The Oceanfront Pool Villa made this this ultimate hotel experience and is an incredible value when compared to similar accommodations on the island. While the beach may not be ideal for swimming, from the villa the ocean looks perfect and seems to go on infinitely. Reading some of the negative comments about this hotel; they seem to fall into two categories:

1. People who were disappointed by the beach (if you know in advance that the beach here has shallow water and two other other gorgeous swimming beaches are located five minutes away via free shuttle then this should not be an issue --- it also makes this stretch of Lamai beach especially quiet and private which for us was a real plus). The fact that the hotel has only 77 rooms also makes it seems intimate -- as though you were a guest at someone's
private estate.

2.People who had service issues and did not communicate them to a manger; Every request we made was met by immediate action -- the staff simply bent over backwards to indulge our every whim!

The staff really is outstanding -- just keep in mind that not every employee speaks perfect English --- if you have a service issue, communicate it to a manger to be certain it has been understood. Tina and KK are rock stars in my book and made our seven day stay perfect. The only negative for us is that time passed much too quickly here. We would return to Le Meriden Koh Samui anytime and will recommend the same to everyone.

Le Meridien Koh Samui is an absolutely stunning property. It is in the perfect location, right between the popular areas of Lamai and Chaweng. The hotel provides nightly transportation to these areas which is fantastic. It really gives you the opportunity to explore the island. The grounds are perfect! The pool area is gorgeous, although the beach is not for swimming - it is rocky, but the pool is definitely more than enough. Plus with so many beautiful beaches on Koh Samui, I suggest you explore the island's other beaches anyways. The rooms are outstanding! We loved our Plunge Pool Suite. It is so unique! With our very own pool! Plus the bed's are heavenly!! The only criticism I have is with an outdoor bathroom (it is connected to the bedroom by the outdoor pool but is still completely private), there are unwanted mosquitoes. You must leave the bedroom door closed at all times. However, the hotel does a good job of stopping this issue because every night the turndown service comes and sets up anti-mosquito candles and catchers which really help. I would DEFINITELY recommend this hotel!! It's beautiful!!

We stayed in a Pool Access Room in August 2012 for 6 nights using a pay 2 stay 3 night deal via Le Meridien's website. We really enjoyed our stay and we especially liked our room; the pool access room was really special. To us it was nicer than a private plunge pool as you could actually swim as opposed to just get wet. It was quite large and very under-utilised so each time we swam in it we were the only ones there. Morning swims before breakfast were our favourite! The room decor was beautiful with a bit of a Sino-Portuguese feel. Our only problem with the room was the mozzies. There is an open air bathroom (separated to the airconditioned bedroom by a door which you keep shut) which let mozzies in, however each day housekeeping came with citronella, mozzie coils and mozzie zappers to kill them before they did any harm so it wasn't too much of an issue.

Housekeeping was a little slow, one day they didn't come until 5pm and a couple of days around 3pm. We complained and then they came quickly but you don't really expect to have to complain when its a reputable hotel. The towels also need to be thrown out - they are worn out and thin. One was even fraying at the end which was really unacceptable. We complained and they were changed straight away. But again, this is pretty obvious and just seemed like blatant cost cutting - if the towel looks old, thin and threadbare throw it out!

The hotel surrounds are pretty with nice architecture and nice tropical plants. The hotel grounds are small though - before it was a chain hotel it was an independent boutique hotel 'The Gurich' so don't expect a large resort on many acres. There really is only just enough room by the pool and we resorted to saving sun loungers to make sure we got a spot.

The beach isn't really worth trying to swim in, however you can walk or kayak to neighbouring beaches which are great. The main part of Lamai Beach is nice and in the other direction Coral Cove and Silver Beach were nice as well.

There is only one restaurant but it was nice. We only ate there for breakfast and a couple of lunches. There is a good restaurant right next to the resort on the beach which is cheap and delicious. It is also worth travelling to either Chaweng Beach or Lamai Beach for dinner where there is more action. The Lamai night market is great for pad thais, curries and satays (or cheap cocktails) and there is a full street market on Sunday nights which is worth going to.

Overall, we had a great stay and we would return. We felt it was value for money and the staff were really lovely.