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Hotels in and around White Sand
Beach
: : : : :
Klong Son Bay
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 Aiyapura
Resort & Spa
( $$$ -
$$$$$)
The Aiyapura was Koh
Chang's first attempt at a luxury resort. When it opened the Thai
government held a cabinet meeting in one of the function rooms - not that
surprising seeing as several of them were shareholders in this resort.
If this resort was a watch it'd be a
Rolex, not a genuine one but a good fake. At a
distance you wouldn't know it wasn't the real thing and even close up it's
pretty good but some flaws are evident. Aiyapura is a wannabe 4 star
resort. You pay for the great view over the scenic Klong Son Bay and privacy
as there are no other resorts nearby and the large well done out villas.
Another big plus are the Spa facilities which are some of the best on the
island. But the small artificial beach is nothing special and you'll find yourself up to your knees
in mud if you try to walk into the bay at low tide. Good snorkelling
can be found near the headland on the opposite side of the bay, hire a canoe and explore.
If you have any plans to venture
outside your resort by foot then I'd find an alternative resort.
You'll find there's nowhere you can easily walk to from the Aiyapura.
Klong Son village is about 2 km away and White Sand Beach is around 4km away
- and is separated from Klong Son by a huge hill. The hotel lays on a
shuttle service to White Sand Beach but this is infrequent, so factor in either
having to rent a motorbike or car, or being forced into hotel organised tours / trips
around the island at five star prices. Fine if you want to relax and
be pampered 24/7 but perhaps not so good if you're a tad independent.
Guest Reviews:
"Excellent hotel - service and spa are first rate.
However poor quality beach and restaurant stopped taking orders after 9.30
pm. Very quiet with no access to nightlife or bars so if you want an ultra
quiet holiday this one is for you!"
"This resort is not recommendable: moving away the
main place with only three free shuttles a day, no beach, not transparent
sea water, waste water rejected in the sea."
"Beautiful resort, clean rooms, helpful staff
(slight language barrier but not a problem). The resort is a little remote
and transport to and from White Sands at night could be improved. We managed
to find a baht bus that would pick us up and take us back each evening which
was great! Not sure the hotel approved though! Night life in the Aiyapura
was non existent."
** 2008 Low Season deals through Evolution Tour. **
Superior Room - 3,150 baht/night
Deluxe Room - 3,850 baht/night
* BOOK 1 NIGHT - GET 1 NIGHT FREE * 1 free night is
without breakfast. Breakfast is charged at 500 baht/person. Offer
valid from 16 May - 30 Sept 2008
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White Sand
Beach
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 KC
Grande Resort
($$ - $$$)
KC Resort was originally a bamboo
hut backpacker hangout. The 'Grande' was added recently along with
some very nice villas and smaller, AC bungalows a couple of metres from
the beach. KC proved popular and the result is that you won't see any
ramshackle huts featured on their website or online booking pages.
However, the do still have them. In an attempt to cater to everyone
KC still has 20-30 huts for 300 - 400 baht/night. (As of
mid-2006, a new hotel block is being built at the rear of the property.
This is going up quickly and I expect it to be completed by the start of
high season in December. It's away from the majority of bungalows
though, so construction noise shouldn't be a worry.)
The beachfront AC bungalows are a bit on the small
side so the main selling point is that you get sand in your shoes the
moment you open the door. And very nice sand it is too. KC
Grande has a very long stretch of beach frontage and all of it is fine powdery sand.
Arguably, the best beach on the island.
The larger villas have mainly been built away from the beach in well
maintained garden - but there are several that look out onto the sea. Try
to get one of these if you want a fairly luxurious new bungalow. The beach is safe for kids to play, not too crowded and
it's only a 5 minute walk to a 7-11 so you don't have to pay
restaurant prices for a can of coke or ice cream.
Loads of places to eat and drink nearby, ditto tour
agents, dive shops etc. The only downside is that White Sand Beach is the
busiest beach on the island so if you're heading to Koh Chang to get away
from things for a while this might not be the best choice of resort.
Prices seem a little high for what you're getting - at over 2000 baht a
night the small old AC beachfront bungalows are poor value compared to
their equivalents on other Thai islands. But the
recent addition of a swimming pool should add another reason to have this on
your list of possible places to stay - especially if you have young kids.
Prices here higher than expected can be put down to many people willing to pay a premium for staying in a
very convenient location with a beach that won't disappoint you.
