Koh Talu Island Resort

Koh Talu Island Resort

Accommodation and facilities:
A wonderful paradiseisland

Reservation service:


Date: 5th February, 2012
Written by: Bjervik, Marie Elisabeth

Koh Talu Island Resort

Accommodation and facilities:
We travelled to Koh Talu in March with 3 small children (9months, 2,5Years and 4,5 years), and stayed 3 nights. Big Bay. Short version: It was great, and we look forward to return some day. The longer version.. When we arrived, it was a lot of tourist on the boat, more than expected, and we anticipated a crowded experience. But luckily for us it was just day trip tourists, and we had the whole beach for ourselves, great :) Our Thai Style villa was very close to the beach (4 meters from the stairs of our villa), and this is perfect when you have small children, that needs the toilet etc. The Thai Style Villa: Very big and nice room. Air Con. Bath with tiles, and was ok. It's not a 5 star, but worked for us. Nice porch where you can enjoy the view. Electricity was switched off a couple of hours during the day, but this was no problem for us.. Food: First a bit disappointing. We came a bit late for lunch, and much of the food was gone..and with picky kids, that is a challenge.. But this and everything else was effectively fixed by the staff. I discussed the situation with the staff and said that the food is way too spicy for kids, and there are little food left. The result was that they actually made dishes just for us, and added french fries, spaghetti and meat without spicy sauce. We were also the only tourist in two of the evenings (because of bad weather forecasts), and we could choose our own menu. Great food for both kids, and adults. The Thai food served there was excellent. Great placement for the restaurant, close to the sea. Free water, juice and coffee. Staff: Fixed everything Quickly put an extra children’s bed in our room, carried our luggage, played and entertained our smallest kid whenever we ate, so we could enjoy our meals. Our advice: If something is not as expected, just inform them before you complain, and they fix it right away. Other: The massage hut, had a fantastic placement, where you could enjoy the sea/beach view while having a great massage. Great people. The also fixed and colored the nails on our two oldest girls. They loved it. The beach is beautiful, but you will have to walk very long before it starts to get a bit deep. Perfect for small kids though. Kayaking was free, and very nice. Snorkeling: We went to two spots: The first was just different corals with little fish, and very shallow water. Ok. The second place had a lot of fish, and started at 0,5m and gradually got very deep. This is a fantastic snorkeling point. Did not try scuba diving, forgot my certificate back in Norway, and was not allowed to scuba dive...:( Staff here did not speak English at all.. Free rental of masks, but I would prefer to bring my own.. If you are going there for a daytrip just for snorkeling, make sure the weather has been good for a couple of days before you go, otherwise the visibility is very poor. The return schedule to the mainland was not clear to us, and we misunderstood it. We had to leave early, because of a long trip directly to Pattaya, but the boat was going six hours later than we expected. We asked about this (the day before we left), and they arranged a boat that fitted our plans. Improvements: Things are being washed up to the beach and this should definitely be cleaned more often. Also some garbage lying around. Too few people speak good English, but still, we managed to understand each other. The coffee in the container was horrible, and I’m glad I’m still alive after trying that. They clearly don’t know the meaning of fresh coffee. The dried (powder) coffe was ok. To sum up: Very very nice experience, and we will definitely go back there. Lovely and peaceful place. The price is high, but we think it is good value for money. 3 nights stay was perfect for us.

Reservation service:
Very good. Quick response, and did not experience any problems.

Date: 18th May, 2011
Written by: Yngve Michael Sem

Koh Talu Island Resort

Accommodation and facilities:
Expensive, but worth every Baht. The location, the scenery, the snorkling, the food, the service, the ..., was absolutely great. We had a three day/two night package which is perfect, but could easily have stayed longer. Paradise - no less.

Reservation service:
I ve booked through siamwebhosting.com many times and the booking have always been reliable. The booking and payment process is however cumbersome, and could be much improved.

Date: 30th April, 2011
Written by: Palle J

Koh Talu Island Resort

Accommodation and facilities:
Perfect location for a paradise retreat. Rooms look ok at first glance but were a bit of a dissapointment after all. The shower is located outside at the back of the room and the toilet cleanliness left big room for hope. Service was good and other faciliteis were also fine after getting over the outside shower and bathroom in the hotel. Koh Talu was however worth the experience and the place has enormous potential with a little investment and effort. How about solar panels, instead of the generators providing power for the island?

