The W Ko Samui would mark our second stay at a W Resort in the South East Asian Indian Sub Continent zone. Our six days stay at the W Ko Samui would have us enjoying a terrific Marriott Bonvoy upgrade to an Ocean Front Haven Villa, a large private space that we could relax in for complete privacy, and a villa that was located steps from pleasant beach along with nearby beach massages. Read on to see what our week long stay at the W Ko Samui experience was like.

---

This post is one chapter on a trip with my 82 yr old mom from Canada to Singapore. For informaton on how this trip was booked, please see our trip introduction. This trip was enhanced through Marriott Bonvoy Elite Status, Air Canada Aeroplan and Hertz Gold Plus Rewards. For parts of the trip, please see this index.

If you enjoyed this post, please follow us here or on social media through Facebook, Twitter “X” or Instagram for more travel tips and hacks on how to “Upgrade Your Travels”.

---

Review: The W Hotel, Surat Thani District, Ko Samui, Thailand

---

“The W Ko Samui offered the largest private hotel villa I’ve ever stayed in. A great value on Marriott Bonvoy points, the W Ko Samui offered the ultimate in privacy in spacious surroundings “

Booking The W Hotel Ko Samui:

We had previously visited Thailand a number of times calling on Bangkok and Phuket. However the island of Ko Samui had escaped us until now. After a recommendation from the manager of the W Maldives, who used to be the manager of the W Ko Samui, we opted to try out the island of Ko Samui, Thailand for our next week long holiday.

While we had a number of Marriott options on the island of Ko Samui, we ended up deciding on the W Ko Samui for their large villas and overall upscale beach vibe. Our second choice was the Vana Belle, a Luxury Collection Resort, but it’s obstructed ocean views and a older orientation made this a little less than ideal. We also considered the Ko Samui Ritz Carlton but during our visit, they were only offering redemptions on base rooms.

Marriott Bonvoy Opportunities:

We booked the W Ko Samui using Marriott Bonvoy points. Marriott Bonvoy points have moved to variable pricing, so my strategy was to book the property as far in advance as possible, then watch for potential price reductions.

The W Ko Samui offered room redemptions across all room categories at variable pricing rates between 74,000 and 112,000 Marriott Bonvoy points per night. Our visit aligned with Singapore school holidays. Despite this, it was relatively quiet in Ko Samui during our early June visit.

Since this was a holiday aimed for relaxing, I ended up booking the room category I wanted and hoped for an Marriott Bonvoy elite level room upgrade from there. Using a Marriott Bonvoy Pointsaver rate, I ended up booking a Ocean View Escape, which was a 1 Bedroom Villa featuring a 1 King, Ocean facing view, Private pool. The Ocean View Escape was two categories up from a base Jungle Oasis and Tropical Oasis room.

I was able to book this under a Marriott Bonvoy Pointsavers (Cash and Points) rate for 268,400 + 25,000 THB. A regular room redemption was 404,400 points under the redemption with points upgrade category.

I found the use of Point Savers be a reasonable deal, given the retail value of the room on a cash rate was well over $5,400 USD.

Like a diligent reward traveller, I ended up watching the reservation rates. Thanks to Marriott Bonvoy variable pricing, the rate dropped and dropped and dropped and dropped, the closer I got to this day.

The Marriott Bonvoy points reward rates at the W Ko Samui were nonrefundable at the seven day mark. Following the reservation rate drops, I ended up saving approximately 25,200 Marriott bonvoy points overall, as the point rate dropped from 268,400 to 243,200 Marriott Bonvoy points from when I had initally completed my reservation.

After making the reservation, I applied Marriott Bonvoy Nightly Upgrade awards to the room reservation. As every room at the W Ko Samui is a villa, there were limited rooms available for upgrade through the Nightly Upgrade Award program.

While they didn’t offer any upgrades into the Wow Suite categories, I was eventually able to get a confirmed Nightly Upgrade Award into an Ocean Front Haven Villa. The nightly upgrade award was confirmed about two days before our stay.

Overall, I was happy with using a point saver award redemption stacked with a Nightly Upgrade Award. I felt that it struck the right balance of using points strategically, and saving some others for some trips that are coming in the future.

