This review is aimed at middle aged couples who want peace and quiet and a romantic escape together. You don't have to be young to enjoy Sandalwood. We're mid 50's and staying here makes you feel young.
We stayed for 6 wonderful days and nights in late September in the Plumeria villa. We were met at the airport by a driver in a Sandalwood 4WD that was just immaculate. We were given ice cold bottled water for the drive to Sandalwood from the airport. The drive takes about 20 minutes to and from the airport.
We booked the honeymoon package as after 31 years we decided this was to good to pass up. The bed was decorated with rose petals spelling the word LOVE and there was fresh fruit and a bottle of wine. We were shown how to work the lights and air con etc. and left to unwind.
We met Robert (co-owner) the next morning and we constantly picked his brain as to what to see and what to eat and where to eat etc. His recomendations were invaluable. When I said I'd like to try the asian breakfast he said the rice soup with a scrambled egg on top was the best way to start. Honestly, you wouldn't need to eat until dinner. It was delicious, as were all the breakfasts we had in the open air restaurant.We even went out with him one night and ate local at arestaurant that specialized in Isan food which is the northeast part of Thailand. If any of you are familiar with the show "Bizarre Foods" on the Travel channel, this place is for you. The best was the sticky rice which you ate with your hands and dipped into the chicken mince. Robert knew what to order and we were all fine.
When my wife and I went out at night to eat I would ask Pon or Jip to ask for the best tables by the beach and each and every time we were shown to exactly what we had asked for. Tables next to the sand where you could watch the waves lapping at the shore.We were never dissappointed.We literally had the best tables you could ask for.
I suggest if you want a meal in, then have it on your balcony if you're in the Plumeria villa.Candlelit 3 course dinner over looking Chaweng beach is priceless.Everynow and then you could also see fireworks going off randomly as you ate.
The infamous hill. It is steep and unless you're in triathalon shape, don't even think about walking up this hill. Sandalwood have immaculate vehicles to take you up and down.
You don't need to be stuck by the once a day free shuttle down and then back up the hill. Sandalwood have scooters (If you're brave) and nice cars for rental. Whilst we didn't avail ourselves of these, we didn't mind the 400 baht out of hours to get to where we wanted to go. The car and driver were always there whenever we called to be picked up, and you had the peace of mind of knowing the hotel is picking you up. When you consider what you're paying per night, the 400 baht here and there shouldn't deter you. You are given an old phone(not an i phone or smart phone) that has the front desk number stored in the contacts list and Sandalwood will come and get you.
The service and kindness you get here is 2nd to none. Everynight little elves would make their way into the room to turn down the bed and leave chocolates and tidied up. Sometimes you may have to ask them to repeat things, but generally their English is very good and they bend over backwards to please you.
We also did the cooking class and we went to the market in Lamai to get our lunch and the whole experience was unforgettable. My wife and i are both foodies and what we thought we knew, we now know.
We also had a 90 min massage each as part of the package. We broke it up into 1 hr and 1/2 hr blocks on separate days. You don't need to have it all at one time.
No better feeling in the afternoons or early evening than being on the deck or in the infinity pool overlooking the beach below.
Finally to Pon,Jip,Fon,and our little girl "R" we thank you for a truly memorable week.

There is nothing that I can say that has not already been said.
My husband and I stayed here on our honeymoon from Sept 12-17 in the Plumeria Villa.
Pon and the staff is unbelievably friendly and helpful. They were always smiling and asking us about our day on the island, and what we were planning the next day.
The first night we had wine in our room, breakfast on our balcony and they had a happy honeymoon cake in our refrigerator. They offer anything that you could need including a computer, first aid kit, mosquito coils and bug spray, a beach bag with towels, and a cell phone to contact a driver when you needed to be picked up in town.
We had breakfast here every morning and it was delicious. We enjoyed having our own private pool, however we did go into the main pool one day. We hardly ever saw any other people and it often felt like we had our own private hotel. On our last day we decided we wanted to go stand up paddle boarding and they helped us arrange that at the last minute. There arent enough good things that I can say about this hotel. We have never stayed any where like this, and it was so perfect we would love to stay here again if we are ever on that side of the world. Thank you all for everything and for making our honeymoon so special.

This was a 25th wedding anniversary for us. We never dreamed of a more romantic, quite, and picturesque location like the Sandlewood Resort.
.Everything was more than we could have imagined, from the time we were picked up from the airport till the day they took us back. We even extended our stay 2 days. Wish it could have been 2 weeks. How often does the owner of a hotel, however small, make a point to take the time to talk with you every day, make suggestions, and help plan your day for you. Robert was great along with the rest of the staff. Impossible to go wrong here. Safe, comfortable, and relaxing. It was all the little things they did that made the difference. Didn't matter if you only left the room for a hour, when you got back your room was made up and each night they always left you a nice little surprise,candy, flower, with a little personalized note such as "Sweet dreams" Like everyone else I could go on but if you go to Koh Samui stay at the Sandlewood. See for yourself, and plan to stay longer than you anticipate.