We have just returned from a week at the Santiburi and are already planning out return trip. We were extremely impressed with the impeccable service and immaculate grounds.
Our duplex suite was spacious and tastefully decorated. Our every whim had been thought off, even umbrellas and beach bags were provided.
The pool was huge, surrounded by beautiful gardens.
Fabulous beach - as pretty as a post card and almost deserted
Whilst the food was a bit pricey - it was excellent and after all it is a 5 star hotel.
Complimentary afternoon tea everyday, fresh fruit/ice creams on the beach/poolside, fresh fruit every day in the room all make it extra special.
All the staff we excellent - especailly with our eight year old son. They made a huge fuss of him.
Negatives - none

We were extremely impressed with the Santiburi. Could not have asked for more. Service was impeccable. The grounds: spectacular. I cannot imagine the maintenance budget; huge, sprawling and breathtaking. Rooms were beautifully decorated. Pool was magnificent. Spa was divine. Fabulous beach – and palm tree canopy makes it nice and cool even if its hot out. Definitely arrange for one of their private bbqs – really special and fun. Did not think the prices were expensive for the kind of resort it was – a 5 star. Loved all the freebies: complimentary tea/dessert treats every afternoon, free recliners/towels/fresh fruit/ice creams on the beach (a guy makes periodic appearances), complimentary fresh fruit every day in the room and throughout the resort. Everybody – from the maintenance crew to the people at the front desk – went out of their way to help us. A small example: when is the last time you stayed at a hotel and the front desk left you a note anticipating that because you are leaving in the evening, you would like a late checkout and giving you that late checkout, with full use of the room? The only small criticism: the fitness center could use some sprucing up. Treat yourself – the place is truly something else. P.S. We got a good price thru sawadee.com -- bit reluctant b/c had to prepay but it worked out very well.

Just back from 10 nights in Santiburi Koh Samui and before that ,3 nights Shangri la in Bangkok.
Shangri-la was ok, nice enough hotel but nothing to get excited about.
Santiburi was a great choice of hotel for our stay on the beautiful island of Koh Samui.
Negatives first. Yes the costs of food etc in the hotel were a bit expensive (as hotel prices always are worldwide) especially in comparison to the rest of the islands restaurants and café’s.There was no concierge or any ONE person that could give you a run down of the kind of restaurants/shops etc that might suit your requests (talking to a lot of staff did result in some fantastic individual or a few tips that turned out to be superb). The hotel itself is a little bit away from most things (partially why I chose this hotel) meaning you need a taxi or tuk tuk (pick up truck taxi) to take you to Bo Phut and the brilliant Fishermans village or Chaweng and its shopping and pseudo americanisation! As the prices ranged from 200 – 400 baht (4 – 9 Euros) this wasn’t too bad in relation to the cost of taxi costs I’ve endured worldwide. That’s all the negatives though.

The positives. Beautiful setting and gardens, a real tropical eden. Staff are magnificently friendly and helpful. Pool is fantastic. Beach ( while a bit gritty and course sand) is good , and the sun loungers (thick padded soft cushions) set amidst the palm trees offering much needed shade – are excellent. Good bar /beach café. Good pool bar/café. Service which can be slow enough is mostly down to the relaxed almost Caribbean attitude of the island (if not Thailand itself).We stayed in a garden villa. This was clean and reasonably bright and not dated/jaded at all .The ‘dated’ room reports from the tongsai bay lead me to discount staying there but had me a tad apprehensive of the Santiburi thankfully this was not the case.Bottles of beer 120 baht here – about 40 – 50 baht more than local bars (not bad by hotel standards though). Main courses at lunch about 200 – 400 baht again ok – and the food was good. Dinner – only ate here twice – the Sala Samui Thai restaurant was reputed to be the best thai on the island. It certainly was. Relatively pricey enough – mains 400 – 500 baht overall dinner cost 60 euros. A lot considering we were getting thai meals in Fishermans village (Happy elephant) for under 1000 baht ( 20 euros).
Santiburi had a friendly relaxing and happy vibe to it that cannot be quantified in print. It had to be experienced to be understood. I would go back to the Santiburi. It was one of the major contributing factors to one of the best holidays we have been on and we even said we would go back to Koh Samui – high praise indeed given some of the places and hotels/resorts we have resided in worldwide. Booking through travel agent got us better room deal than direct from Santiburi internet site. One tip – always ask them to get you a Yellow cab and don’t take the hotel limousine service (apart from the island tour – and ask for Pom ..he’s a superb guide). Certainly from our expereince with the Saniburi, you cannot go too far wrong staying here- we were even thinking of extending our stay by a further week but I had to get back to work. As my wife said - they seem to think of everything here! What a wonderful relaxing happy holiday.

A real mixed bag and the most disappointing of the 3 hotels we stayed at in Thailand (Shangri La Bangkok and Anantara Chiang Rai were the other two). Poor value for money and very dated. Management said it was running at 80% occupancy, but headcounts at meals and round the pool/beach would suggest that was generous. Desperately in need of a refurbishment - bathrooms are frankly dreadful for $600 per night for a two bedroomed suite - and the rest of the room wasn't much better furniture is cheap and scuffed etc. Staff generally very pleasant, but they needed to be. Food and beverage prices ok, quality very mixed, but emphasis on evening barbeques at high prices was a bit off. Kids activities good, Scuba diving teaching excellent for our kids. Broken aircon in room could not be fixed, so we were shown various alternatives - good management approach, but shame it needed to be done. One day we waited nearly an hour for a snack lunch at the pool bar - management apologetic but not explanatory. Feels like a hotel on the edge of self destruction and in dire need of investment to make the best of its environment and staff. Sadly Samui overall has got worse from when we were last there 12 years ago - popularity is not being well managed with regards to infrastructure and building control. Unlikely to hurry back to either hotel or island.