I am at the Samui Buri Resort a couple of miles up the beach from where I was. It's a bit more "resorty" than I am used to but I am not arguing with the little luxuries I had quite forgotten. Simple things like real coffee, decent bread, hot water in the hand basin, a shower where the decision isn't between water pressure or hot water, no ants in the jam, that sort of thing.... And a turn down service that leaves an oil burner alight wafting jasmine fragrance everywhere.
The hotel design appears to be a slightly scaled down version of the Grand Palace in Bangkok, however, I think the real thing has borne the test of time a little better. Some areas are a little "tired", but overall I am happy, although the pictures on the website of the private pool were taken with an industrially wide lens.... There are also a few food and beverage offers, none of which beat the prices at the little restaurants outside. There is one that did interest me though, an unlimited why why offer at the pool bar. For 600 baht (about £12) you could have as much as you wanted but when I realised this was all to be taken within one (very happy....) hour, I decided even I couldn't do justice to that!
But the hotel is set in a lovely little community, lots of local restaurants, houses, shops, and the requisite "Armani" tailoring store. I was chatting to the owner who was bemoaning the fact that there was no tailoring business to be had any more. He seemed very aware that European's wear formal business stuff less and less but hadn't seemed to connect that still offering the same old 90's suits and tight satin cocktail frocks was ever going to work. There's a big coconut grove where a few water buffalo are tied to the trees on long ropes and wallow in any patches of mud they find. A lot of these water buffalo are reared for fighting at the local water buffalo fighting stadium so I do give them something of a wide berth. There are also loads of random dogs about, the usual mix of all sorts of breeds, some definitely with a bit of rotweiler in there. I also give these a wide berth. Some wander around the hotel but as they are apparently the local temple dogs, no one does anything about them. Let's just hope they are calm Buddhist dogs with no evil intent...Some of the shop houses have opened small coffee and drinks bars in their front room with a motley selection of badly tiled concrete tables and chairs. A why why in one of these is a good way of giving back to the local community I always feel...
The beach here in the evening is much quieter than up the other end, there are fewer hotels and guest houses on the beach and no firework and lantern sellers. The hotel, in the in room info, goes to great pains to tell guests that it is illegal to sell
and let off these fireworks and lanterns and anyone caught faces a rather large fine. And as you know I never want to star in Banged Up Abroad.....
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