Reservation service:


Date: 13th April, 2011
Written by: Etelävuori Patrik Filip

Koh Talu Island Resort

Accommodation and facilities:
We stayed at the resort for five nights, which was a bit too long for our taste, the reason beeing that there were too little trekking possibilities and the water in the bay was so shalllow, taht you had to walk very far to be able to swim. But there were snokeling trips every day andt this was excellent. ther were two little trekking trips and that vere ok, thougt. The sorrundings in the lodge were kept tidy but we were supprised to see all the rubbish as soon as you went outside to go on the small trekking trips. We had a Thai Bungalow in Big Bay, and it was quite nice and big with two doubble beds and one single and a good teracce with lots of furniture and a beautiful view. The cleaning could be better, as they did not wash the floor and toilet while we vere there. They swept the floor, made the beds, emtied the bins and changed the towels every day, though. The restaurant was good with a beautiful wiev and a friendly service and the drinks not all that expensive. We bought a pakkage which included full board, trips, kayaks, sunbeds, tea, coffee, drinking water and juices, and that was good. The lodge has many steps and the the landing on the pier a bit difficult, so do not go there if you are not staedy on your feet. There was a beach bar with music every nigth, nothing spectacular, but a lot of peopler seemed to go there every night, as that was all yuo could do. If you want a place with peace and quiet and excellent snorkling, do not hesitate to go there.

Reservation service:


Date: 27th February, 2011
Written by: Dorte Brondum Sorensen

Koh Talu Island Resort

Accommodation and facilities:
We had rats in the room , paid high rate and got really not value for the money waiting for your feedback,

Reservation service:


Date: 26th July, 2010
Written by: Pedersen

Koh Talu Island Resort

Accommodation and facilities:
Koh Talu is a lovely little island. The island's location is fantastic. There are good bathing opportunities in very clean water. Moreover, there are also good opportunities for snorkeling. There are few tourists and it is easy to find peace and tranquility. There is served good food.Breakfast Lunch and dinner.Do You Need masage, this is highly recommended. We have visited the island twice and would like to return. All the best Karin Kjærgaard

Reservation service:
It is Easy,but you have to pay all in advance.

Date: 27th February, 2010
Written by: Karin Hegnet Kjærgaard

Koh Talu Island Resort

Accommodation and facilities:
Expensive compared to the standard of the rooms, BUT an absolutely lovely petite island. If You seek laidback solitude on a paradise beach with very few tourists per day (in july) this is a place to visit, If you dont expect a luxury resort for the money and will cope with genuine thai style cooking served as set dinner or buffet depending on the number of tourists on the island, we can only recomend the resort although a bit overpriced but with a fantastic scenery, and helpfoul staff (who by the way dont speak very good english but in thai manner and a smile always seem to fix everything to the best anyway) The snorkeling was ok the prices in the beach bar was ok and the foodprices was also ok. Ala carte was also possible in a way, you told the staff att lunch what you wanted for dinner and the fixed it :-) So if you can live outside five star luxury resorts and want a piece of thailand for your own, go to Talu

Reservation service:
perfect

Date: 20th November, 2009
Written by: Thomas Lidholm

Koh Talu Island Resort

Accommodation and facilities:
First I would like to say that we really enjoyed our two night stay at Koh Talu. It is a tropical paradise with a great beach and the room (Big Bay Deluxe) was fantastic. Breakfast was not so good. They could use some decent coffee. Get an espresso maker and charge for a latte. People would pay for good coffee. I have three complaints. First, the boat ride from Baan Saphan is way too expensive - 900 baht per person is ridiculous. Second, when I made the reservation, someone at another resort pointed out to me that this was not a good season in the Gulf of Thailand because of wind. The water would be cloudy. I e-mailed a Mr. Thawatchi about this and he assured me that It's the best time to visit the Gulf of Thailand over Noverber - January since the water is very clear. This was NOT TRUE. The only reason we went to Koh Talu was to snorkel and the snorkeling sucked. The other problem with Koh Talu is that few of the staff speak English and it was very unclear what was going on much of the time. When we would ask, we would get blank stares from the staff. Get someone there who can speak to the guests! For example, we found out by accident that the equipment on the island (snorkeling gear, kayaks, etc.) could be used for free. Very nice, but how would anyone know? The boat had a schedule of 9:00 and 3:00, but seemed to come and go at all times. Very confusing. Lunch and dinner were DELICIOUS, but we didn't find out until we left how much they cost (very reasonable, as it turned out). We were told a snorkeling trip on the boat left at 9:00, told someone we wanted to go, and showed up at 8:45 only to see the boat driving off. Another family was left, as well. Very confusing! BUT, I still say we enjoyed our time there and it was beautiful and our room was amazing and we enjoyed the lunch and dinner. The island needs some decent coffee, someone who can effectively communicate with guests, and an information card that gives details about the island.

