Avani+ Samui: The stylish newest addition in Koh Samui

After a comfy flight with Bangkok Airways, we were picked up from the minuscule Koh Samui airport at the north of the islands. We were given a first-hand view of the chaos and frenetic pace of the touristy part of Koh Samui driving from the airport towards the south-western part of the Island. Motorbikes everywhere, vendors selling local street food, hustling and a host of tourist activities on display. But as we weaved our way down south, the island began to paint a different picture. The greenery started standing out, the road traffic died down until the vehicle arrived at the doorstep of Avani+ Samui a brand new hotel in Koh Samui in 2019. It was like a weight had been taken off our shoulders as we were greeted by ambient natural light and fruit flavoured ice creams with our favourite lemongrass towels to wipe our brows of sweat. After that first treat, we knew we were in for a treat at Avani+ Samui!

 

 

 

 

 

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Where is Avani+ Samui located

Avani+ Samui is located on the far south-west side of the island, far away from all the hustle and bustle associated with the north. There is not much around the resort which we believe is a very good thing if you want to disconnect. From the airport, it is an approximately a 45-minute private transfer ride to the Avani property.

How to get around

The Avani property is actually very small in size, in a good way, but they do an incredible job at making it feel large and exclusive. You never feel like anyone else is on the property and you have this private oasis to yourself. Walking around the property is by far the best option to get around the resort but if you are a bit of an explorer, Avani+ Samui has a range of mountain bikes at your service, stationed in front of the property, that you can take and ride around to explore the adjoining villages. We sure took them out for a stroll.

Dining at Avani+ Samui

If you are looking for a huge variation in a menu or several eateries, then this may not be for you. Avani+ Samui has one central area for eating, which is a beautifully well designed outdoor area overlooking the pool and beach. The morning buffet is delicious and you can choose from the à la carte menu for an excellent range of breakfast dishes. Healthy juice shot of the day is always served which was our favourite! There is a daily menu with a ride range of salads, sandwiches and hot meals to keep you full for lunch and at any other time of the day. For evenings you can select from a wide range of meals but we recommend that you choose off the menu the local Thai dishes as they are made with expertise and real herbs and spices. Chef Kien, big health passionate, always keeps you on your toes by preparing unique and exciting dishes every day. Several times during the week they host jazz musicians for the evening so you can enjoy your meal and a quiet beverage as you watch the sun go down with some great tunes.

If you are keen for a cooking class, you can experience going early to the market with Chef Kien to see his process in choosing fresh produce for his meals and then proceed later with his team to learn how to cook few Thai dishes. It is truly a personal and nice experience we recommend you to book.

Avani+ Samui Facilities

Avani+ Samui does a great job at catering for people from all walks of life. Having an adult pool is great for the couples and many rooms come with their own private plunge pool. There are actually two pools on property. There is a gym with all the equipment you need to get a sweat on to get rid of those last nights desserts. A trainer is also available if you need guidance in your health programme during your stay. We absolutely loved the complimentary Stand-Up Paddleboards and kayaks that you can use at any time after signing a waiver that you are a fully responsible person going on an adventure ;-). Many hotels charge for this privilege, so it’s a great value-added to have access to such entertainment at any time.

The Avani spa is located at the centre of the property and is a great way to settle in and relax the day away. They offer a range of services and always walking in you are greeted with the warmest of smiles which instantly lifts your own mood.

The team can also organize your tours to visit Koh Samui, in fact they have a full thick book of excursions for you to choose from! You can even visit the neighbouring small islands easily and are happy to share their local advice with you at the drop of a hat.

Rooms at Avani+ Samui

There are several types of rooms you can enjoy at Avani. We stayed in a Pool Villa. This was one of the rooms with our very own plunge pool. It backed right against the door to the room so we could literally jump from the bed and end up in the water, how cool is that? It was also quite chill and if you are looking to relax, this option, coupled with room delivery could be a great getaway for you.

The room size itself is great for a couple. In our room, we had enough room to lay out all four suitcases and bags, a lounge area in the bedroom and a king size bed which was massive. The bathroom section had a double vanity and looked out at the private pool. My favourite area was the outdoors areas which had the pool and the lounge couch. I probably spent a few hours working on my tan out here in the privacy of my own place.

Sustainability

An increasing trend with quality hotels is their push to reduce plastic waste. Avani has replaced plastic bottles in its room with glass bottles, which is something we are all thumbs up for. It was up to the customer to decide when they swap towels and linen so they are making big efforts to be sustainable, which believe us, is actually quite hard to do in Thailand (aka the land of plastics)

Discovery Loyalty Experiences at Avani+ Samui

As Discovery Loyalty members (Black level) we always make sure we book accordingly with what experiences there can be. There were two experiences we tried when we were staying here and both go on our highlights list. The first one is the half day long tail boat experience. We had our own boat driver for the morning and we visited two islands, one to relax and enjoy and the over Koh Tan, to snorkel along with the reef and spot as many sea creatures as possible. We like getting early starts, so we requested we leave at 07:30 am to get a jump on others. We got out and landed on Koh Madsum and had it all to ourselves (with a few fat piggies) for 2 hours before anyone else even arrived. After a bit of drone flying, we headed to the snorkelling spot for a swim, before heading back to Avani with huge grins on our faces.

The second experience and one of our favourite discovery loyalty experiences we have had to date is the Bonfire Private Beach dinner by Phang Ka Bay. After picking a day and time we wanted the experience to happen, we were absolutely blown away by what we saw. We were expecting something like a picnic on the beach as the sun went down, but this was something totally unexpected. There was a BBQ set up with all our food laid out, waiting to be cooked upon our command. The actually eating area, was like a private couch area on the sand, facing the calm waters so we could witness the sun setting over the resort. The candles illuminated our food and face as the sun went own as we ate way too many meats, vegetables, salads, local dishes and seafood. The drinks we were able to order were limitless and the service was another huge factor in making the experience magical. If you are here and are a Loyalty Discovery member, please book this experience.

Our Experience at Avani+ Samui

We loved the fact that everything about the property made us smile. From walking into the lobby, with pictures, swings and your very own pantry, it really felt more like a comfortable home away from home. The staff were always smiling and kept a really positive vibe about the place. There are a host of instagrammable walls and pictures everywhere so if you are that way inclined you can get snap happy and take plenty of pictures. Being on a beach in Thailand and having no one else there is a rarity, but it is commonplace for at Avani and that makes us smile. If you can, get the rooms that come with the private pool, it gives you that chance to get away from it all and be near water your whole day.

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