Guest Reviews:
"Good location with a friendly staff. not always
perfect, but they try to do their best. Beach: this is probably the best
part of White Sands beach"
"We checked out other resorts on the island and
discovered KC Grande to be the best value for a true beach front
vacation. They must have been first on White Sand Beach and claimed the
largest beach front and best location. There were many other resorts on
the beach, but none had the beachfront or quality of accommodations that
KC Grande has to offer. If you are looking for the best accommodations
really on the beach, I recommend their villas number 444, 555, 666, 777,
888, 999. We stayed in lucky 777."
"KC Grande is well situated in White Sands at the
quieter end nicer part of the beach. The Deluxe Bungalows are basic with
the towels and bedding frayed around the edges. The Bungalows are set in
gardens on the beach front. A truly beautiful setting and very
peaceful."
Prices through Evolution Tour for 2007-08
|
Room |
Low Season
16/05-31/10 |
High Season
01/11-15/05 |
Peak Season
21/12-10/01
12/04-16/04 |
Low Season
16/05-31/10 |
|
Standard |
2.100 |
2.950 |
3.700 |
2.000 |
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Superior |
2.800 |
3.700 |
4.650 |
2.550 |
Deluxe |
3.900 |
5.450 |
6.500 |
3.900 |
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Cookies Hotel
($ - $$$)
One of the hotels on White Sand Beach that's undergone a
transformation and doubled in size from a mere three years ago.
Back then Cookies was a collection of concrete bungalows lining the
beach and a very popular restaurant. Then a new hotel block was
built on the opposite side of the road. A year later the old
bungalows and restaurant were gone and the 2006-07 high season saw them
replaced by more hotel rooms, a pool and a much larger restaurant which
is still good but not as good as it once was.
The inland rooms are built above road level which
means that all rooms look over the top of the beachfront rooms and have
sea and sunsets view from their balconies. The rooms also all
feature floor to ceiling windows and glass doors and so are very bright
inside.
The rooms are good value considering their proximity
to the beach, central location in the heart of White Sand Beach, the level of
cleanliness and comfort - a 3 star standard. The area isn't a
place to stay if you want a desert island experience but if you're the
sociable type who enjoys a night out and having everything within easy
reach then this is a good choice of hotel.
Prices through Evolution Tour for 2007-08
|
Room |
Low Season
20/05-30/09 |
High Season
01/10-19/05 |
Long Weekend
|
Low Season
20/05-30/09 |
|
Standard |
1.300 |
2.000 |
2.200 |
1.500 |
|
Superior |
1.700 |
2.500 |
2.800 |
1.800 |
|
Deluxe |
2.000 |
2.900 |
3.500 |
2.400 |
|
Family |
2.500 |
3.400 |
4.000 |
2.400 |
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Click logo for more info, rates, availability & online booking |
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: : : : :
 Mac Resort
($$ - $$$)
Mac Resort is another resort that
has undergone the transformation from basic backpacker huts to concreter
boxes and finally, nice small resort aimed at couples and families who
want their home comforts. You've got all that you need in the rooms
- satellite TV, hot water, mini-bar etc and outside there's a beachfront
pool.
This resort is smack in the centre of White Sand
beach so definitely isn't a place for anyone looking for peace and
quiet. However, if you enjoy the company of others and want
everything you need to be within five minutes walk then it's a good
choice. The architecture is pretty modern and surprisingly tasteful,
with a lot of money being spent on sandstone cladding and beige paint.
The only real abomination is the chandelier in the reception area. (Why??)
The resort has been around for a while but only made
it onto online booking sites in Jan '06, as with the
majority of White Sand Beach resorts prices are high for what you actually get, Kacha still remains my first choice of
White Sand Beach hotels but if you can't
get the room of your choice there then Mac is definitely worth considering
as a back up on White Sand Beach. But if you're a light sleeper you should
note that due to it's proximity to Sabay Bar, you'll hear some noise at
night at Mac Resort. How much noise depends on the location of your
room.
Guest Reviews:
"Loved the rooms, DVD player to check out
the 100 baht DVDs we got from the roadside stalls nearby. Flop out
of the pool and onto the sand. We enjoyed being near the nightlife
but could see that it wasn't as quiet as some other guests had hoped
for."
"I was warned about the lack of English at many
hotels before I visited Koh Chang, but honestly, getting two lightbulbs
changed required speaking to three people and waiting almost two hours.
Good location, good room, but staff only average."
"Stayed here as we were kicked out of our
original resort when they had a party of Chinese visitors arrive.