Reservation service:
The booking service was fine. My only complaint was that they asked for a deposit and when I went to make the deposit online, I was suddenly paying for the entire thing. Not really a problem, but what if I had decided NOT to go? How quickly would my money have been refunded? There was nothing on the website that said the payment was in full. It asked for a deposit.

Date: 2nd January, 2009
Written by: Patrick Preisinger

Koh Talu Island Resort

Accommodation and facilities:
We booked a deluxe room on Pearl Bay beach. We were the only people booked in to this beach. The rooms are extremely basic. Bed was very hard, smelly and covered in sand (not by us). No fridge and only cold running water. No information about facilities, the island or whats on etc. We were in the middle of eating breakfast at 9am (after a really uncomfortable night) when a member of staff approached us to ask us if we wanted to go snorkelling with the boat. When we asked what time, she said 9am! We found out too late that Pearl Bay is mainly set up for the Thai people (their words, not mine) and Big Bay is for the tourists and is, apparently more comfortable. We were booked in for 2 nights but gave up after the first night. The prices of the speed boat to the island (20 minute trip - 900baht per person), food, drink and activities were very expensive (snorkelling trip was 200baht per person). There did not seem to be any way of exploring the island that we could find - just the 2 main beaches and a small beach just south of Big Bay. We didn't find the staff particularly helpful or friendly and we were very concerned at one point to find a couple of the staff pouring some foul smelling liquid into the beautiful azure waters of Big Bay, just by the restaurant. I dread to think what it was but, going by the smell, I don't think it was very nice. This place should be paradise but we were very disappointed.

Reservation service:
Booking was very smooth but maybe not 100% honest about the different resorts/beaches. After we complained and said we were leaving a day early, we were told by a member of staff, who seemed to be someone in the know (?management), that Pearl Bay is not designed for tourists and that Big Bay is more suitable for Farangs I suggested that it needed to be made clearer on the website and he agreed with me. I doubt, though, that anything has been done about it on the website.

Date: 10th November, 2008
Written by: Anthony Michael Holt

Koh Talu Island Resort

Accommodation and facilities:
We stayed at the Pearl Bay at Koh Talu, and as far as I understood we were the only foreigners there as they were mainly placed at the Big Bay. We really loved the Pearl Bay, it felt like having been washed away to this sleepy and small village (with excellent food available three times a day and good opportunities for snorkling etc. though). The accommodation was uncomplicated but clean. The only minus was that the electricity was off daily for a couple of hours and there were no fridges in the rooms. Otherwise excellent. We walked also to the Big Bay but it seemd too fancy for us... the Pearl Bay was much more down-to-earth and romantic.

Reservation service:
The booking service was fast and efficient, worked very well. It was also the only place where we could book the more affordable Pearl Bay accommodation, as all the vendors offered as the more expensive Big Bay resort.

Date: 27th October, 2008
Written by: Ulla Hytti

Koh Talu Island Resort

Accommodation and facilities:
The resort was excellent. Friendly staff, excellent food, good snorkeling and an interesting walk around the island. We will certainly come back. 2-3 nights is an optimal stay.

Reservation service:
Booking service was quick, accurate and flexible. We changed our arrival one time without hussle.

Date: 1st July, 2008
Written by: Leif Wicklund

Koh Talu Island Resort

Accommodation and facilities:
Simple accommodation, with air con. The island has VG food. It will suit people looking for an away from it all atmosphere. Popular with Thai people and main activities are water based, with lots of snorkleing. The staff were very helpful. If you need shoping & entertainment on tap then this may not be the place for you. You can get a massage, eat well & relax. The beaches are good but some areas have some washed up flotsome which needs to be cleared up. A very simple natural place.

Reservation service:
I had difficulty with the booking service.

Date: 18th May, 2008
Written by: Mrs Nairn