I've never given a hotel or hostel a bad review before, but this place really deserves one. We arrived in Koh Lipe just before New Year's Eve and took a room here out of desperation, as everything else was either booked out or very overpriced. They charged us 900 baht per night for a fan only room, which turned out to be the worst we'd ever stayed in. The room was ugly and tiny (the bed took up almost all of it), there was no way to flush the toilet (no handle or button, we had to use a bucket filled with water to flush it) and the walls were nothing more than light partitions between the other rooms. The shower was cold with smelly water and the sink was close to falling off the wall. I could hear people farting in the next room and could even hear someone turning pages in a book! The closest description of the room is that it was like staying in a small and very ugly caravan. We're not fussy people, but there's a limit to how bad a cheap room should be. The air conditioned bungalows were also small, but looked much nicer and were detached. They were charging 2,500 baht a night and nice as they looked, they were not worth that price. They also charged for facilities that would normally be free, such as wifi (300 baht per day) and clean water. You had to make a special request before 10 am if you wanted your room cleaned and they refused to give us fresh towels, even though we were there for 4 days.
We knew we'd only be sleeping in the room so we put up with how nasty it was, particularly as everything else was at least 3 times the price, but our worst experiences by far were with the staff. The reception staff in particular were incredibly rude. When I asked them for our breakfast vouchers on the first morning, they stood there giving me dirty looks for a few minutes, before grudgingly handing them over. They refused to help us in any way throughout our stay and even went so far as to accuse us of not paying for our room when we were leaving! They refused to return my boyfriend's passport on this basis and were really horrible in the way that they spoke to him. Once they found their copy of the receipt and realised their mistake, no apology was made. We were also abused by 2 staff members for going for breakfast at 9.50 one morning, because breakfast stopped at 10, even though they had served until 11 the previous morning. We'd understand if they had to make something especially for us at that time, but it's a buffet! We were able to take our breakfast because it was still within the time frame, but they seemed to just want to give us hassle for the sake of it. We were respectful and polite towards them at all times, so there was no need for their behaviour. The only good experience we had with staff was on the morning we left - it was raining and one man came to our room with an umbrella and sheltered us as far as the reception area, so we could bring our bags out without getting soaked. He was very sweet and polite - it's just a shame about everyone else working there.
Overall, it was in a good location, but the room and service were not worth the money. I would never go back there again, even if they offered us a free stay! Unless you get a very good deal on an air conditioned, detached room and avoid the staff entirely while you're there, I'd recommend going somewhere else.