Trying out new hotels always involves a certain amount of risk – you can be lucky or unlucky. To be on the safe side, we decided to book something new for the first half of our vacation and something familiar for the second half.
The “new” in this case was the Celes Beachfront Hotel on Bophut Beach, about which there was no information on the Internet at the time of our booking – apart from a few Tripadvisor reviews.
Hotel General
The Celes Beachfront Hotel on Bophut Beach in Koh Samui is a five-star hotel of the Bangkok Airways Group that opened in April 2018. In addition to the airline Bangkok Airways, hotels and hospitals, the group operates a total of three hotels on Koh Samui. The small boutique hotel with a total of 68 rooms has a restaurant, a large infinity swimming pool with sun terrace and beach bar as well as a spa. The 68 rooms are divided into 50 standard rooms, 10 pool villas and 8 beachfront villas. The standard rooms are divided into Botanical and Deluxe Botanical with pool view on the second floor. The hotel is located at the quiet end of Bophut Beach, about 15 minutes by car from the airport. It is a 20-minute walk along the beach to Fisherman Village. Architecture in modern, tidy Scandi style.
Check-in
Check-in
After a quarter of an hour’s drive from Koh Samui airport, you are warmly welcomed with a fruit juice and a scoop of ice cream. Immediately after the brief check-in, you are taken to your room, which at 42 square meters is large enough for two people.
Room
The Botanical Deluxe room with pool view on the second floor is well equipped: a huge Super King double bed, a balcony with seating area to end the day, a spacious bathroom with rain shower and Skyview glass roof as well as an Illy coffee machine. Sufficient light enters the room through the floor-to-ceiling windows. The Bose speakers are a nice gimmick. Sound proofing perfect, the location on the second floor without a direct neighbor was a good decision. The rooms on the first floor are a little gloomy – with a single window at the front and the skylight in the shower, it can quickly feel oppressive.
Restaurant / Club Lounge
The hotel restaurant – Beachgrille – where breakfast is also served is open all day and offers excellent quality at European prices. The breakfast is exceptionally good, freshly squeezed juices and the coffee tastes – untypically for the country – excellent! In addition to the obligatory egg station and the Asian selection, there is also freshly prepared bread and jam.
Spa and fitness
The infinity pool located directly on the beach offers a good alternative to the beautiful Bophut Beach, which didn’t really score points with its crystal-clear water at the time. Brown broth was more like it.
Service
As in most hotels in Thailand, the language barrier is overcome by friendliness and communication with hands and feet. All the staff have a smile on their face, are helpful and on the second day they knew about our preferences at breakfast and by the pool without us having to do anything.
Conclusion
The Celes Beachfront is a great new and modern beach resort with an honest 4.5 stars that can easily be recommended. Would I book the hotel again? Definitely!