Turned out for the best though as this is a nice, if slightly cramped,
resort. We'd go back, but without the kids."
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Click logo for more info, rates, availability & online booking |
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: : : : :
 Koh
Chang Kacha Resort and Spa
($ - $$$)
In May 2004, Mr Kacha of Kacha Corp. spent what must
have been a huge amount of his family's money to buy up Had Ngern
resort, the neighbouring bungalow complex and the land on the opposite
side of the road from these two beachfront properties. The result is that the Kacha Resort now comprises of the best bits of Had Ngern resort i.e. the
very nice beachfront bungalows in a range of sizes and styles, a new
high-roofed, open sided beachfront restaurant and recently opened, in Nov.
2005, hotel block and swimming pool.
The good news is that it's the nicest of all the
White Sand Beach resorts with prices that
don't break the bank and are often a lot less than you'd pay for similar
standard accommodation in one of Klong Prao beach's resorts. It's also one
of the few resorts anywhere on the island to offer purpose
built 4 person bungalows (ideal for families / friends) and that only adds
to it's appeal. Although these 'villas' are older than the hotel
rooms as they're leftover from the old resort that was on this site.
It's also a resort that gets booked up very quickly.
The resort is in the centre of White Sand Beach, but
fortunately the area roadside isn't as heavily developed here as areas 200 metres to the north or south. Therefore, it isn't as
claustrophobic as some beachfront resorts. The beach outside is OK, although
it can get crowded. There are even rows of
deckchairs where you can immobilise yourself and work on your lobster tan.
(Klong Prao beach would be a better choice for you, if quiet strolls along
undeveloped beach are what you're looking for on holiday.)
I've met quite a few people who've stayed here -
couples & families and they always have good things to say about the
place and the attitude of the staff which is why it's always the resort
I recommend people stay at on White Sand Beach as, overall, the quality of the
rooms and prices are better than at KC Grande.
You'll also be within 5-10 minutes walk of a very
good choice of restaurants and
touristy shops.
Guest Reviews:
"The room was clean and well equipped, staff were
very helpful and friendly. The location is very convenient, from the
natural atmosphere of the resort, just walk out to the front of the
hotel then you will find many shops around like internet, laundry. The
swimming pool is greatly located by the beach which we could spend most
of the time there. The food in their restaurant is in reasonable price.
It`s worth every baht I paid."
"We stayed in the deluxe room on the 2nd floor of
the new building, which was quite nice, especially for the price. Best
thing about the room was the bathroom, air-conditioner, and the balcony
that faced the beach and the swimming pool. Very nice room for the
price."
"Koh Chang Kacha is an excellent resort for the
family. The pool area is really great, fantastic view and something for
everyone. We stayed there for three nights, 2 adults and a one-year old
baby. Our baby loved the children's pool and also the baby elephants
using their trunks as waterfalls. The restaurant was ok too, but there
are so many other places along the beach so take a nice walk and pick
the perfect place. The staff was always very friendly and attentive,
although sometimes forgetting things. This is a very professionally run
resort and we would give it a 9 out of 10. If you are travelling with
children this is definitely the place to stay in White Sand Beach."
"Spacious rooms in main building with a big
luxurious bathroom. The hotel's pool area is huge and the sea is just 5
steps from the pool! Pool towels for free. Restaurant and food are OK -
but you will find so many other nice restaurants nearby. If you are a
family with small children this will be the place for you."
Prices through Evolution Tour for 2007-08
|
Room |
Low Season
01/05-31/10 |
High Season
1/11-19/12
011/01-30/4 |
Peak Season
20/12-10/01 |
Low Season
01/05-31/10 |
|
Standard Room |
1.500 |
2.100 |
3.200 |
1.600 |
|
Superior Bungalow |
1.600 |
2.300 |
3.400 |
1.700 |
|
Deluxe Building |
1.800 |
2.700 |
3.750 |
1.900 |
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Deluxe Building Seaview |
2.100 |
3.150 |
4.200 |
2.250 |
|
Deluxe Villa |
2.600 |
3.850 |
4.900 |
2.800 |
|
Deluxe Villa Seaview |
2.900 |
4.150 |
5.200 |
3.000 |
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Beachfront Villa |
2.900 |
4.150 |
5.200 |
3.000 |
: : : : :
 Banpu
Resort
($$ - $$$)
One of the older resorts on White Sand Beach and as such
it was built more for the average Thai package tourist rather than
foreigners. Therefore, rather than being light and airy the AC rooms
use a lot of dark wood, dark stone and 40 watt light bulbs leaving the
impression you're being holed up in a dark, spacious cave, albeit one with
a sea view.
