Royal Muang Samui Villas

With beautiful, spacious villas and an excellent beach scene, Royal Muang Samui Villas is a popular spot for honeymooners as well as families. The most popular hangout spot at the resort, other than the expansive private living spaces, is undoubtedly the Spice Zone Beach Restaurant, which takes up space all the way from the beach to the pool. There is a beachside bar here, a grassy area of bean bag cushions, and a shaded indoor and outdoor terrace to sit on overlooking the pool. 

While the resort is certainly not for budget travelers due to the hefty price tag, there aren't any airs being put on here. Instead, it's just a low-key chilled out vacation spot and the dress code is very casual. While the beach is set up with sun loungers and umbrellas and is quite busy by day, it becomes pretty relaxed and quiet at night, as most folks head out to the various restaurants that front the road that runs through Choeng Mon's small neighborhood.

The Royal Muang Samui Villas occupy a fine stretch of Choeng Mon Beach in the north of Koh Samui. The resort is about a 10-minute drive from the airport and 15 minutes from party town Chaweng, the island's main center. While far from nightlife, the resort does run free shuttles to Chaweng several times per day, so that guests can enjoy dining, drinking, and shopping there. 

The resort straddles the ring road and the beach, but is set well off the road, so there is no traffic noise. The beach area in front of the resort is well maintained, with swept sand and garbage removal, and beach loungers set up on the sand. Choeng Mon might not be a party town, but it is big enough to have plenty of options for eating and drinking outside of the hotel, all within a few minutes' walking distance. Overall, it is a great location, convenient, fairly quiet, and one of Samui's better beach areas.

The rooms at the Royal Muang Samui are ultra-spacious in every way, from interiors to bathrooms to terraces. The standard Grand Deluxe rooms here are triple what you get at most resorts, and all of the rooms are quite elegant, featuring teak wood floors and stylish contemporary Thai decor. There are day beds, writing desks, flat-screen TVs, DVD players, safes, large refrigerators, electric hot water kettles, giant beach baskets for use, robes and slippers, and free Wi-Fi. Bathrooms are also expansive, with full length mirrors, separate rain showers, and large whirlpool tubs. There are also full terraces with lounging areas, tables, chairs, and cushions. 

The next category up consists of Pool Suites, which give even more living space and, in addition, have large swimming pools on the terraces. Opulent Pool Villas have 70-square-meter pool terraces and kitchens with microwave ovens and Illy espresso coffee machines. You get a lot of fine living space any way you choose here, and the resort will add extra beds for families with children. The prices here certainly are not for budget travelers, but in terms of elegant Samui properties, the value here is pretty top-notch.

The Royal Muang Samui has plenty of enticing features. The Spice Zone restaurant and bar stretches all the way back from the beach to the swimming pool, and has indoor and outdoor seating, even with a section of bean bag chairs out on a grassy lawn. The breakfast buffet, one of the better displays in Koh Samui, comes in the room price. There is also a fine Italian restaurant here, Ciccio, headed by an Italian chef, that does traditional Italian meals and also wood-oven pizza.

The resort has a small fitness center and also a large selection of mountain bikes that are free for guests to use. The swimming pool is long and attractive, although not really suitable for lap swimming. The beach area out in front of the hotel is a nice stretch of sand, and one can find jet ski and banana boat operators here, plus kayaks to rent. The hotel sets up high-quality loungers and umbrellas right on the beach, but there are not enough to go around in high season, so they need to be claimed early.

The spa at the resort is quite unique, as it is set inside of a cave, with pool and waterfall baths hidden inside the rooms.