Puttin' on the Ritz

Puttin' on the Ritz

Up for a luxury vacay complete with great food, great views and great villas?

TRAVEL
Puttin' on the Ritz

The name "Ritz-Carlton" is synonymous to luxury so when I stayed at their location in Koh Samui, I expected nothing less. I'm glad to say they didn't disappoint. The Ritz-Carlton, Koh Samui offers guests a relaxing and indulging stay complete with a variety of choices to dine at, a number of activities to enjoy, rooms that are just fan-freaking-tastic and an oceanfront location that provides views that will take your breath away.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Resting on a cliff-side and stretching out to the beach down below, the Ritz-Carlton Koh Samui is a 23.47-hectare resort situated on a former coconut plantation and one of the most beautiful locations on the island. The villas are lined along the rocky mountainside and look out into the ocean, giving you a seemingly unending view of the sea and one heck of a sunrise and sunset. The resort is pretty much tucked away from any sort of bustling hubs, which means it's peaceful and quiet but they do provide shuttles to the island's busiest area, Chaweng. Aside from that, it's a solitary resort oozing maximum chill vibes.

STAYING IN

The Ritz-Carlton houses 175 suites and villas, which can cater to whatever relaxation need you're craving. You can opt for the 93m² Select terrace suite, which comes with a view of the resort or the ocean and the expected trappings of a Ritz-Carlton suite. But if you want the full experience and go on maximum relaxation mode, you're definitely going to want to stay in one of their villas. While their Exclusive pool villas are found a little bit higher on the cliff-side, I stayed at one of their Ultimate pool villas, which offered a panoramic view of the Gulf of Thailand and complete privacy since my villa was at the very end of the resort. Plus, these villas come with a private pool so as an introvert it was very tempting to just stay indoors the whole time. The bathroom was decked out with a rainfall shower and a bathtub that sat beside a window so you can still enjoy the ocean view while taking a bath. The entirety of the room was also spacious complete with a living room, a desk with a coffeemaker and the bedroom is nothing short of a temptress that you'll simply find a hard time waking up from. Of course, all this extravagance comes with a price. The Select terrace suite comes up at a little more than B23,000 per night while the Ultimate villa will have you dishing out more than B60,000 per night.

There are a number of dining options on the resort thus giving you another reason why you could just spend your whole time on the property. Thai dishes are served at Pak Thai where you can enjoy dinner in your own little space or you can choose to breathe in the salty sea air and dine poolside over at Sea Salt. You can also choose to have dinner at The Peak, situated at the highest point of the resort, which gives a fantastic view of the Gulf, or alternatively you can have afternoon tea. Fair warning though: it gets pretty dang hot. For great steaks paired with great wines, The Ranch at Shook! is your best bet, and Shook! is where you're going to be starting your day off with their breakfast feast. Protip though, you should order in breakfast at least once during your stay and enjoy that sunrise from your room or private deck. On Saturdays, the courtyard near Shook! transforms into a traditional Thai marketplace where you can have some authentic local favourite dishes. If you're looking for somewhere to just chill over drinks, you can go poolside over at Tides or go to Sea Salt Deck where you can hopefully glimpse pretty pink sunset skies as you nurse a drink.

GOING OUT

There's a bunch of activities you can do on the resort itself. They've got their own mini-golf course that's great for the kids. If you want to go snorkelling but don't want to leave the resort, they've got their very own Swim reef snorkelling experience with more than 50 kinds of fish. Adrenaline junkie? Have your very own Muay Thai class or ask the concierge about their water sports rental. But if you're the laid-back type, don't miss a visit to the Spa Village where you can get a relaxing and rejuvenating treatment that you'll definitely miss once you get back to the city. Other than that, you're in Koh Samui, so it would be wrong not to spend some time on the beach. The resort has its own private beach and also has an ocean pool complete with floating doughnuts and flamingos, so whether you want to swim or just get your feet sandy and wet, you can do it all without the hustle and bustle of public beaches.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The Ritz-Carlton Koh Samui is extravagant relaxation at its finest. If you've got the cash, it's definitely a place where you can escape to destress and refocus yourself before getting back to the real world. With its dining offers, spectacular vistas and villas that would make you wish really hard you actually live there, it's a resort you should definitely stay in at least once in your life. 

Visit www.RitzCarlton.com/en/hotels/koh-samui.

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