Koh Ngai Hotels with Swimming Pools

The scenery is beautiful, the seaside independent wooden house, but the facilities in the room are very simple and the sanitation is very general. The house is very hot during the day, and the air conditioning cannot completely cool down. There is a private beach and a swimming pool, the pool is not clean, but the children have a great time. The most surprising thing is that the hotel's private beach can be snorkeled in the sea, which is very fun. Eating can be in the hotel or in the hotel next door, there are few choices and the taste is average. All in all, if it is worth the price from the scenery, but if it is not matched by the facilities conditions.

The first time we vacationed in this hotel was almost 10 years ago. Then we really liked everything, and I left an enthusiastic review on a well-known international resource. Therefore, this year, on a trip to the islands of Trang province, we decided to visit Ngai, the then beloved Fantasy Resort & Spa. Unfortunately, I didn’t find any reviews about standard rooms, otherwise I would never have booked it. I have a lot of travel experience with staying in hotels of different categories in different countries and continents, but I could not even imagine that there could be rooms of such low quality. There are no complaints about the cleaning, the room was cleaned daily and efficiently. The same applies to the size of the room. For Naya, two adults, the area was quite enough. Complaints about furnishing the room with old, worn-out furniture. Repairs with protruding wires and construction dirt that was not removed during repairs. The drain in the shower was not working well. But what surprised us most was the air conditioner, which roared loudly like a beast, and this roar did not contribute to normal sleep. The air conditioning unit is installed on a small terrace, next to the chairs. This is simply a “miracle” of engineering. In general, if you want to spoil your holiday, choose a standard room.

The hotel is located in a stunning location. The views are simply amazing. It is noticeable that the hotel has remnants of its former luxury, that it is ancient and has not been in operation for a long time. But the ratio of the price ($50 per night) with the service and the opening views of the island and the sea - only covers its shortcomings in the form of tired furniture. The choice of food is not very large, but we are not a picky customer. We were satisfied with everything, including breakfast included in the price and separate dishes that we ordered for lunch and dinner. The staff is very friendly and fulfilled every request. The downside is that there is no swimming beach, but after walking 1 kilometer along the beach, we realized that there are no ideal beaches on this side. And all the five hotels that were along the road are suffering just as much as we are, only the price is higher there. Another minus is that the room we chose near the pool is high up and it’s hard to climb up the steps into it, but this effort is rewarded with a mesmerizing view from the room or the pool. We spent most of the time at the pool, because... Swimming on the beach is not very comfortable. But I think that we are lucky, because... we were alone there. Completely alone, there were only 5 people in the hotel, together with us, and we saw other people a couple of times. It was gorgeous, chilling in the pool with the coolest views of other islands and watching the birds fly from tree to tree.

Here’s everything you need to know: We were a little nervous by the reviews we had seen being that we are usually harsher reviewers than most. But to our surprise we really enjoyed our time here :) The beach is incredible, not perfectly white fine sand but a beautiful color nonetheless and incredible shallow turquoise water with coral in close reach but far enough to enjoy the calm, warm water especially ideal with children. As like most beaches in the region, the tide can have a big impact on your experience and requires a little bit of planning. No two low tides are the same, some can be quite low where you basically can go for a beautiful walk on the rocks, others can still make for a great swim. The time changes per day but staff are all well informed through an app and can advise you daily so you can plan around it. Remember all the beaches on the other side have the same issue but even more so and at lease the water is always calm here! The beach is soooo isolated tucked away from everything whereas the other side of the island is property by property. Only once for a short window of time on the weekend we saw a few long tail boats pull up nearby with organized day tours. The bungalows are beautifully decorated just as seen in the photos. Housekeeping does a great job keeping them clean, and the hot water and air conditioning work perfectly. The only downside is that the rooms are lined up on a straight path moving inland from the beach and main property in chronological order. So if you are in the end 15-30, it can be a bit of a walk back and forth. Luckily, we were moved from room 23 to room 5 with our small child which was a HUGE help. Our only other complaint is that the mattress was to firm for our taste, but worth the sacrifice. The swimming pool is clean and a perfect place to be when the tide gets too low. Though it is uncovered so sunscreen is needed during the harsher hours of the day. The restaurant makes some truly delicious food. The menu does not change but is quite extensive between western, eastern, and Thai dishes. Prices are higher than other parts but are still very reasonable. The bartenders make some great drinks and smoothies, some of the best fresh coconuts we’ve ever had too! Dinner seating daily on the beach is such a treat! They had two play areas for kids and activities available which our daughter absolutely loved. Most importantly to us: the people were wonderful and kind even if not at the higher standards we are used to. This was our biggest fear when booking but it came clear to us early on that the employees are overworked and understaffed. A sad truth about a lot of resorts in the area and I can understand that they can appear grumpy at times or missing some attention to detail, but they respond to smiles with smiles and to kindness with kindness. We were beyond happy with the service and hope that management will change their ways to make for a better environment for their employees which will ulti