Getting to the W Ko Samui:

We flew into Ko Samui Thailand on Bangkok Airways Singapore – Ko Samui. After clearing immigration and collecting our bags, we ended up taking a W Hotel car Toyota Fortuner from the airport to the hotel. The price was ฿800 ($22 USD) which included staff waiting for us at the airport. By way of comparison, a grab rideshare was quoted at approximately 600 ฿ ($16 USD). It was much more relaxing to take the hotel car, as we didn’t have to worry about flight delays or attempting to find ride share availability.

The W Ko Samui is located a short ways away from Fishermans Village in the Bo Phut area of Ko Samui. It was approximately 25 minutes drive from the airport. After a steep drive up the resort driveway, we arrived at the W Ko Samui loading area.

We arrived through the hotel entrance way and started the check in process. The hotel offers a sleek and minimalist look from the outside. However, once you get inside, you are presented with tremendous hillside views.

Checking into the W Ko Samui:

Upon arrival to the lobby, it took a little while to find the check in agent. We were seated on the couches while an arrival drink was presented. There is no mistaking you’re staying at a W at the W Ko Samui. The lobby art was sharp, strongly decorated and even as far as disturbing, in some circumstances.

We were staying for six nights and had applied Marriott Bonvoy Nightly Upgrade awards to five of them. Courtesy of Marriott Bonvoy Titanium status, we were upgraded on a complementary basis into our confirmed nightly upgrade award room for our sixth night. This was super convenient as it meant that we did not have to relocate mid stay.

We provided our credit card for a preauthorization for our entire stay along with the deposit amount. As a nice courtesy, we were also given a 10% discount off all food and beverage as a result of being a Marriott Bonvoy Titanium level member. The discount was automatically applied to invoices, with no fuss.

We enjoyed some of the iconic W Ko Samui views from the lobby before hopping into our golf cart to get escorted to our Ocean Haven Villa room.

After the check in process, we were loaded into a golf cart and give him a ride down the hill towards our Ocean Haven Villa. We were encouraged to call for a golf cart anytime we wanted using the W Whenever / Whatever telephone line.

The Room: An Ocean Front Haven Villa, 1 Bedroom Villa, 1 King, Oceanside, Beach Front, Private Pool

With all rooms at the W Ko Samui being villas, the rooms were exceptionally private with high walls.

The Ocean Front Haven villa was described as having 223 sqm / 2,399 sq feet. This consisted of 65 sqm / 699 sq feet. of indoor space and 158 sqm / 1,700 sq feet of outdoor space.

We were led down to Villa 131, which was located right on the ocean front. The surrounding environment was beautifully landscaped with tropical plants such as bamboo and palm trees.

Upon entering our Ocean Front Haven Villa, Justin gave us a tour of the Villa and pointed out all the amenities. Immediately upon entering we found ourselves in the coffee and refreshment area. We turned left and found ourselves in the Ocean Front Haven villas bedroom and living area.

the room was long and rectangular in shape and offered a couch, coffee table, Florida ceiling windows along with a very comfortable soft king-size bed..

I really appreciated the large daylight windows that were against one side of the villa wall. I spent quite a bit of time during the stay of staring outside and enjoying the view of the plants and skyline.

The refreshment zone was quite well stocked, as can be expected for a W Resort. There was complimentary bottled water available, which was generously supplied at all times.. Given that the room was a W, there was a full set of glassware that included wine and martini glasses. There was also a generously stocked paid snack and minibar.

The coffees were Illy Coffee pods. The coffee machine was a little tricky to operate, but after reading proper instructions and staying a few days, I easily got the hang of it.

The mini bar was well stocked with mini international and also a few Thailand juice and soft drink brands.

The Bathroom with Outdoor Shower:

The bathroom featured both an indoor and an outdoor shower. The outdoor shower was completely enclosed, but had an open sky allowing you to look upwards at the sky.

The bathroom offered a double sink vanity with a large ceramic tub with private pool water views.

Outdoor Space:

Heading outside, there was a large outdoor space available in the Ocean Front Haven Villa. Just off the bedroom through a set of French doors, there was a shaded daybed. There was also a small table and chairs with umbrella.

The yard was a long rectangular space with a private infinity pool. I’ve come to expect a smaller plunge pool in a hotel private villas. Most of them are just small enough to take a dip in to cool off from hot temperatures. The W Ko Samui pool was quite long and large enough that you’d actually spend a little bit of time in it. It was easily the largest pool that I’ve had the opportunity to enjoy in a hotel villa.

