Stayed for 7 nights and were upgraded to a superior bungalow (one of the new ones) which was very nice. Booked over the phone on the day and were collected from the ferry for no charge.

Location is excellent. While not directly on the beach it is so close that it does not matter. The bit of beach directly in front of the road from the hotel is a little scruffy, but walk for 30 seconds either way (left for peace and solitude, right for bars and restaurants) and it is very nice with views out to Phi Phi. Would recommend Long Beach because it has a bit of everything and the rest of the island can be easily accessed from there.

Food at hotel is good, otherwise standard in Lanta was mediocre. Thai Cat was probably the best of the bunch that we tried.

Did 2 day trips organised through the hotel- 4 Islands was worth it for the trip to the Emerald Cave and the picturesque beach on Koh Ngai. The Phi Phi tour confirmed our suspicions that the place is a tourist trap- again worth doing as a day trip but would not recommend staying there. The snorkelling on both trips was average. Heard very good things about the snorkelling at Koh Rok although we did not make it ourselves.

Hotel staff were always friendly and helpful and there is a good bar on site. However the music can get a bit loud so ask for a room away from the bar if this bothers you.

All in all an enjoyable stay on a relaxed, pleasant island which serves as a good base for exploring the surrounding area.

I've been meaning to write a review of this place for about a year... Hope it's not changed too much! I'm quite picky when travelling, and did a lot of research on places in Ko Lanta before booking the Lanta Pearl. We weren't disappointed.

Ok, it's not luxurious, but what do you expect for so little money! It's clean, comfortable, and the full Thai experience. The bathrooms are a bit thrown together and feel a little unfinished, but it does add to the charm. The bungalows aren't huge, but big enough, with a fridge, air con and a hammock on the porch. Bliss!

What makes this place are the staff and the food. The staff can't do enough for you, they gave us a lift into town on our first night to watch a football game, and happily picked us up for no charge. The food is such good value for money, we had chicken satay, a delicious red curry and a beautiful but spicy hot papaya salad, washed down with 2 beers each for £8 all in. Try the hot plate (i think it was called) as well, it's a feast for the eyes as well as the stomach!

It's about a 90 second walk to the beach, and it's lovely and peaceful. Yes the river nearby is polluted, but it's not for swimming! The first bar on the corner will give you free sunbeds and umbrellas, and we didn't feel obliged to buy anything, but they did lovely fruit juices and good pad Thai there, so no reason not to. They didn't charge ridiculous beach bar prices either.

Overall we loved staying at the Lanta Pearl, and would not hesitate in returning.

We have found Koh Lanta to be really dirty. there is a huge amount of rubbish on this beach. you cant really swim here as the big polluted river next to the resort is vile.