Zazen Boutique Resort Review: A Zen Stay in Koh Samui

Zazen Boutique Resort review

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Nothing gets the kinks out like a traditional Thai massage.

At Zazen Boutique Resort on the island of Koh Samui in Thailand, the expert massage in the open-air garden spa – birds chirping in the trees outside – twisted and stretched us into a state of bliss.

With Murano chandeliers and ruby-red velvet cushions, Le Spa Zen evokes a Moorish fantasy, but the pleasure it dispenses is quite real.

Indeed, the spa is one very good reason to book Zazen Boutique Resort & Spa!

But that’s just the beginning, as we share below in our review of Zazen Boutique Resort. More reasons include the beautiful bungalows, the newly renovated infinity pool and the amazing restaurant.

Zazen prides itself on offering guests a peaceful, rejuvenating stay (Zazen means “to find inner peace” in Japanese). And that’s exactly what we experienced here!

Zazen Boutique Resort review: The beach and pool area are lovely!
Zazen Boutique Resort & Spa’s beach area

Rooms and villas

Zazen’s 26 terracotta stone bungalows are scattered about koi-filled lagoons and gardens, lush with exotic flowers and Buddhist statues.

The largest are the “garden villas.” At 700 square feet in size, these Koh Samui bungalows have plenty of room for a couple, or even parents with a child, to spread out comfortably.

Glass doors from a terrace open into a living room with painted concrete floors, bench-style cushioned couches, silk blinds and a flat-screen TV.

The raised bedroom has a comfy, low, king-size bed on polished wood floors. Thai-style and contemporary wooden sculptures and art works abound.

The bedroom of our garden villa at Zazen Boutique Resort in Koh Samui
The bedroom of our garden villa at Zazen Boutique Resort in Koh Samui

Behind the bedroom, the large bathroom is a treat with an Italian shower and polished wood countertop,

Relaxing in our garden villa, we felt quite royal in the bathrobes and slippers provided – though we had to pull down the blinds for privacy from passing guests.

Other room types include somewhat smaller beachfront suites (they’re as close to the sea as you can get!) plus garden-view and sea-view tropical suites (also a little smaller).

What to do at Zazen Boutique Resort?

Most guests come to chill, and cushioned teak loungers under white umbrellas by the narrow beach and around the pool are the place to be during the day.

If you’re nit-picky about your beaches, you might say that the beach in front of Zazen Boutique Resort isn’t large. And the water was a bit murky when we were there.

(For a “better” place to swim, zip on over to Chaweng Beach; it’s “public” though and busier.)

We were Zen-happy, however, to use the Zazen beach (and preferred it to Chaweng). It was quiet, shady and the beach chairs were a comfortable place to read.

You can also rent kayaks and paddleboards from Zazen’s beach club, and the water is typically calm for paddling.

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When we felt like swimming, we enjoyed the outdoor pool.

And oh what a pool it is! In a recent hotel renovation, the pool and adjacent restaurant were totally redone. And the comfy white beanbag loungers in front of the seafront infinity pool (with natural water, no less) are a lovely place to hang out.

Overlooking the sea, Zazen's pool, with its white bean bag beds and white umbrellas, is a Zen place to hang out.
Overlooking the sea, Zazen’s pool is a Zen place to kick back

New restaurant (and breakfast sets you up for the day)

The path from the bungalows and suites to the beachfront restaurant leads past Zen ponds, Buddhist statues and a bridge with a handmade yin-yang mosaic.

We didn’t try the resort’s elegant restaurant for dinner. Serving high-class Thai cuisine, it’s reputed to be excellent (though expensive). We hear local expats love dining here.

We enjoyed the restaurant for breakfast, however. Rates include a wonderful buffet breakfast overlooking the sea – and there’s complimentary bubbly to mix with your OJ.

