Reviewed by Michael Cullen
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TONGSAI BAY - REVIEW
With its beautiful white-sand coves, extensive coconut groves and laid-back fishing villages, Samui was Thailand's original hippy beach hangout. But the beaches are getting crowded, the palm trees are being chopped down, and the villages are turning into hassley tourist drags. As for the hippies, heaven forbid, they've grown into middle-class professionals like you and me.
But it's not a write-off. You just have to find someplace where the entire beach is privately owned and not a single palm tree has been cut; where the fresh seafood and silk shopping and Thai entertainment are laid on, without any of the pestering and noise and squalor. Too much to ask? Not at Tongsai Bay, whose 25 acres of sandy beach, sloping lawns and tall palms (all intact!) conceal a mini village of exemplary efficiency and family-run friendliness. The 80 recently-refurbished cottages and suites are spacious and stylish, and there's snorkelling, sailing, spas, swimming pools and several restaurants to choose from. If you want the best of Samui in one place, and don't mind the slightly resorty feel, this is the pick of the bunch. |
