I totally agree with those saying that Costa Lanta experience is not so idyllic as one may expect from a design hotel like this.
Resort is really nice itself and rooms cubic design is actually one the best we have experienced so far. However, maintenance and cleaning are two aspects that do not apply for Costa Lanta resort. There are quite a lot of materials that need urgent repairs (broken woods, metal stuff full of corrosion…), pool is dirty and no-one from the staff seems to care about any service given to customers, ie. we had to tell them about cleaning our sunbeds at the pool since they were completely dirty and they did not care.
Staff cannot communicate in English at all, which is actually quite annoying and none of them are neither friendly nor nice with customers (you walk around and do not expect to hear a simple “Good morning” or “Good evening” from any employees you may cross by). Personnel at the restaurant are also quite incompetent, sometimes even rude. On our first night we arrived 45 minutes before the kitchen was supposed to close and even though we were the only guests having dinner, they delivered the dessert to our table before finishing our main dish, just because they wanted to close the restaurant. This would never happen in a real design hotel !!
After all these real warnings, if you still want to experience Costa Lanta once in your life, I will recommend you to stay not longer than a weekend and avoid meals at the hotel, unless you want to be really exasperated with the terrible service and long waiting times. There is a new resort nearby called “Cha-Da Beach” which not only looks very nice but also their staff is really nice, friendly and efficient. After our first dinner experience, we had all our successive meals there, food was very tasty and prices very reasonable.
Moreover, iIf you can afford it, go to any other gorgeous resorts at Koh Lanta, ie. Pimalai Resort, where you will find exquisite service and superb accommodation.

Yes, the design of this hotel is stunning and the rooms are unique. The whole resort is one of the most excellent design hotels I have ever been at. However, quite a few things have to be renewed here and – given the climate – need much more attention. The wood used throughout the resort is looking old and dirty (which is a bit of an issue when the faucet is made from wood….), the rooms in general look somewhat tired, the lawn is not green etc etc.
Service is a disappointment, nobody seems to care too much about anything – something which is actually rather hard to find in Thailand. Food was great, though.
I would still recommend the place for its design, though - you will not be disappointed on that!

First of all a few words on Ko Lanta, the island that Costa Lanta is located, it is situated in the wider Krabi area, south of Phi Phi island. Despite the fact that nature and the beaches are quite similar, the island atmosphere is more laid back without the excesses of Phi Phi, Krabi and Phuket.
The hotel itself is on the north part of the island at the end of a long stretch of beach. It really stands out from the rest of the hotels on the island because the architectural style of the whole hotel is more modern/designer than thai.
The whole design of the bungalows is really different and innovative, with the roof of the bungalow consisting of hardened plastic slabs, so you had direct contact with nature. This hotel is not for people who are afraid of creepy crawlies, since you will see all sorts of things wandering in the bathroom (we went in the rainy season), all were harmless, but I suppose those not accustomed to them, could be a bit worried.

This is one of the most interesting hotels we have stayed in and I highly recommend it to people who want something out of the ordinary.
Service was good, but not something to write home about. Since most of the clients were European (as most of the tourists in Ko Lanta), the service was more "European" than "American" style.

The cuisine is probably the best on the island, and also very good value compared to the cheaper but crappier alternatives on the main village.
The cocktails at the bar are also good.
I would recommend that you do not book excursions via the hote, just wander to the tourist agencies down the beach that are offering the same trips 20% cheaper.

Overall a good choice in a beautiful island

Costa Lanta hotel concept is great, pictures on the net are nice but when my wife and I got there, how bad was the surprise.

This hotel has not been maintained since the opening. It was not only the garden that was abandoned or the pool but everything was dirty, not maintained, chairs at the bar were dusty…., we had the feeling that this resort is close to go bankrupt, that the hotel has not either enough people to maintain it or a very poor management.

We paid €100 per night (low season) for something that even doesn't worth the half. On top of this, most of the hotel personal (waiters) is far from being friendly which is unusual in Thailand. I am not mentioning their level of English. We stayed 1 night instead of 5 as initially planned.