan is Phangan Cosy Bungalows. Turn right from ferry dropoff, 5 mins in a taxi on the right. Run by a couple called King and Kong (yes really!). Not the most luxorious but will go back, hopefully this April.