Zazen's restaurant overlooks the sea.
Zazen’s restaurant has great views of the sea

Location

Zazen Boutique Resort is located at the quiet end of Bo Phut on the northeast coast of Samui Island, conveniently close to the Samui airport (15 minutes away).

The funky restaurants and bars of Fisherman’s Village are just a five-minute taxi ride (or 20-minute walk) away. Exploring Fisherman’s Village is one of the popular things to do in Koh Samui.

Woman walking along a Koh Samui beach
You can go for a long stroll down the beach from Zazen

Zazen Boutique Resort review bottom line?

Zazen is definitely one of Koh Samui’s best boutique hotels! Family-owned, it’s been serving up authentic Thai hospitality for a quarter of a century now.

Couples who like small stylish hotels and want a peaceful beach getaway will feel right at home at these deluxe Koh Samui bungalows and suites.

We certainly loved our stay and would return in a heartbeat!

Zazen Boutique Resort, Bophut

Check rates and availability here

Our top travel tips and resources

Hotels: Booking.com is perfect for scoring a “wow” hotel – or at least a decent one – at lower rates than the hotel’s own website. We especially like Booking’s flexible cancellation policy!

Vacation homes, condos and rentals: We prefer and use Vrbo (Vacation Rentals by Owner).

Cruises: CruiseDirect offers amazing deals on cruises (including Holland America, Viking Ocean Cruises, Seabourn and other lines we’ve reviewed).

Flights: To book the cheapest flights, search on Google Flights or Expedia. (Just be aware Expedia tickets may be non-refundable.)

Airport lounge access: We love (and have) Priority Pass for comfy lounge seats, free snacks and drinks, complimentary WiFi and sometimes even showers and spa services!

Tours: For the best local food, walking and other guided tours, plus skip-the-line tickets to attractions, check out Viator (a TripAdvisor company) and GetYourGuide.

Car rental: Renting a car is often a great way to explore off the beaten path. Discover Cars searches car rental companies so you get the lowest rates.

eSIMS: Stay connected affordably with Airalo eSIMS covering 200+ countries and trusted by 10 million+ users, including us! (No more huge roaming bills!)

Travel insurance: SafetyWing is designed for frequent travelers, long-term adventurers and digital nomads. It covers medical expenses, lost checked luggage, trip interruption and more. We also have and recommend Medjet for global air medical transportation.

Travel gear: See our travel shop to find the best luggage, accessories and other travel gear. (We suggest these comfy travel sandals for city walking, the beach and kicking about.)

Need more help planning your trip? Check out our travel tips and resources guide for airline booking tips, ways to save money, how to find great hotels and other crazy useful trip planning info.

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Photo credits: © Zazen Resort


We stayed as media guests of the resort, but our review of Zazen Boutique Resort is all ours. As professional travel writers, we always write the truth as we see it, including points you should be aware of.


About the authors

Janice and George Mucalov are award-winning travel journalists who’ve explored all seven continents. They share destination guidesluxury hotel reviewscultural adventurescruise insightstravel tips and more on their luxury travel blog, Sand In My Suitcase. See About.

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6 Comments

  1. Wow! This place looks amazing. What a great place to go for a few days and relax. We are hoping to visit Thailand for the first time last this year.

    1. You’ll love Thailand! Your only problem is going to be trying to figure out where to go as there are so many great cultural/adventure places (up north) and tempting islands (south). The planning should be fun :-).

  2. The resort looks gorgeous and the rain shower sounds dreamy! We haven’t been to Thailand yet…hopefully some day.

    1. We hope you get to Thailand in the not-too-distant-future! It’s got lots to appeal to visitors — beaches, smiling people, nature and adventure walks in the northern part of the country, culture in Chiang Mai and elsewhere…

  3. What an elegant resort. If our travels bring us to Thailand, we will keep Zazen on our list!! It even has “zen” in its name:-)

    1. It’s definitely got a Zen feel to it — our kind of place (and sounds like your kind of place too :-)).