Previous Trip Notes:
Twelve Years Later – Part 3: A Return to Koh Samui, Hyatt Regency Suite & Day 1
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
The hotel was nice, clean, and truly represented a welcoming and warm Thai culture through their service delivery.
Restaurants & Club
As Globalists, we were offered complimentary breakfast at either Yangna or the Club. There was seating both inside and outside, and we always took advantage of the latter, given there was a new fresh layer of snow back in Minnesota (where we traveled from). The buffet offering was quite strong, with a number of staple items, and then a daily rotation of other items. Staples included: pancakes (or special mickey/minnie pancakes for the kids), waffles, fruits (including fresh cut coconuts), salad, bacon, sausage, congee, breads, pastries, and cheeses. Items that were rotated were crepes, French toast, and the Asian items (i.e. stir fry).
Hyatt Regency Koh Samui – Breakfast Buffet
Hyatt Regency Koh Samui – Breakfast Buffet
Hyatt Regency Koh Samui – Breakfast Buffet
Hyatt Regency Koh Samui – Breakfast Buffet
Hyatt Regency Koh Samui – Breakfast Buffet
Hyatt Regency Koh Samui – Breakfast Buffet
Hyatt Regency Koh Samui – Breakfast Buffet
Hyatt Regency Koh Samui – Breakfast Buffet
Hyatt Regency Koh Samui – Breakfast Buffet
Hyatt Regency Koh Samui – Breakfast Buffet
Hyatt Regency Koh Samui – Breakfast Buffet
Hyatt Regency Koh Samui – Breakfast Buffet
Hyatt Regency Koh Samui – Breakfast Buffet
Hyatt Regency Koh Samui – Breakfast Buffet
Hyatt Regency Koh Samui – Breakfast Buffet
Hyatt Regency Koh Samui – Breakfast Buffet
Hyatt Regency Koh Samui – Breakfast Buffet
Hyatt Regency Koh Samui – Breakfast Buffet
Hyatt Regency Koh Samui – Breakfast Buffet
Hyatt Regency Koh Samui – Breakfast Buffet
Hyatt Regency Koh Samui – Breakfast Buffet
The Regency Club also offered indoor and outdoor seating, and had a small buffet:
Regency Club – Buffet
Regency Club – Buffet
Regency Club – Buffet
Regency Club – Buffet
Regency Club – Buffet
The Club had a few different snacks you could munch on throughout the day, as well as water, sparkling water, juices, and sodas. But from 5pm-7pm they enhanced the food offering (many folks treated that as their dinner) with multiple entrees, along with complimentary beer, wine, and spirits. We usually headed down there for some pre-dinner drinks before heading off property.
Yanga was open for lunch and dinner, and actually had a really good pizza.
SESUN was on the beach, and offered pretty good food:
SESUN – Hyatt Regency Koh Samui
SESUN Lunch – Hyatt Regency Koh Samui
KUBE was their night club/sports bar type of outlet. I rarely saw more than a few people inside. And Cobalt offered food and drinks by the pool. It was easy to order from someone while lounging in or around the pool.
KUBE – Hyatt Regency Koh Samui
Cobalt – Hyatt Regency Koh Samui
There was a family special for anyone who was in a suite. A nice perk was the “kids eat free for every entree ordered.” There were also games and activities that the kids could enjoy at Camp Hyatt, although we were so busy throughout the week that shockingly our kids never even made it there. The hotel had a spa, but with the amazing massages you could get around the island for a third of the price, we didn’t indulge there either.
Camp Hyatt – Hyatt Regency Koh Samui
The fitness room was pretty good. They had free weights, a few weight machines, and plenty of cardio equipment. The room was rarely used, and never crowded.
Fitness Center – Hyatt Regency Koh Samui
Fitness Center – Hyatt Regency Koh Samui
Fitness Center – Hyatt Regency Koh Samui
The pools were where we spent the most time, and our kids loved renting the water scooters. There was a main pool right next to Yangna and Cobalt, which consisted of mostly families. The splash pad and small water slide was immediately adjacent to the main pool:
Main Pool – Hyatt Regency Koh Samui
Kids Pool & Splash Pad – Hyatt Regency Koh Samui
There was also an adults-only pool, although with the number of families and kids there, we rarely saw people swimming in this pool. All pools were infinity pools, as the pools and resort were elevated from the beach. The views were fantastic out to the Gulf of Thailand.
Adults-Only Pool – Hyatt Regency Koh Samui
Adults-Only Pool Lounging Area – Hyatt Regency Koh Samui
The beach was a rocky beach, nice to hang out at, but not particularly great for swimming. It was a fantastic place to view a sunrise, however:
Sunrise – Hyatt Regency Koh Samui
The hotel employed a tour operator there to help arrange any tours. I am always skeptical of the prices, however when we asked for a last-minute booking to one of the ethical Elephant Sanctuaries, it was the same price as advertised directly on the sanctuary web site. So it seemed like instead of adding costs, they were just paid a commission from the placed they helped facilitate the booking with.
Overall, it was a nice hotel. The location was far enough away from any of the action that it was always quiet. It was about a 5 minute ride from Choengmon Beach – a nice beach that was much quieter than the crazy and fun Chaweng Beach (which was closer to 10-15 minutes…maybe 20 if heading to the south end with traffic).
We didn’t have to worry about the hustle and bustle at this location. The downside was that whether you went on a 5 minute taxi ride or 20 minute taxi ride, it was effectively a flat $10. There were always taxis readily available, and almost always the large sprinter vans, which was both convenient and comfortable. But this also meant that if you wanted laundry, or some street-food, or a quick afternoon massage, or grabbing some snacks or drinks or bug spray from a mini-mart, you always had to take a car ride. Lastly, they had an ATM, however it was a back-of-house ATM for the workers. While they allowed guests to use it, it was the only ATM on the island that would not work for our U.S. debit cards. Nothing terrible, but just a minor inconvenience.
Would we return to this hotel? Probably not. I think we would opt for a hotel like the Melia, whose location is a bit better for a beach, as well as exploring the local shops and restaurants along Choengmon Beach. Their Grand Suite (which holds 4 guests) also prices out around the same if we were to cash out points vs. the number of Hyatt points it cost us. Other than the tight room for four, the hotel was nice, and if traveling as a party of two, had very little downside.
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