The poolside bungalows are larger but share the same
dingy architecture. From the outside they look great, but could
really do with a few more windows. If you plan to be out all day and
just want a safe, convenient, comfortable place to sleep then they're
fine. If, for whatever reason, you plan to spend a lot of your
waking hours in your room then somewhere airier & brighter would be a
better bet.
The small, freeform pool is only a few metres from
the beach but you know you're going to be involved in 'beach towel' wars
if grabbing a sun lounger by the pool is an integral part of your holiday.
Guest Reviews:
"Bungalow was satisfactory, the resort/hotel also
pretty good, bungalow about 20 seconds from the beach!"
"Liked the location in the centre of the beach,
and had no problems to speak of during our stay. Good, especially
if you can get a discount outside the weekends when we noticed that the
atmosphere became very Thai i.e. a lot of noisy kids in the pool."
"We stayed two nights and then moved on. I
just keep thinking of the price in Euros and it doesn't seem to be poor
value for money, but there are several better value and nicer hotels in
the area."
Prices through Evolution Tour for 2008
|
Room |
Low Season
1/5-31/10/2008 |
Extra bed |
|
Superior
Hotel |
1.800 |
500 |
|
Deluxe
Bungalow |
2.100 |
500 |
: : : : :
Alina & Alina Grande Resort ($ - $$$)
The original Alina Resort is located right on the
beach at the southern end of White Sand Beach. The newer, much larger
annex 'Alina Grande' is located directly opposite on the other side of
the main road.
The older hotel is showing it's age and is now a bit
rundown and in need of a makeover. But as there isn't much
in the way of beachfront rooms on White Sand Beach available for under 1000
baht/night in high season, this fact makes Alina a good choice for
anyone wanting to make their baht go a long way. However, the much
newer Alina Grande is a far better bet if you are willing to sacrifice a
30-second walk to the beach from your room for a 1 minute walk.
The rooms are much brighter and offer (for Koh Chang) good value.
If you just need a good clean place to sleep and can do without too many
luxuries such as a pool and Spa, then Alina Grande is a good choice if
White Sand Beach is your preferred beach.
Prices through Evolution Tour for 2007-08
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Alina Resort
|
Low Season
06/06-30/09 |
High Season
01/10-31/05 |
Low Season
01/06-30/09-2008 |
|
Fan Hut |
650 |
800 |
650 |
|
Air Hut |
800 |
1.000 |
800 |
|
Fan Hotel |
1.100 |
1.350 |
1.100 |
|
Air Hotel |
1.500 |
1.750 |
1.500 |
|
Fan Family
Room |
1.500 |
1.900 |
1.500 |
|
Air Family Room |
1.800 |
2.300 |
1.800 |
|
Alina Grande |
Low Season
01/06-30/09 |
High Season
01/10-31/05 |
Low Season
01/06-30/09-2008 |
|
Bed Room |
1.100 |
1.400 |
1.100 |
|
Bed Room II |
1.400 |
1.750 |
1.400 |
|
Sea View Room |
1.800 |
2.250 |
1.800 |
|
Family Room |
4.600 |
5.300 |
4.600 |
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Click logo for more info, rates, availability & online booking |
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: : : : :
 Chang Buri Resort & Spa ($$ - $$$$$)
In 2003 the Hillside Hotel opened to very little
acclaim as most visitors ignored it in preference of resorts that were on
beaches. It's at located the southern end of White Sand Beach but lies on the inland side of
the road. There are sea views if you happen to check into a second
floor room facing the road of which there are only a handful. But the majority of the large, well
appointed rooms do have views of the jungle clad hills and open out over the usually empty
pool area at the back of the hotel. The name was then changed to
'Hillside Beach' in a sad attempt to get more customers. That
failed, so now it's scrapped the name entirely and gone for 'Chang Buri
Resort & (of course) Spa'.
It appears as though the owners have learnt from
previous years' mistakes of over-pricing the rooms so now, at just over
2,000
Baht/night in the high season it's not a bad deal for what it is, which is
a comfortable new 3 star that you could happily leave your Mum at and
she'd be well looked after and pampered no end in the excellent spa.
I'd say it was a good choice as a back-up' resort, in case your beachfront
choice is full during the high season.
In the third quarter of 2006, the new luxury villas will be opening on the opposite side of the road
offering far more opulent, not to mention expensive, accommodation.
