This is a great place to stay if your travelling to Koh Samet. When you arrive its close to the pier so its easy to get to. Plus it's right on the beach and the views are spectacular. The staff and owners are really friendly and helpful. On my last night they invited me to have dinner with them and did not charge me. Would highly recommend.
We only stayed here for the one night but the room was clean, simple, with everything you need for a short-term stay. It was close to the main Pier which was a good thing for us as we didn't need to pay for a taxi or walk a great distance after a 5 hour trip from Bangkok. However, it's about a 15 minute walk to the national park where all the beaches and bars are so that would be the only downside. We had a beautiful view of the Sea from our balcony and it was very quiet too.
There is a bar just down on the rock which we didn't get to use but the staff were all friendly and English speaking too.
Right next to Nadan pier and the two 7-11s, you don't need to haul your luggage around the island's dirt roads, or bother haggling with a taxi/truck. Modern, good sized rooms with air-con and hot water. The pictures actually look like the real rooms! Right on the water and aptly named, the sunrise from your front porch is unforgettable. When I come back I will definitely try to stay again.
We stayed 2 nights, over all it was very nice.
The location is not perfect because it's close to the pier, so there is a little noise from ships comming and leaving. But you really are living right at the water... Breakfast is served on the very nice terrace over viewing the bay.
The rooms are clean and modern, no English tv, but we were not on koh samet to watch tv... The bed could have been more comfortable.
The guys who run the place were very nice and helpful and always open for a chat.
Sunrise villas were great. We are currently traveling around Thailand and a four night stay on koh samet was our first stop.
We had already booked four nights at sunrise villas before we left the uk, which is probably advisable, particularly in the peak season. However you may be ok to just turn up or give them a call, and you can usually negotiate the price this way. We paid 1000 baht a night and thought this was about right (we heard that some of the cheaper 350/450 baht rooms more in town get broken into frequently).
Our room was number 9, we had a stunning view across the gulf of Thailand to the mainland, the room was clean, the bed was comfy, the air con was superb and, unlike most places, you can leave it on 24/7 even while your out. There was a larder fridge, English plug sockets, a flat screen tv (not that we ever turned it on) and a wardrobe with a safety deposit box inside. They provided two bottles of water on arrival (I see someone has complained that water wasn't provided, which is true bar the bottle you get on arrival, however water is so cheap, you can buy bottles from the bar or in the shops for about 10 baht (just over 20p)).
We spent a fair amount of time lounging around there, it's got a cute bar which is reasonably priced and serves breakfast until about 2 pm. There was such a laid back atmosphere which suited us down to a tee.
One of the owners (tony) was there during our stay and the manager (Chris, who used to own it until about 6 months ago) was usually always around, if not there is a number you can call and he comes straight away (we wanted a drink at the bar at around 9 pm so called him and he came straight down and then kept the bar open just for us until we went to bed). We spent a fair bit of time chatting to Chris, he was a nice guy and offered lots of insights into what to do on the island, tips on avoiding being ripped off, good places to eat, and where else he recommended visiting in Thailand, very helpful chap.
They don't serve food in the evenings but it's not far to stroll into the main part of town and saikaew beach (about 5/10 min walk). It was actually quite nice staying a bit away from the noisy sea front and then you had the option.
Downsides... genuinely we could not fault sunrise villas, some people may prefer to be closer to the beach and night life but if you don't mind the short walk (which we didnt) then it's not an issue.
If we go back to koh samet on our travels or any time in the future, we would definitely go back and stay at sunrise villas.
