Where to stay in Koh Samui?
9 Hotels Chosen
by Thousands of Guests!

The highest score in this list at 9.5 from 148 reviews — Banyan Tree Samui is a pool villa resort that delivers island-to-yourself privacy on a private clifftop above Lamai Bay. All 88 villas are standalone houses, each with its own 35 sqm private infinity pool whose edge lines up with the sea horizon. There's a personal Villa Host assigned to your villa, plus The Rainforest, Samui's first hydrotherapy spa circuit. Cleanliness scores 9.8, and it comes in noticeably more attainable than Four Seasons on the same island.

Anantara Lawana is a Luxury beachfront resort that gives you the quiet of north Chaweng while still being walkable to the strip, scoring 9.4. Late in 2024 it reopened a renovated beachfront infinity pool, and Tree Tops raises its dinner tables into a treetop pavilion overlooking the sea. Rooms run from a 55 sqm Deluxe to 160 sqm sea-view pool villas. It's only 6 km from Samui Airport and recently picked up a MICHELIN Key — a good fit for couples and families who want calm with convenience.

Four Seasons is the top tier of private-pool villas on the island, selling privacy and service above all, scoring 9.2. It opened in 2007 on the Laem Yai hillside, with around 60 villas stepping down the slope — every one with a private infinity pool facing the bay and Koh Phangan. There's CoCoRum, a poolside bar with a rum vault the resort claims is the only one in Asia, and a white-sand private beach. Service draws the highest praise, with staff remembering names — but the rate is high and the location well out of town, best for a special-occasion trip.

Garrya Tongsai Bay (formerly The Tongsai Bay) was Samui's first 5-star resort, opened in 1987 on a private 28-acre bay — and it has the most reviews in this list, 4.8/5 from over 3,500 on TripAdvisor. The original owner insisted not a single tree be felled, so its 82 cottages are spread through a wooded hillside with 67+ bird species. The signature is a semi-open bathroom with an outdoor bathtub looking out to sea. Its charm is in character and history, not glossy newness.

Meliá Koh Samui is a quiet-beach resort whose Boat Suites, built inside real teak rice barges, are unlike anything else on the island, scoring 8.8. The Boat Suite is an antique teak rice barge lifted whole onto the grounds — a tub on the lower deck, a wood-floored bedroom up top facing the Gulf. The heart of the resort is a winding 700-metre lagoon pool with slides — some rooms step straight off the veranda into the water — plus a two-tier beachfront infinity pool. Choeng Mon's water is calm and clear, it's the closest luxury resort to the airport, and it costs a fraction of Four Seasons.

SALA Samui Chaweng sells design and a private pool on Chaweng Beach, and delivers both — scoring 8.8 and 4.8/5 from over 1,200 TripAdvisor reviews. The Thai studio Onion took the shape of a crescent moon and turned it into white arches and round skylights across the property, which opened in 2018. Almost every room category comes with its own private pool, so you step out of bed and into the water. Service is warm, with a pillow and scent menu at check-in. It's directly on Chaweng Beach yet a 10-minute walk to the restaurants and nightlife.

OZO Chaweng is the affordable beachfront option on Chaweng that delivers both a pool on the sand and a walkable location to the night strip, scoring 9.2 from 230 reviews. It's an ONYX-brand hotel that opened in 2014 — 208 rooms in a bright blue-and-white style. The standout is a beachside pool with white sails stretched overhead, with the sand just a few steps further, plus a separate children's pool for families. It's a 5-minute walk to Chaweng Walking Street. It isn't full luxury — standard rooms are 25 sqm and small for the rate — but the beachside experience in central Chaweng is genuinely good value.

Lub d Koh Samui is a budget-friendly beachfront stay on Chaweng that sells the social vibe, scoring 9.2 from 239 reviews with location topping out at 9.5. It's a social hotel that opened in 2018, right on Chaweng Beach — you walk from the pool onto the sand in under a minute. The heart of it is a beachfront bar and two pools that turn into a party deck at night, with beer pong and pub crawls. Rooms run from an 8-bed dorm (from ฿550) up to a private sea-view Deluxe King. Best for solo travellers and friends in their 20s and 30s here to meet people — but it's adults only (18+) and the music runs loud at night.

ibis Samui Bophut is the most affordable beachfront option in this list, and it still gets you seafront pools and a private beach, scoring 8.6 from 316 reviews. This Accor hotel opened in 2007 and gave its rooms a full refresh in 2023 — a turquoise feature wall against bright orange chairs. Several outdoor pools look out over Bophut Bay, with a children's pool, a water slide and a playground for families. Fisherman's Village is a 5-minute drive with an evening shuttle. It's no luxury resort, and parts of the property are due an upgrade — but for value-per-baht on a beachfront stay in this area, it has few rivals.