We spent a week at the Baan Panburi and loved it. The beach huts we very basic but clean. No hot water showers but who needs it, after all its Thailand, hot and humid. The staff were great, helpful in booking transport to Full Moon Party, always available for questions and always smiling. The restaurant was also very good, closed a little early, some nights when you wanted to hang out and have some drinks the staff started turning the lights off as a hint. But there are lots of cool hotel bars just minutes away down the beach or up the road.

Great location, seemed like you have the whole beach to yourself.

Lots of backpackers, couples, singles and families.

The BBQ is amazing.

If it wasnt for all the other places in the world to see, we would go back next year.

our stay at Baan Panburi was incredibly peaceful and restful.

our beach-front bure was perfectly adequte - flushing toilet, hot/cold showers, fan (that didn't really keep you cool enough at night but never mind) and was cleaned whenever we asked. fantastic value.

the beach is wonderful - much better than those we saw on Samui - and the restaurant food was good.

to get there we got the ferry from Na Thorn to Thong Sala and then travelled overland - there are ferries that go once a day to the Baan Panburi beach (via other coves & resorts on the island) fromSsamui (check in lonely planet for details), which is much easier!

If you like romantic little beach huts which are comfortable and simple but not overly basic then you'll like Baan Panburi.

Personally I imagine basic to be just a hut with no bathroom, no fan and a thin bed. The other reviewer sounds like she may have been more comfortable on the more touristy island of Ko Samui.

The beach at Thong Nai Pan Noi is beautiful and great for swimming, and very chilled out as it's only accessible by 4WD or boat.

Days can be spent relaxing on the beach, swimming in the lovely waters, snorkelling or visiting local waterfalls, reading a book in a hammock slung from the porch of your beach hut, eating a tasty barbeque of freshly caught seafood at one of several restaurants within easy walking distance, then strolling down to a bar with a beach bonfire until the early hours.

Baan Panburi is highly recommended, though if they tell you they are full and you can only stay one night, do it, because they invariably let you stay longer.

We stayed at Baan Panburi Resort during "off" season in September 2005. Not only did the entire island seem a bit deserted but so did the resort which kind of suited us as the resort borders a beautiful beach -and you kinda have it more or less all to yourself (except that you are sharing it with resident street dogs as well) The resort itself is on the ok side but it has many "basic" things lacking. The bungalow we stayed in was small but that's fine as you don't spend too much time in it. The mosquito netting was dirty and you felt like you were suffocating under it, so we never used it but burned mosquito coils instead although you are not supposed to! The fan was too noisy to keep on at night. The room never got serviced during our 5 day stay, although you are supposed to get new bedding and "a new towel" every 3 days - the "ensuite" bathroom is very rudimentary - you have to flush toilet by pouring water from a bucket, and the shower consisted of something slightly more sophisticated than a hose. The resort's restaurant was decent but the menu gets boring quickly as you end up eating pretty much all your meals there. Yet, we suspect that my husband might have gotten food poisoning from fish he ate there one night. Staff in general was friendly (except the manager who knew nothing about hospitality) ... etc.. etc... So, if you are looking for a romantic hideaway with all the mod cons this is not the place to go but if you are on a backpacking trip like us and your expectations are not too high - this place is a good deal as overall it is cleanish and has beautiful surroundings. I mean, we only paid about $10/head/night so you can't argue with that!
(Plus, there was talk of management change when we were there so things might improve overtime)