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As part of a six-week Asia trip, we were heading to Koh Samui, Thailand. And we wanted to visit Koh Tao too.
We love snorkeling and diving. Koh Tao is a small tropical island (only accessible by boat) that’s a two-hour passenger ferry ride from Koh Samui. With plenty of coral reefs, Koh Tao is known for its excellent snorkeling and scuba diving.
But where to stay in Koh Tao?
After considerable research, we booked one of the delightful Koh Tao bungalows at Sensi Paradise Beach Resort.
In our Koh Tao accommodation guide:
Koh Tao bungalows at Sensi Paradise Beach
Hotel review Walk to Sai Nuan Beach
Charm Churee Village Jamahkiri Resort The Place Luxury Boutique Villas
Koh Tao Bungalows at Sensi Paradise
As professional travel writers who often receive complimentary accommodation, we confess that we’re terribly spoiled and frequently stay at 5-star hotels. In Bangkok, for example, we’ve bedded down at the Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit, Mandarin Oriental and Shangri-La Bangkok.
But this side-trip to Koh Tao was going to be “private” holiday time. We were paying for our hotel and we weren’t going to write about it.
Famous last words… It seems you can’t get rid of the travel writer personas in us, because here we are – writing about our Koh Tao accommodation anyway!
Where to stay on Koh Samui? Be coddled Thai-style in a private pool villa at Tongsai Bay; read our review
Sensi Paradise, Koh Tao, review:
The 3-star Sensi Paradise offers traditional Thai-style bungalows, houses and villas for families and couples.
Our wooden bungalow on concrete pillars was quite rustic and simple, with white tile floors (higher category bungalows have polished wood floors).
The open shower in the bathroom had a concrete floor with a fairly basic shower head.
But it was spotlessly clean.
And our bungalow had everything we needed for a comfortable stay – good air conditioning, a king-size bed with white duvet, quiet location – plus some pleasant surprises, like new gold silk curtains we tied back with a tassle and a welcome vase of fresh carnations.
We had requested a quiet Deluxe bungalow with a sea view.
So even though we’d booked through Booking.com (and shouldn’t have expected a sea view), it was very nice that Sensi Paradise gave us a bungalow with an almost full-on view of longtail boats plying the bay in front.
There were more things to like too.
Free pick-up from the ferry dock (who knew there’d be a gent with a Sensi signboard waiting for guests!); welcome hibiscus drink; slippers and waffle robes; shampoo, soap and body lotion (no conditioner though); free WiFi (though it only worked properly in public areas); and friendly staff – even beach mats and beach bag waiting in our bungalow for our use!
A daily hot buffet breakfast with scrambled eggs, bacon and other items (great vanilla yogurt!) was also included in the rates.
Perhaps some “luxury” hotels could learn a thing or two from Sensi Paradise, Koh Tao?
Cool factoid
Koh Tao’s plethora of dive shops are said to certify more scuba divers than anywhere else in the world (except for Queensland, Australia).Walk to Sai Nuan Beach:
One thing you should do if you stay at Sensi Paradise is to walk from the resort south along the coast to Sai Nuan Beach.
The paved path with bamboo railings snakes through the trees, hugging the hillside, and runs through the neighboring Koh Tao bungalows of Charm Churee Village, then Bamboo Huts resort, before the path finally reaches Sai Nuan Beach.
It’s a brisk 20-minute walk each way, up and down stairs, with great sea views. A bit of a work-out. But that makes a cooling swim afterward back at Sensi Paradise’s pool all that more delicious. (Did we tell you the resort has two swimming pools that look like they could belong to a Four Seasons?)
And Sai Nuan Beach itself is a pleasant laid-back place to spend a few hours.
Booking through Agoda or Booking.com
If you book Sensi Paradise through Agoda or Booking.com, your cost is likely to be some 10% to 20% cheaper than if you book directly through the resort. (It was less for us.) But expect the rooms to be the lower category ones – Superior (without balcony) or Deluxe (balcony with garden, pool or limited sea view).
Somehow we lucked out, however, by getting a sea view with our Deluxe bungalow booked through Booking.com. (Perhaps the advance email request worked its magic!)
If you have your heart set on an ocean-front or full seaview bungalow, you may want to book directly through the resort.
Sensi Paradise, Koh Tao
3 Other great Koh Tao Hotels
While on Koh Tao, we checked out some other places to stay – we couldn’t help it!
1) Charm Churee Village:
Charm Churee boasts a gorgeous setting on a virtually private bay, with colorful bungalows resting on stilts at the water’s edge and an on-site PADI shop.
Like Sensi Paradise, it’s also an excellent mid-range option for Koh Tao beachfront bungalows.
Charm Churee, Koh Tao
2) Jamahkiri Resort:
It’s quite secluded, has long steep stairs and isn’t on a beach. Still, Jamahkiri Resort is one of the best places to stay in Koh Tao. Rooms have lovely wood floors, colorful Thai art and balconies with staggering sea views.
There’s a beautiful pool too, and a free shuttle boat takes you to Haad Tien Beach. It also has a good dive club.
Jamahkirir Resort, Koh Tao
3) The Place Luxury Boutique Villas:
Want a private honeymoon-worthy villa?
The Place Luxury Boutique Villas come with kitchenettes (complete with Nespresso coffee machines), private infinity pools and huge sun decks with bean bags to lie on while taking in the ocean views.
Set in the jungly hillside, the villas (which get rave reviews) are about a 10-minute walk to Sairee Beach. Mountain bikes are free to use.
The Place, Koh Tao
Thailand Travel Guide
Where else must you go in Thailand? Other cool things to do?
Check out our mammoth guide on Bucket List Places to Visit in Thailand for luxury lovers – packed with things to experience and top hotel recommendations.
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Photo credits: 2 and 4 © Janice and George Mucalov, SandInMySuitcase | Other hotel photos courtesy of the respective hotels
What a lovely blog!! And thank you for very useful tips :)
We usually book directly with the hotel. We’re heading to Thailand for my 40th later this year and we are currently researching hotels. We, just like you, are used to slightly more “high end” accommodation but as we’re staying away for 3 weeks we need to think more about our budget at times. I trust your judgement and will save this as a possible place to stay.
What a nice 40th birthday present! Like you say, on a 3-week trip, staying at all “high end” places can put a strain on the wallet, so mixing it up a little might be a good idea :-). Enjoy Thailand when you go! (And thanks for the kind words about our travel blog.)
I haven’t used those sites because we also do most of our travel on assignment. Great that the place you chose worked out well. It’s hard to get “knocked down” in stars:-)
Three star hotel in a five star location – yes, used lots of different hotel booking sites. I’ve found the best deals are in South East Asia. Your site is looking great by the way…. Have you revamped it?
Yes, we revamped our site a while ago. Glad you like it :-). Hopefully our next booking will turn out as good as this one did, but we’ll bear in mind that Europe may not produce as good deals as Asia.