From the pick-up at the ferry, to the drop off 6 days later, we loved nearly everything about Ko Phangan and Sunset Cove Resort. We had me and my partner, and a friend of ours staying, so we booked a Seaview Cottage for us all to hang out at, and basic Cottage for our friend to sleep in.

They were all very nice and clean. The Seaview Cottage has a big wooden bath and an outdoor but totally private shower. We found the shower water temperature a bit variable, but because of the heat, it wasn't really an issue. The bed was King Size, and very firm, as are all beds in Thailand.

As mentioned by others, the rooms are serviced every three days, which is told to you upon check-in, but they will clean or change anything if the need arises.

The obvious first thing to comment on is the pool, which is large, and cool, and stunningly beautiful, especially at night and at dusk. There didn't really seem to be an issue getting a sunbed, until the day we checked out, when there was a influx of new guests.

The food at Sunset Cove was nice, if a bit basic sometimes. The service (both for food and drinks, and in general) on the other hand was first class, always quick, friendly and efficient, and always with a big smile. Not to mention a pretty good grasp of English by a lot of the staff. It was never a big deal if you left without paying for a coffee, as we either remembered, or were gently reminded on our next visit.

I hired a kayak from the resort for an hour to do a bit of exploring. The beach is picturesque, but it is very shallow for probably a hundred metres out, until you get to the coral. Very nice to swim in and cool off though.

Internet is available at the resort (although a little more expensive than just down the road) and very efficiently added to your final account upon checkout. The resort 2 minutes walk to internet cafes, laundry, massage, motorbike rentals (My Hut Rentals across the road were excellent), mini-supermarkets, and restaurants, and another 10 minute walk to 7-11 and ATMs We found the best food to be at La Dolce Vita down the south end of the beach, and we were a little disappointed in The Village Green. Fellinis at the nearby town was also very good, as was Sandy Bay Restaurant at neighbouring Haad Yao.

Other thing to note is no TV reception in the rooms, although there is a large range of recent DVDs to watch if you feel the need. The Olympics started while we were there, so they wheeled out the communal TV in the restaurant/bar area for everyone to watch, nice touch.

The resort was very quiet at night, and depending on how many families with kids were there, sometimes during the day by the pool as well. Try the yummy fresh coconuts for the juice and flesh served by the resort!

My wife and I stayed here for 4 nights in August to start with, and then due to a mix up with another booking, we extended for another 2 nights so we could go to the Full Moon Party.

The hotel is set on a lovely quite beach with a couple of cheap snack bars along the way.

We stayed in a deluxe room which was great, very clean, air con, TV DVD (hotel has loads of DVDs if you wish to watch one on an evening!)

The pool was a fantastic place to sit and catch some rays. We found the staff there to be extremely helpful. They even set up a special surprise anniversary meal for my wife on the beach front, they went to the market especially to pick up some things to make the evening one to remember (chocolate cake and roses!).

My wife and I come under the term 'flash-packers', we had been travelling Thailand for 3 weeks and this place was our favourite hotel.

Sunset Cove was just amazing!

When we initially booked we were told the front row bungalows were all fully booked, but when we got there we were fortunate to be able to upgrade to a front row bungalow due to a cancellation.

It is really difficult to explain what makes Sunset Cove such a great place. There is just something about the atmosphere at Sunset Cove. The staff is very friendly, smiley and super efficient but in a very chilled way. Management makes itself unnoticeable but is constantly there to accommodate its guests. You take a plunge in the pool at night and the lights in the pool will go on without anybody saying anything. You are strawling on the front deck at night and again the lights will go on (no IR sensors, just people caring).
When coconuts need chopping down because of the obvious risk they pose, the coconuts are being sliced open and offered to the guests as a free drink/snack ... just a nice attention.

I lost my sunglasses while staying at Sunset Cove and I asked if I could put up a note at the reception area. I just scribbled something on a piece of paper and 5 minutes later when I went back to reception they had printed an A4 sheet and had placed it in a very visible spot. I thought they were going to show my own note, but no ... they exceeded my expectations, again!

Also, when you order a drink, staff will bring it to your bungalow, the pool, etc without needing to ask for your room number. Nobody ever asked for our room number when we had a drink or food, but all the bills were 100% correct at the end of our stay. We were a little worried about this at first, so we took some notes just to make sure. We shouldn't have it seems, because everything was billed correctly.

The bungalows looked good and were actually very functional. I especially appreciated the bathroom that could be cooled down by leaving the door to the room open (with aircon on). The shower was outdoors, which is great, but having the rest of the bathroom inside actually makes it more comfortable. Also the extra little frontroom at the entrance of the bungalow is separate from the bedroom and contains a fridge, TV and DVD player and is cooled down by a fan. This setup works really well actually. The deco of the bungalows is not the most trendy or modern you will have ever seen, but this should not be an issue at all.
The pool at Sunset Cove is the socialising hotspot and the infinity-setup of it works really well.

Another added advantage of staying at Sunset Cove is that Ao Chao Phao beach is easily accessible from Thong Sala and you can get around pretty easily on a scooter. Once you go more up North, the roads become really tricky. There is a lot of construction and road works going on which makes some other beaches more difficult to access.

As I initially stated, it is very difficult to pin-point exactly what makes Sunset Cove such an amazing place. I think it is a typical case of "the whole being greater than the sum of the parts."

If you want to sit, read, swim in the pool, run on the beach, eat thai food, read some more, you should stay here.

if you want to party, or even if you want some semblance of a "scene" on the beach, don't stay here.

My wife and I were on honeymoon, so we were looking for a calm, romantic spot. Sunset cove is it.

We were in thailand 2 weeks, 4 different places, and sunset cove was our favorite.

Amazing pool, nice enough cabins, though I recommend the poolside, they're larger and the view from your front porch is the best.

The staff there is amazing...so nice...and the food is really really good too. Which is necessary since there isn't many other options on the beach.

With regard to the beach, it's got great sand, but the water is very, very shallow. not very swimmable, but great for wading in and the hotel has sea kayaks that are free to use.