The Sunflower, Koh Chang, Thailand

Pros:
- Clean room, high-quality mattress, very comfortable.
- Our mid-range, wooden bungalow had large windows and was delightful to sit in during the day. Peaceful. Nice breeze.
- The movie nights were great. New movies shown every night around 7.
- Decent location. A quiet area about a 10 minute walk from the sandy beach.

Cons:
- We got robbed and the owner told us that break-ins happen 2 or 3 times a year there. Electronics and passports were stolen. It was one of the worst things that have ever happened to us and I wish the owner (Thomas) had given some warning other than the boiler-plate liability posting that every hotel in the world sticks on the door.
- The bungalows are not safe in general. There are no cameras anywhere and parts of the compound are very dark and desertedaround. An Australian girl told us that two Thai guys broke into her room in the middle of the night and didn't leave until she started screaming. I know this is anecdotal, but having been robbed we were inclined to believe her.
- Our bungalow had no hooks, racks or sink. There was no where to hang our towels and swimsuits.
- I rented a motorcycle and they tried out 3 before finding me one that mostly worked. The gas tank was on fumes and I ran out of gas before reaching the first corner store selling gas bottles. The tires were half flat and I popped a tube after an hour and had to replace it at a mechanic. They didn't refund me the cost of the repairs. They showed me the waiver which says they don't cover flat tires, but I'd never seen or signed it. I didn't dispute it because the tube replacement was only 150 baht, but it was disappointing on principle.

Overall

2

Location

4

Cleanliness

4

Value

3

Facilities

5

Service

1

collegetravel stayed here in Oct '11

This is a Trusted Review. Why?

Wonderful place to stay. Thomas the owner is friendly, helpful and makes you feel at home. Bungalows are set in the forest, just a little way from the beach, chilled and lovely. Will be returning to the wonderful Lonely Beach.

Overall

4

Location

3

Cleanliness

3

Value

3

Facilities

4

Service

5

Miss Rice stayed here in Feb '11

We booked online a couple of nights prior to arriving here. When we arrived it was quite late having travelled from Sihanoukville in Cambodia that day so we were rather tired and looking forward to crawling into our pre-booked bed!

However, when we arrived the owner/manager had no knowledge of our online booking. Great.

The manager did, however, speak to one of her friends/colleagues who owned a guesthouse down the road and arranged for us to stay there. This turned out to be an upgrade as the room we got had air-con and we had only paid for a fan room.

So, maybe don't bother booking for this place, just rock up and try your luck. That does seem to be the way in most of Asia!

Overall

2

Location

4

Cleanliness

1

Value

1

Facilities

1

Service

1

aj_mckay (Travellerspoint Budding Member) stayed here in Jan '10

This is a Trusted Review. Why?

Date of stay 11/jan 2010
Selection of huts with all you need for a cheap stay. Walking distance to the beach, and situated at the lower part of the village. Feel of a family atmosphere about the place with Thomas the laid back dad.
Food is good plus the added benifit of modern movies every night untill ten. Only down side too close to Ting Tong bar which has the boom boom until 3am, so if your not partying may be a problem.

Overall

3

Location

2

Cleanliness

3

Value

3

Facilities

3

Service

3

sims.rob03 stayed here in Jan '10

This is a Trusted Review. Why?

We were due to stay on Koh Chang for about a week but our arrival time (8pm) meant that we had to book somewhere for the first night before travelling. The only place we could book was the Sunflower so we did - 600thb per night so we booked just one night.

When we arrived, very tired after a 12 hour coach journey from Siem Reap, we were met by Thomas, a very amiable German, who owns the Sunflower. He told us that the Sunflower was full but, when this is the case, he also puts people in the huts across the lane. We thought this was a bit of a con. He said the standard of the rooms was the same and the one we had did have a mosquito net, bathroom with hot shower and towels but, like the Sunflower, it was a five minute walk or more to the beach and the view from our hut was non-existant.

Next day, I walked down the beach to the Nature Beach Resort and secured a 700thb room for 650thb per night for three nights (we actually stayed for seven). The room was much better than the first room, we could see the beach and the sea from our verandah and the whole place had a holiday air about it - the bar and restaurant were superb. Far more preferrable than the Sunflower or the ones across the lane.

Overall

1

Location

1

Cleanliness

1

Value

1

Facilities

1

Service

1

stevehmatt stayed here in Jan '10