Second visit and stayed in a pool villa. Glorious setting. Infinity pool wonderful. Villa spacious and well furnished, everything you need is there.Staff very friendly and always smiling. Hotel food is expensive (very good though) but then its at the top end of the market. Cheaper alternatives very close by.
Day trips excellent, the boat boys are very patient and will swim/snorkel with you if you are nervous. Resort pools excellent especially the one up in the villa area.
No hesitation in recommending the Pimalai.

Myself and my wife have just spent 5 nights in this resort and here is my honest opinion considering we have been to some great hotes in the past three months of our travelling

The grounds and the two pools are fab, the pool on the upper area is class.

The service is excellent and staff very friendly

The rooms were not up to the 5 star standard , we bookd into a superior room but I felt it was very dated with a shower curtain used for the cubilcle ( whats that all about).

The prices they charge for both the spa and the food are just mind blowing and then you have to pay 10% service charge and 7% Govt Tax. The food was not great anyway and nobody eats there.

Beach outside was nice but not as nice as other areas of Thiland

Overall good standard but bad value considering the expensive

We booked our room at the last minute (literally, at the Krabi airport were we hitched a ride with an Australian couple) due to cancellation of our Bali trip after the Bali Bombings. Although we were disappointed about Bali - Pimalai helped us forget our original plans. They gave us a fantistic rate (still low season) and we had a nice large villa - second row from the beach. Villas are so private! The Staff was perfect - like the Oriental in Bangkok. They were sooo incredibly sweet. The views from the breakfast dining room and the pool were very nice. The pool was very classy. The beach was nice and clean and long but the Ko Lanta beaches are not white like the ad I saw in the airline magazine on the way down (which lead to our booking). The food was good - we ate at the beach restaurant. We also ate at the Same Same But Different restaurant next door for cheaper and got a first hand description from the waiter of what happen the morning of the Tsunami - incredible. We took a tour of the spa (prices are a bit steep - expect rates like the west) but must say we have NEVER seen a more beautiful spa - It was just heavenly - very tropical!!! You can get a massage on the beach at the nearby backpacker place for a franction of the price if you want. We can not compare the Layana resort as we just saw it being built when we were there. The land that it was being built on was flat though and did not appear to be as dramatic a location with the jungle atmosphere. (Pimalai cascades down a hill). Ko Lanta does not have much going on - it is Islamic and is pretty undiscovered (we like places like this) so you must chose a hotel that you will want to spend all your days at. I do recommend at least a day trip to the Phi Phi Islands though and possibly a snorkeling trip.

I stayed at the Pimalai for 4 days. I really enjoyed the resort. Swimming pools and gardens are beautiful. I enjoyed the librairy which has a good selection of books and CDs.
Rooms are nice too, although do not expect all standard rooms to have a nice view and "private" balconies... Short after arrival, I said I was not very pleased with my room and was offered to move to another one, which was just perfect.
Transfer service from the airport is excellent and saves a lot of time.
Prices are high, maybe too high if you pay the standard room rate. A few websites offer better deals : I paid 103 euros a night and I think it was really worth it !
I had all my meals at "Same same but different", next to the hotel. The place is nice, the food is good ... for just a fraction of what you would pay at the Pimalai.
I hope I will be able to go again !