AVANI+ SAMUI – a chilled-out island hideaway
We’d left it a bit last minute to book our flights from Phuket to Koh Samui, so by the time we’d got ourselves organised and ready to start the flight search we were all out of luck. To be clear there are plenty of flights around usually, but this particular weekend it was the Lunar New Year, mix in lots of excited travellers, a fully opened non-COVID testing Thailand border, and alternative plans were needed.
Luckily the Lomprayah bus and boat services weren’t as full, so this is how we started our journey to the island of Samui. Alongside a mix of young families, lone backpackers and couples, we boarded the five-hour bus journey across the country (with a 30-minute stop-off mid-way) from one coast to another, followed by a speedy 45-minute boat ride. Six podcasts later and we arrived at Nathon Pier.
A short hop in a car and within 20 minutes, we are on the south of the island in Bang Thong Krut arriving at the Avani+ Samui resort. Sitting directly on the beach, which is littered with longtail boats, and amid the palm trees and tropical landscaping, it’s a chilled-out hideaway.
After a busy ten days in Thailand exploring Bangkok and Phuket, it already felt like time to reset the internal batteries. Our private pool villa offered the plentiful opportunity for relaxation; rolling out of our large, soft king bed and straight into the infinity pool.
Everything about the 68 sqm villa has been well thought out. Simple things that make life easier (for us it includes; USB sockets for charging everything, reading lights for post-cocktail lazy nighttime novel catch-ups, plentiful space for two half-unpacked suitcases, space around and under the sink for a mound of toiletries, sun creams and hair straighteners) and means you don’t have to keep moving things out of the way or re-arranging things.
The resort feels relaxed and quiet and this goes for the two pools where the only noise is the occasional splash of water or order of cocktails. Or you can choose a lounger on the small stretch of sand and listen to the calm lap of waves or the occasional boat motor being fired up ready for a trip.
We love the cute ‘Beverage Pool Truck’ a suped-up VW Camper Van turned cocktail bar. We also especially appreciate the 4pm to 6pm 2-for-1 beers and cocktails that are served out of said van and are ideal after a hard day lounging.
We had a cloudy day while staying at Avani+ Samui so we postponed our planned longtail boat ride and took ourselves off on the resort’s bikes (you can choose motorised for a fee or bicycle for free – we went for peddle power).
It’s fairly flat around the resort, with a small village and a few neighbourhood cafes and bars. The local dogs we passed were chilling on the road and none of them bothered us or even shared a glance. The resort also offers guided bike tours if you’d rather face the dogs with your own pack and take out the risk of getting lost.
For more adventurous travellers the moped option means you can ride up the steep hills and be rewarded with waterfalls, or get out a bit further to explore, but if all this bike talk sounds like way too much exertion then the reception area has a pool table and board games so when the rain storms are on the way there’s always something to do.
Somehow we were lucky to match the rainfall with a visit to the resort spa. Tranquil music was accompanied by real-time birdsong and the light drumming of rain on the roof. Having chosen an accompanying scent for the essential oil one of us had a medium-pressure Balinese massage (perfect pressure, not too hard, really relaxing), and the other a strong pressure Muscle Melt on the back and shoulders (strong pressure was the word – generally 40 minutes of hard going, 20 minutes of not so bad, but a whole lot of great feeling the next day and 100% of back and shoulder knots relinquished).
We found the well-equipped gym a good motivator each morning before the buffet breakfast (we need to work off those noodle soup calories somehow). There are also yoga classes to attend if you’re serious about a proper detox. Talking of which, food at Avani is freshly prepared so amongst the Thai dishes on offer there are plenty of salads and stir fry choices. If you want healthy options they are easy to find.
The return of the sun the following day meant we got to hop on the resort’s longtail boat alongside 15 other hotel guests. It was a bit of a mystery tour for us but we ended up on Koh Mudsum; otherwise known as Pig Island.
It takes just under an hour to arrive on a somewhat choppy ride (turning a few of the passengers an unenviable shade of green) and the island is already full of people trying to entice pigs to perfect instagrammable spots on the beach with the help of 50 baht feed bags. There’s also a spattering of well-placed rope swings and a little palm tree island set up for people to pose once the pigs have trotted off to their next lunch offering.
The island itself is a bit dirty with plastics and mess washed up onto the shore, and it really is just full of people taking photos and selfies, so the hour we were there was probably 40 minutes too many. Our next stop on the ride is to a bay for snorkelling, although no one sees much on this short stop, and before we know we’re back to lounging on our sunbed in our pool villa!
We’ve enjoyed our short stay at Avani+ Samui; it’s chilled, casual, relaxed and friendly. The staff are lovely, the beach small but pretty, and the amenities spot on. We’re away from everything if we want to be but close enough to explore if the mood takes us. On this occasion, as we are only in this part of the island for three nights, we are happy to stay put before adventures will soon take us to the north of the island to check out the sister property; Avani Chaweng Samui Hotel and Beach Club.
For breakfast on our final morning we order our chicken noodle soup and steer clear of the pork with basil. Maybe Pig Island had an impact after all?
Ideal for: Chilling out on the quiet area of the Island.
A great place for: Detoxing (if the cocktails weren’t 2-for-1 between 4 and 6pm we might have tried), mindfulness, spa treatments and exercise.
Suitable for: Families and couples. There was a good mix of families with young (baby and toddler-aged) children on our visit and couples from their 30s upwards.
If you want to explore: Speak to the team at the hotel and hire a tailboat to take you to find your own unique instagram spot.
To find out more about Avani+ Samui please see https://www.avanihotels.com/en/samui. Deluxe Rooms start from THB4200++ (approx. GBP104) per room, per night based on 2 sharing. Includes breakfast.
