Phangan Beach Resort

The entrance to Phangan Beach Resort is impressive: two rusted iron arches, massive and angular, lead through to a verandah with a woven bamboo ceiling and views of the beach. Gravel paths wind through thickets of jungly greenery and past neat lawns and water features, leading to guests’ bungalows, and down to the beach-front restaurant and the powdery white Ban Tai beach. Similar to the reception, the hotel’s restaurant is open to the elements, with just a bamboo ceiling to protect the space from rain. Heavy dark-wood tables and chairs, as well as some traditional Thai seating (bolster cushions and low tables) are set on raised wooden platforms. There's also a small, freeform pool set in a scrap of lawn with some sun loungers, but the real focus of the resort is on the beach.

The Phangan Beach Resort is set on Ban Tai Beach, the longest unbroken stretch of powdery silver sand on Koh Phangan, with views across the crystal-blue waters of the Gulf of Thailand, and over to neighboring Koh Samui. The resort is located on the outskirts of Thong Sala, the island’s biggest town, where there are a number of shops, bars, and restaurants. Guests looking to travel to Haad Rin for the Full Moon Party face a 20-minute journey by taxi or tuk-tuk. The closest airport is Samui International, on the neighboring island, an 80-minute journey via ferry from Nathon Pier to Thong Sala. It takes three-and-a-half-hours to transfer from Surat Thani International Airport on the mainland.

Each of the 25 rooms at the Phangan Beach Resort is set in its own private cabana-style bungalow. Standard bungalows are traditional Thai constructions made out of bamboo varnished a rich brown with green tin roofs. Each has dark wood floors and doors, either two single beds or a double bed, and little else in the way of furniture. All bungalows have a minibar and a flat-screen TV, but not all of them have air-conditioning -- some of the Standard bungalows make do with ceiling fans. None of the bungalows have Wi-Fi.  Some bathrooms are ramshackle affairs, inside concrete lean-tos cobbled onto the bungalows’ sides, with a Western-style toilet, sink, and a shower attached to the wall. Deluxe bungalows are more solid constructions, if a little concrete-y, with king-size beds and a sliding patio door that leads to a deck with two wooden patio chairs. Their bathrooms are far from modern, but are less ramshackle than those of the other bungalows.

The Phangan Beach Resort doesn't offer its guests a huge list of amenities, and most guests are here for the low rates and beach access. The resort’s beachside restaurant serves both Western and Thai cuisine, as well as the beach bar, which does drinks and snacks. Out on the beach are hammocks and beach beds, as well as a net for volleyball. The large outdoor pool is nicely landscaped and has views of the ocean. There is a lounge room with couches and a pool table. Wi-Fi is free in the hotel’s restaurant and reception, but not in the bungalows.