• Spacious, luxury villas in an elegant resort setting.
• All Villas offer sea views and come with decent size pools.
• The Spa offers a delicate balance of refreshment for mind, body and beauty.
• Gourmet dining in-Villa or at a choice of restaurants with stunning views.
The Whole Story
Not too long ago Koh Samui was a tiny unknown island in the Gulf of Siam. It was the classic tropical paradise – lots of swaying palms, beautiful beaches, a jungle-clad interior and crystal clear turquoise waters all around. The airport was a tiny bamboo shack, and the island appealed mainly to hippies and backpackers looking for value and authenticity.
Then word got out, and the word was if you like Phuket, you would love Koh Samui. Bangkok air started increasing the number of direct flights from the Thai capital, and for a while the island went through a mini Patong stage. The main street of Chaweng Beach, the most popular town (and beach) on the island became a strip of non-stop girlie pole dancing bars. A few years later and all of that has gone - no more girls, no more pole dancing. Replaced instead by many sophisticated options in terms of fine dining, Koh Samui has gone upmarket, and nowhere is this more evident than in the opening of the Four Seasons. Just like the now superb choice of restaurants in Chaweng, Four Seasons has not only raised the bar in terms of tropical resort, but they have redefined the genre.
Set in a former coconut plantation of magnificent swaying palms on the northern tip, it is spectacular both in terms of its setting and in terms of its guest facilities. First the setting: Four Seasons Koh Samui starts at the top of a mountain, at the very tip of the island where a constant sea breeze keeps the various cantilevered decks used for bars and restaurants cool and comfortable. The views, as might be expected, are magnificent. From here on top, the resort tumbles down a very steep incline to the sea and the private beach below. Guest villas cantilevered from the steep mountainside are rather cleverly arranged along the way down.
‘Villa’ is a much overused word when it comes to resort hotels, but at Four Seasons Koh Samui the word is exactly right. These are real guest villas, with plenty of space, tons of privacy, lots of ceiling height and, for once, a real swimming pool. Not just an enlarged bath – a real pool – the kind you can actually swim in. Plus the pools, like the villas, are cantilevered from the mountainside, and they are horizon pools so they create a wonderful sense of infinity when viewed from your baronial bedroom. And yet, these magnificent villas are only the starting point in terms of guest facilities. Separated by vast amounts of space, both vertical and horizontal, there are two bars. One at the very top of the mountain, and one at the very bottom by the main pool (just in case you get bored swimming in your own).
Then there is the spa. Hidden away in the jungle about halfway up the mountain, it uses the natural contours of landscape and the dense foliage of the jungle to create extreme privacy. Linked by rustic walkways, each treatment room is actually a small bungalow executed in traditional Thai style, with its own terrace and dipping pool. The spa is so well incorporated into the landscape you would not know it’s there, and in a fashion that no doubt appeals very much to the Four Seasons guest, one can simply disappear into the spa without anyone noticing or knowing.
Dining is a similar story to the bar; either on top of the mountain or down below by the sea. White beaches, turquoise waters, swaying palms, verdant jungle and all the natural beauty of a Thai tropical island, the Four Seasons resort on Koh Samui has essentially gone back to the very qualities that made the island so attractive in the first place.
The Rooms
Deftly designed around groves of coconut palms, the Resort's 60 villas plus 14 one- to five-bedroom residence villas, offer chic, al fresco living spaces with their own infinity pools and astonishing panoramas of the Gulf of Siam. Nestled on a hillside or steps from the beach, they offer ultimate comfort and elegant seclusion – with furnished living areas beneath a thatched canopy and spacious, air-conditioned bedrooms.
One Bed Villas - situated on the resort’s hillside and offering elegance and comfort including air condition bedroom, LCD TV, iPod docking station and WiFi.
Premier One Bedroom Villas - more like being at home - set on stilts in the hillside with views across the gulf.
Beach Villas are set right on the beach with lovely uninterrupted sea views.
Other room types are available.