Melati Beach Resort & Spa

Our second visit to Melati - and what an amazing trip it was! So fantastic to be greeted by staff and management as old friends - lots of new faces amongst the staff, but a lot from last trip in 2016 still there - more of the amazing staff later! We arrived on the Saturday evening - long flight from Heathrow, but excellent airline (Eva Air), a lot cheaper even in Premium economy than BA, and much better service, plane, movies etc etc... Definitely shop around for your flights. Efficient check in and buggy ride to our Pool villa - met by a "Welcome Home" message in flowers on the bed and a chilled bottle of pink bubbly - what an incredible start to the holiday! At the risk of repeating my last review of Melati in 2016, you would really have to go a long long way to beat this resort in our opinion. From the amazing food, to the location, the beach, the service, the entertainment and the most beautiful environment we would recommend Melati to anyone. Having been a year ago, we didn't need (or want to be honest) to do the tourist trip bit - Big Buddha, petrified Monk, Granma and Grandad rocks, waterfall etc., so were able to laze by the pool most days. We did do the Chantara/Siantara Burmese Junk day trip again - as good as ever (thank you to Marco!!), and popped into Chaweng one day on the hotel bus - shopping for wine, and then the Friday market at Fisherman's village. The village is great fun and THE place to get all your souvenirs, including candles, knock off handbags, fridge magnets etc., and also to savour all the street food. There are dozens of bars and restaurants - but do put your walking shoes on - there is a lot of it to see. We ended up going twice... Fantastic food in both restaurants, the Kan Sak Thong theme night on a Monday is really good - with Thai boxing demonstration! Other evening options are the BBQ on the beach (I am always amazed how quickly they put it all together, and then the next morning it is all back to normal) - also the fire show is world class. Lobster on the beach as well - the food is incredible, even down to the Satay and burgers at lunchtime by the pool bar! You will not go hungry here! We couldn't have been looked after better by ALL the staff; but wanted to mention in particular: Alexis - the Chef - for amazing food, a great greeting and the best Lobster I have ever eaten Wat - for taking such good care of us in the dining room Hannah - the digital wizard - thank you for all your help and the use of your Kindle Charger John in the bar - the best barman around, but closely followed by Aom who had us in stitches as she practiced her Tom Cruise bar tricks Best - for amazing service by the pool - we never went thirsty or hungry and always smiling Noomai - for keeping everyone in the bar on their toes Jejy in the main restaurant, and Ying in the Kan Sak Thong - good luck with the baby due in December So many others, including Rich, Golf, Pui, Far, Tee, Bond, Ping and Ning..... You made our holiday for us, and we truly felt like we had come home. The crowning moment of the holiday for us was on the evening we settled our bill - mostly consisting of the great massages I had by the pool - thank you, reception phoned to ask if it was ok for the Hotel Manager to come and say goodbye. When he came, he gave us both a lovely gift - which will always remind us of Melati, and said goodbye. An amazingly kind touch, and indicative of the generally amazing service at this great hotel! Thank you all again! We will be back!!!

Although this is rated a 5 star hotel. I'd call it 4.5 (to American standards), I must be honest. The staff and grounds are impecable and the view to the private beach is amazing. The poolside massage services were great. Id recommend doing massages/spa services poolside as they are half the price at the spa itself but same quality. it is by the pool and not as quite but still tranquil, my friend still fell asleep during it. The grounds are big but there are golf carts available to take you around. They are free kayaks and snorkeling equipement. Be aware the doors don't close in the rooms so mosquitos can get in that rooms, I'd recommend a mosquito net if you get bit alot like me. Easy ride to and from airport.

We transferred to Melati from Renaissance for the last two nights of our trip, expecting to experience something new in another 5 stars resort. However, Melati disappointed us and didn't deserve the money they charged (US$220 per night). The hotel is indeed beautiful, with a tropical garden, lovely infinity pool and a peaceful beach. The first impression was good, except we found out fast that their English ability was not as adequate as other 5 stars hotels in Thailand. The room we got was on the ground floor with a lovely private pool (Rm 306). The bed was comfortable and the warm shower was good. However, when the aroma scent diminished after a few hours, the room was constantly filled with an unpleasant smell like an open sewage pipe. The TV reception was crap. The telly was constantly fuzzy. We felt like we were back in the 50s. The breakfast catering was by the pool. View was great. However, be prepared to wait for 20 mins to get the eggs after ordered. They have one western chef to take care of all egg orders. I wondered they might only have one pan to get the job done as it took forever to get the over cooked eggs. When the food tray was emptied, no one refilled it until 10 mins later. No kidding, if you only have 30 mins for breakfast before rushing to the airport, expect to wait for the refill and eggs and you might have only 10 mins left for eating. When we were checking out, the receptionist said, "thank you for staying, was everything OK?" We told what I wrote above. And commented that they are not up to the standard as a 5 stars resort. After an awkward moment... Just a smile and no suggestion or a reasonable explanation at all. For this budget, get a hotel with a better service. It is my suggestion.

We stayed 7 nights in this beautiful resort. Outstanding park with waterfall, ponds, luscious gardens, palms and flowers all over, huge room with humongous bath, oversize shower and external bathtub, plkus a small private garden with swinging sofa chair. Super dining, supercomplete breakfast, the BEST I've seen so far for food quality and selection. Obviously nice beach and super pools (one for the very young). Near the pool massage spa, pool bar. The main massage spa is located near the reception. nice and comfy has a wide variety of massages to choose from performed by well prepared personnel. An entirely excellent stay on all the aspects, a place to go back to for sure. Lovely.

if you are looking to relax in an isolated beach, this is IT! My friend and I did a two week tour of Thailand, Cambodia, and Myanmar. And this was the perfect last stop to relax and do nothing! The service was great! The breakfast buffet was yum! not to mention the view! Fancy dinner was also yummy. Paid maybe $15 for a fancy dinner meal. They also offer a free bike tour, free yoga and muay thai lessons on certain days, free kayak use. We enjoyed the daily happy hour! It was low season when we went. So there were moments when we had the pool to ourselves. Most people here were couples. We might have seen one couple with a kid. We noticed on arrival that our private garden pool had a few leaves. But within less than 5 min, someone came to clean it without us asking. Then someone would come to clean it every morning after that. Also, someone commented that there were lizards. That's pretty normal in tropical countries! They are harmless! We might have seen one or two. If anything, just be advised that certain parts of the beach were a little rocky underneath. So be careful. The other islands are very close! So you can do day trips to those islands. I loved every bit of my stay here. Strongly recommend if you want a quiet/romantic/relaxing place. :-)