Guests on this side of the road stay in luxury villas where no expense has
been spared, note the liberal use of teak wood, small private pools etc
etc. The photos on the booking site will certainly impress you, and
then you look at the prices and you're going to have to decide if this
combination of OK, but definitely not stunning, location with no beach - but with superb
accommodation is really worth it. (The fact that the hotel's own
website doesn't actually show any photos of sand should alert you to the
fact that you shouldn't expect a beach for.
It'll be interesting to see if
rooms sell at the current prices as you can get a similar standard of
accommodation at beachfront resorts but at a much lower rates eg at
Tropicana or the Amari, and if you require
privacy - Nirvana down in Bangbao which has superb views and is well away from the
crowds. To be honest, I have the feeling that if you do decide
to pay well over US$200/night and have expectations to match you won't
get value for money or will be let down by location and lack of sand.
on Location wise, for both resorts, it's no problem to arrange stuff as there are tour
agencies, car & bike hire places on your doorstep. It's a 10-15
minute walk down the road to reach a good stretch of sand as the shoreline
outside Chang Buri comprises more of stones than sand. In the opposite direction,
just cross the road, walk 20 metres and you'll be met with a selection of neon lit roadside beer bars
populated by comely young Thai maidens all vying for your wallet's
attention. These bars are also noisy and the noise bounces off the
hillside and back towards the shore where the fancy villas are.
You'll be listening to the distant sound of techno till 2am if you have
your windows open.
Guest Reviews:
Not many reviews & the luxury rooms
only opened in mid 2007, so not many reviews.
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Click logo for more info, rates, availability & online booking |
 |
: : : : :
Pearl Beach
: : : : :
Koh Chang
Privilege Resort Hotel ($-$$)
If you've already read the
Pearl Beach page on this site you'll
know that there isn't any actual sand in this area which lies a couple of
kilometres south of White Sand Beach on the way south to Klong Prao Beach.
Therefore, the first question you need to ask
yourself is "Do you need to be on a sandy beach or will a well tended
garden area next to the stony shoreline and with sunset views
suffice?" If your answer is "A nice garden by the sea is OK."
Then, the second question is "Do you want to be able to easily walk to
a sandy beach?"
If you answer "Yes" then you need to look for another resort.
But, if you're happy to rent a motorbike or rely on
the pick-up truck taxis for inter-beach travel then Privilege could be the
resort for you. The resort only has a small number of concrete
bungalows which are built away from the shoreline. Architecturally the
resort is nothing to get excited about but the spacious garden area makes a pleasant change from the usual Thai
resort practice of cramming as many bungalows into a small a space as
possible. The area near the sea comprises a large, empty patch of
grass where you can sunbathe or play with your kids; and the
seafront restaurant. A plus point is that this area is good for snorkelling.
The recently built bungalows are in the comfortable
1-star category, and as such accommodation is priced cheaper than most of
the other newly built Koh Chang resorts and is of a better standard than
older, slightly cheaper rooms at long standing resorts.
There are several other small bungalow resorts in
the area, all in a similar price range, so finding alternative places to
eat is easy enough. The main road lies 5 minutes walk away, here
you'll find a couple of other restaurants, a good minimart and a large
nightclub which is popular with Thai hotel and restaurant staff.
If you've tried booking beachfront hotels and
they're full then there's a good chance that this resort will have rooms.
It's inexpensive, quiet and comfortable and the only real drawback is that
you can't walk to the beach. That requires a 5 minute ride in
a pick-up truck or you'll need to rent a motorbike.
Guest Reviews:
"The resort is quite nice. But the beach
was pebbles not sand. Most of the island is sandy so it seems a strange
place to build a resort. Basically what I am saying is I
would not advise people staying here as there are so many better and
cheaper resorts all over the island."
"We thought the resort was on Klong Prao beach,
it turned out to be 20 minutes walk away. So we were disappointed
by the location. However, the bungalows were comfortable enough.
The resort was quiet which again, I put down to location."
"I discovered Privilege on my first trip to Koh
Chang and when I returned to the island for 2 weeks I headed there
again. The golden rule is to bargain the room price, stay a week
and rent a scooter. It's in a quiet location although it's now
overshadowed by a rather ugly resort next door. A good place for
value cons,cious visitors if you get the price down to a sensible level
for a resort with low occupancy rates."
|
Click logo for more info, rates & availability for this resort |
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: : : : :
Klong Prao Hotels • Kai Bae Hotels • Whitesands Hotels
|
