Previous Trip Notes:
Twelve Years Later – Part 2: A Return to Koh Samui, The Trip There & Night 1
Twelve Years Later – Part 1: A Return to Koh Samui, The Setup
It was an early-morning wake-up, but due to the jet-lag was not difficult. The alarm was set for 4:30am, but I naturally woke up at 4:15am. We had two rooms, so my daughter rolled over around 4:25am, and we both got up and started to get ready.
We walked to the room next to us around 4:45am to pick up NSPwife and NSPpeanutToo, and headed to check-out. We used the self-check-out computer in the lobby, and rolled into Changi Terminal 1 around 4:55am. The train from Terminal 1 to Terminal 3 starts at 5am, and we caught either the first or second train offered that morning, arriving in Terminal 3 around 5:05am (that’s how convenient The Crowne Plaza is!). There was conflicting information about what time we needed to check-in for our Scoot Airlines flight, and I thought it was possible they would cut us off at 5:30am (90 minutes pre-flight). We managed to get to the right place for my Document Check (only I was required to do this which meant I couldn’t complete web check-in??), which luckily had no line. We then self-tagged our bags and got them loaded up somewhere between 89 minutes and 90 minutes pre-flight.
We then made our way quickly through immigration and security, and headed to the SATS Premier Lounge, courtesy of our Priority Pass cards. The food offering was decent, and it wasn’t crowded at all:
Priority Pass SATS Premier Lounge – Changi Airport
Priority Pass SATS Premier Lounge – Lounge Area
We then made our way to the gate. Scoot Airlines is a low-cost-carrier subsidiary of Singapore Airlines. We did pay in advance for checked bags and seat assignments, so we knew we would be sitting together. The plane was an 2×2 Embraer, and we sat directly across from one another:
Koh Samui Airport, Tarmac
It was a short 90ish-minute flight, and with the hour time-difference landed at about 7:45am. We took the short transit from the tarmac to the baggage claim, and waited for our bags. And waited. And waited. Ultimately securing 3 of our items, but not car-seat or sandals that were in the car-seat bag. We were told that it didn’t make the plane, but should be coming in on the 11am flight. No problem, easy enough. We have a car-seat-like travel harness for NSPpeanutToo if we ever needed it.
I had arranged transportation through someone who had great reviews on the Koh Samui Holiday Tips Facebook page. It was about $10 from the airport to the hotel (~8-minute drive). The transportation did not disappoint the kiddos, as it was a blingy pink sprinter van (named by NSPpeanuts as “The Barbie Van”):
The Barbie Van
The Barbie Van
We pulled into the Hyatt Regency, which had a very chic open lobby, and were quickly greeted by bellmen and the front desk agents to check-in.
Hyatt Regency Koh Samui – Lobby
Our room wasn’t ready yet, understandable given it wasn’t even 9am. So we grabbed swimsuits and essentials, checked our bags at the bell desk, and headed to the Regency Lounge where we could get breakfast, snacks, and drinks until the room was ready. NSPwife and NSPpeanuts headed to the pool, while I stayed with some of our bags and electronics at the lounge. Around noon, we had still not heard from the front desk, but checking the app showed our room had been assigned and was ready. So I walked up to the front desk, and sure enough, got our keys.
We all headed to the room, a Regency Suite that we secured with a Suite Upgrade Award. Unfortunately the room did not live up to the expectations. There were a number of complaints:
- While there were sliding “doors” separating the bedroom from the living room, they weren’t actual doors. They were completely open. Want to watch TV in the living room? You were essentially watching it in the bedroom. And vice versa. I’d consider this more of a larger standard room than even a junior suite.
- They went “minimalist style” for the casegoods in the room. A couple drawers in the closet for clothes. But certainly not large enough for 2 people, let alone 4. No desk. Really disappointing for a suite.
- Oddities such as a floor-to-ceiling window in the bathroom, that you would have to close entirely if you didn’t want to shower or bathe in front of the entire resort. Also, in order to open or close the window shade, you had to step into the bathtub to get to the chain. Just overall poor design.
Hyatt Regency Koh Samui – Regency Suite Bedroom
Hyatt Regency Koh Samui – Regency Suite Rollaway
Hyatt Regency Koh Samui – Regency Suite “Living Room”
Hyatt Regency Koh Samui – Regency Suite Balcony View
Hyatt Regency Koh Samui – Regency Suite Balcony
Hyatt Regency Koh Samui – Regency Suite “Separators”
Hyatt Regency Koh Samui – Regency Suite Closet
Hyatt Regency Koh Samui – Regency Suite Bathroom
Hyatt Regency Koh Samui – Regency Suite Bathroom
Hyatt Regency Koh Samui – Regency Suite Tub
Despite not being a true suite, we weren’t there for the room. We tried to get settled as much as possible, and then headed to SESUN Grill & Beach Bar for lunch. One nice thing about being in the “suite” was that every suite gets to partake in the Family Plan, which allows a kid to eat free for every entree that is ordered. Lunch was good, and we decided to go check out Chaweng Beach. We took our laundry, as wash and fold service in Thailand is amazingly cheap, and dropped it off at a small shop. We then walked along Chaweng Beach Road for about 20 minutes, eyeing restaurants, shops, massage parlors, and ultimately stopped at a bespoke tailor to start my week-long fitting of custom suits.
After a stop for pre-dinner snacks and drinks, we found a nice dinner spot. Of course, a final stop for the day was needed at the mini-mart, where we grabbed waters, snacks, and drinks for the room, and headed back to the hotel. Grab Taxi (the Southeast Asia Uber equivalent) was amazingly easy to use, and throughout the entire week we rarely waited more than two minutes, so we grabbed a Grab and made it back to the hotel where we crashed early, and were ready for a good night sleep to replenish the energy meters.
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