During a 3 week's holiday through Thailand we also wanted to visit Koh Phangan. As the easy to find resorts were already fully booked we found Sunset Cove on the internet - what a lucky draw.
This resort was the nicest in our Thai travels, located on a quiet sandy beach called Ao Chao Pao on Koh Phangan.
We stayed in a lovely bungalow in the middle of the resort surrounded by beautiful flowers, tree's and nice boardwalk to the beach front.
The pictures from their website are a good impression of what it really looks like, no photo-editing was done here! When you are in the swimming pool it really feels as if it flows over into the sea itself.
The staff is extremely friendly and helpful, and every day we endulged ourselves with the delicious meals and drinks from the excellent kitchen :)
Before you arrive in Koh Phangan please call the resort of your exact arrival time at the pier so they pick you up.
For those who think Koh Phangan is only famous for full moon party's (i.e. in Haad Rin ; 40 min. drive) make no mistake; Koh Phangan is a wonderful tropical island and staying at Sunset Cove is simply relaxing and enjoying sun and beach in a tropical setting; see pictures.
Highly recommended!

Myself and my boyfriend stayed here for 7 nights in Sept and I would highly recommend it to other couples (young and old) and families. After spending an exhausting 3 days in Bangkok and a disappointing 3 nights in Ko Samui (extremely built up and felt very like a tacky resort in Lanzarote), Sunset Cove was just as I imagined Thailand to be and why I had travelled half way across the globe to experience a little bit of paradise.

The beach were the resort is based is gorgeous, with white sands, palm trees and blue waters. There are about 5 other bungalow resorts sharing the strip of beach but Sunset Cove is by far the nicest. And they are all nicely spaced out and not on top of eachother. On the other side of all the resorts is a strip of road with a 2 bars, 2 restuarants, 2 supermarkets, a haidressers, ATM machine, a place to rent bikes and jeeps and 2 really CHEAP massage places. its not Bangkok Central by any means but it has everything you will need for your stay. There is also a little Internet Cafe where you can book all your day trips. We would highly recommend the SeaTran snorkelling day trip to Ko Tao.

The Sunset Cove resort itself is made up of about 40 individual bungalows, we stayed in a seaview one, which was right beside the pool (which is really nice) and looks directly onto the bech and sea. The sunet/rise is absolutely amazing and worth taking the time to enjoy chilling out from your own little terrace at the front of your bungalow.

Each bungalow has a nice double room and bathroom with a cool wooden bath and an outdoor shower, and a little room to the front of your bungalow with your own fridge, TV and DVD player (the resort has a big dvd collection, which you can borrow foc anytime you want - handy during the rain downpours or when you are recovering from a full moon party!).

The resort is ran by 3 generations of the same family and as a result the service is first class - but not stuffy or snobby, in fact it was one of the most relaxing and chilled out places we have ever stayed in.

Although the menu is small enough, the food is really really good - we tried a couple of the other bungalow resorts on the beach and a couple of places down the road but found Sunset Cove to be the best by far !!! (especially the yellow curry and fried egg sambos!). We ate there most days for lunch and had a couple of beers by the pool every day and the family are so chilled out that we didn't settle the bill til the day we checked out and could not believe HOW CHEAP it really was. Fantastic value.

Apart from the other bungalow resorts there are 1/2 bars down the road - one is at the end of the beach called the Pirate Bar - (you have to walk on the wooden bridge around the cliff) and we would defo recommend a visit - although the music can be a bit dodge some nights,
the setting (on the side of a cliff with out of this world views of the sea and the sunset/moon) is worth going down for a night cap!

If you are looking for hustling, bustling night life, you won't find it here on this beach strip, but there is more than enough choice available for good food and a chilled out couple of drinks! If you are looking for a bit more night life, you can just hope in a TAXI (if
you are not familiar with Thailand , taxis take the form of pick-up trucks which you can share with other travellers, or we found that anytime we asked for a lift with locals who were going into Han Rin, they were more that happy to share their jeeps with us for and we always felt safe!) for about 5-7 euro and 20 mins you are in Han Rin, which has hundreds of bars and restuarants and hosts the famous Full Moon Partys. We found Han Rin good fun the couple of nights we ventured in, but were sooooo happy we were not staying there as it is a typical holiday resort and had the fantastic setting of Sunset Cove to retreat to. So in other words you can have the best of both worlds staying at Sunset Cove, depending on your mood!

We were in Thailand for 3 weeks, and stayed at Sunset Cove for 4 nights over Christmas. Throughly enjoyed it! Originally we were booked into a resort about 5 mins away, (which shall remain nameless!!!), but moved out after a night as it turned out to be a hovel! Sunset Cove by comparison, was like a palace! It's clean, new, friendly, and value for money. It was great to just chill by the pool and watch the sunset after the hustle and bustle of Thailand's more touristy resorts.

If you are looking for a place to relax and unwind in beautiful surroundings, then this is it! The rooms are spacious, and the outdoor bathroom cool, although getting the shower temp right is a bit of a fine art! Breakfast is included and it's made to order rather than the buffets a lot of place do. There are quite a few tasty places to eat in the area that are recommended by Lonely Planet, like The Village Green and Peppercorns.

The only thing that put a spanner in the works, was a family with 3 young screeching children turning up! Seriously guys, if you're looking for a family getaway, Haad Chao Phao isn't it! Stick to Koh Samui or Phuket!

We stayed at Sunset Cove for four nights and it was a fabulous four nights.

The bungalows are really modern, and very spacious. The best part of the room is the bathroom! It can be best described as an ‘inside-outside’ bathroom. There was only a small piece of roof cover over the shower and toilet, but it was not a problem at all. The air-con was great, and well needed when we were there! There is a TV set and DVD player in each room, and a library of free DVDs to borrow at the front desk. The food – breakfast, lunch and dinner – is all very good, and worth trying. The staff are lovely, and do their utmost to help.

The pool is incredible! It has to be tried. The beach is lovely, but the water is very shallow, and not great for swimming.

We were there during a Full Moon Party. The hotel offered to arrange transport to Haad Rin for us. (Haad Rin is easily a 45 minute drive from Ao Chao Phao, and unfortunately taxis and tuk-tuks are not available for the journey over to Haad Rin. On the way back from Haad Rin after the party, expect to pay way over the odds in a tuk-tuk.)
In all honesty though, as we are a little bit past our early twenties(!), we were very very glad to be that distance from Haad Rin!

In short, this is a wonderful, relaxing resort and comes very highly recommended.