The outdoor space was among the best parts of the villa. It was a large private space that was completely filled with privacy and tropical shrubbery.

The end of the villa space lead to a yard that was exceptionally private. Although the Villa was on ocean front, the yard was almost so private that the space had no ocean view.

The outdoor area was marked with artificial turf which was a slight distraction from the nature scape, but probably made it easy for the resort to maintain the space.

The best part of enjoying a private villa is spending time outside. I’m happy to report we spent about four full days in the privacy of our villas’ outdoor space.

It’s worth commenting that there have been some reports of mosquitoes at the property. While this is accurate, I generally found that the mosquitoes came out after the sun set. During the day, in the bright sun, the area was pretty much mosquito free. I packaged insect repellent with me but I never needed to use it.

At around 5 o’clock when the sun started to set, and temperatures got a little bit cooler, I would get the odd mosquito bite at the Villa. We took care not to let any in, and we didn’t find that it impacted our stay in any meaningful way. This environment also translates into the resort not having any beachside restaurants where you can dine after dark.

If you’re really worried about mosquitoes, my advice would be not to worry too much about it. The resort does provide a small vial of mosquito insect repellent in the room, but we never even had the need to open it during our stay.

While the villa was spacious, I did end up missing the ocean front view. While it was considered a branded and Ocean Haven Villa, aside from the fact that you were close to the ocean, there isn’t much ocean views.

Generally speaking, I was really happy with the value and use of the Nightly Upgrade awards at the W Ko Samui. The stay was made better by leveraging Marriott Bonvoy Titanium Status and getting the sixth night upgraded for free in the elevated room. The Ocean Front Haven Villa was exceptionally comfortable. My most favorite feature were the large windows overlooking the small infiniti pool.

Around the Hotel Property:

The W Ko Samui Pool “Wet Deck”

Almost every W features a pool area they call the W Wet Deck. At the W Ko Samui the wet deck was located partially between the upper slope of the lobby and the lower ground level of the beach. The wet deck was landscaped into the environment with cat views over green canopy.

The wet deck featured towels, loungers and an outdoor foozball table. However since most rooms are villas all have their own private pools resulting in the wet deck being a pretty quiet place to be.

The only time we would end up using the W Wet Deck was during our check out day, prior to leaving for the airport.

Gym & Spa:

Underneath the pool and Wet Deck was the gym and the spa. The gym was open 24 hours a day and a nice air-conditioned space with daylight windows.

The spa next-door was made available to us on checkout day for a courtesy shower before our flight. Both spaces were sleek and contemporary.

The W Ko Samui Beach:

The W Ko Samui resort is located on Ocean front property. From our Ocean Haven Villa, we walked the short distance to the W Ko Samui beach.

Unfortunately the W Ko Samui beach isn’t the best beach when it comes to worldwide beach resorts. Most of the sound is quite coarse and you won’t find that white powdery sand you might get in the Maldives or the Caribbean at this particular location. The wave breaks are quite a ways out and you won’t have the sound of waves crashing against the shore either.

Along with many resort beaches, there was opportunities to get beach massages at offers or prices. I enjoyed a few Thai massages for ฿400 an hour. This was a great value against the resort spa prices.

It’s also worth mentioning that the W Ko Samui does not maintain a very large beachfront lounge area. While the beach has some shade, it’s a pretty warm place.

The Sweet Spot:

One of the neat features of the W Ko Samui are there “the sweet spot” ice stations.

Strategically located around the W Ko Samui, the sweet spot offers an ice station, a soda bar, and an ice cream freezer chest. You’re able to help yourself at any time to soft drinks and ice cream. What a terrific idea!

The ice cream offered some local brands, although there were also some international flavours. It’s unique and strange to have a Taro ice cream sandwich, although I did also fill up on chocolate and strawberry Cornetto’s cones as well. This was a frequent stop after dinner and I really enjoyed this feature.

Food and Beverage:

There were a few food and beverage options on the resort at the W Ko Samui. While the pricing was not as high as we would find on our private island experience at the W Maldives, the pricing was elevated and you certainly paid for the “on resort” convenience.

Overall I did find the food offerings to be a little bit better than average. I certainly didn’t have any complaints but some of the food was not all too exciting.

