Last month my partner and I spent a week on Koh Lanta at Kantiang Bay View Resort and found the staff, in particular the management, to be unfriendly, difficult and rude.
When we arrived at the resort after a long journey from Australia we were 'greeted' by a member of staff who was seemed particularly put out by our arrival and that we had booked one of their cheaply priced bamboo huts and was only interested in trying to persuade us to upgrade to another room.
Throughout our stay we were only made to feel welcome by a couple of the staff and on the whole felt really uncomfortable. When we asked for fresh towels or toilet rolls (because the room was not cleaned once during our stay) we were made to feel that we had really put the staff out and was suprised that we were not charged extra!
We pre-booked an air conditioned bus through the resort which was to take us to the airport on our last day...only to find that the a resort management had kept our money and got one of the staff to drive us instead in an open top truck. The driver subsequently dropped us off at the ferry port instead of the airport and we then had to pay extra for a taxi the other end. When we spoke to the management both on the telephone and in person to complain they ended up shouting at us and refusing to give us our money back or help at all.
When we arrived in Thailand we paid 2200 baht to be picked up from Krabi airport and dropped at the resort. Again, a member of staff picked us up in the truck and we later found out that the resort offers a free pick up service from the pier at Ban San Lanta to all customers...so ultimately it cost us £35 to be driven from the airport to the pier...not sure that petrol in Thailand is that expensive!
However, the bay is beautiful, the rooms are good value and the food is adequate which meant we decided to stay for the duration.
A great island, but not a resort we would recommend in a hurry. The website says 'A warm welcome greets you' and this could not be further from the truth.