The Kitchen Table

Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Breakfast

The Kitchen Table is the resort’s all day dining option. It is the only option open for breakfast, which started at an early 7:00 AM and ran to 10:30 AM. The Kitchen Table was located underneath the fabulous Woo Bar pool.

The Kitchen Table breakfast offer a complementary Australian sparkling wine and Smirnoff bloody Mary’s. Mrs. World Traveller 73 really enjoyed this as a free flow breakfast is always something she can get into. We spent a few relaxing mornings getting going, with this complimentary feature.

The W Ko Samui room rates typically include a buffet breakfast for two. If you’re staying on a Marriott Bonvoy redemption, breakfast is not included. Given that we had selected breakfast as our Marriott Bonvoy elite welcome amenity as a Marriott Bonvoy Titanium level member, we were given full access to the buffet without additional charge.

As you might expect from a W resort, the buffet is expensive and fulsome. There was an egg station offering all sorts of eggs including omelettes, stand alone eggs such as poached or fried, along with more elaborate Eggs Benedict’s. There was also dim sum stations and other Asian oriented items such as congee and miso soups.

Over the course of our stay I’d enjoy eggs Benedict, avocado toast and smoked salmon Benedict. All of them were freshly prepared on a made to order basis, and tasty.

We also enjoyed a dinner at the kitchen table on the night of our arrival. We ended up going for convenience sake and saved the authentic Thai food for when we were off property. We enjoyed a light dinner of Club House and Turkey sandwiches.

Woo Bar:

One of the most iconic bars in the entire W Hotels by Marriott system is the Woo Bar at the W Ko Samui. Much has been made of its rooftop pool deck with a sunken booths in the middle of the fountain. It’s featured on many marketing materials throughout the world.

We enjoyed a tranquil sunset drink up here at the bar. However with the Woo bars northern facing rotation, there is an actually much of a sunset view here at all. Instead the views are towards the northern island of Ko Pha Ngan.

There is something about seeing this iconic view from the Woo Bar at the W Ko Samui. It’s certainly a peaceful view and looking north towards Ko Pha Ngan is a nice way to spend your Thai holiday.

Sip:

The W Ko Samui offers a similar “Sip” waterfront bar that offers their actual sunset drink bar. Sip is located right on the water on the western side of the resort property. The other on property restaurant “Nomu”, which offers Japanese food, is also located nearby.

Sip the beach area was very much a daytime operation. There were a few mosquitoes that came out after dark making this place less appealing after the sun went down. This was fairly consistent with beach dining restaurants on the resort. All of the restaurants were all located indoors, after dark.

Regardless, we did enjoy beach sunsets here. It provided a really nice west facing view and with so few people on the property, we pretty much have the whole place for ourselves.

Checking Out of the W Ko Samui:

Our departing flights were on Bangkok Airways Ko Samui – Singapore which was departing at around 4 PM.

The night before departure, I approached the front desk with efforts to get a Marriott Bonvoy Titanium level late check out. While I had hoped for 2 PM, the best the hotel was able to accomodate was 1 PM.

During the pre-departure time, we were invited to use the Wet deck and shower at the spa. We enjoyed the Wet deck and used the shower amenities before departure, which were first class.

We ended up taking another W hotel car back to the Ko Samui International Airport for ฿600 ($16 USD). We were able to bill this to the room folio. Overall, it was more convenient than waiting for a Grab rideshare taxi, which was approximately the same price.

Check out was as expected and there were no mistakes on my folio. My Marriott Bonvoy elite qualifying nights and points posted without any issue.

Bottom Line: The W Ko Samui

Our stay at the W Ko Samui was one that was marked with full relaxation.

The best part of the state was the amount of privacy offered throughout the resort. The fact that we could enjoy a spacious ocean front Haven Villa and be on our own for the entire week, was something that I really enjoyed.

Aside from breakfast, the food on the resort wasn’t super exciting. This isn’t something that’s unusual for resort stays around the world. The service was pretty good, pleasant and I’d happily return.

Overall, the W Ko Samui is highly recommended. Despite being an older resort, i found great value for our Marriott Bonvoy points. I would easily return without any hesitation.

---

If you have stayed at the W Ko Samui, did you enjoy the spacious villas ?

---