Sheraton Samui Resort Review: Chaweng Noi, Koh Samui (2026)

Verdict: Sheraton Samui Resort scores 6.8 out of 10

Sheraton Samui Resort scores 6.8 out of 10 in the Samui69 file. It is a 141-room, 5-star resort on Chaweng Noi bay, about 15 minutes from the airport, and it suits families with young children and beach-and-breakfast people who want a calm bay and staff who look after them. It is a poor match for guests with reduced mobility, anyone who wants modern renovated rooms, and nightlife seekers without transport: access scores 3.6 and condition 4.6. Rooms started around 4,400 THB (~126 USD) a night in the sources checked on 1 October 2026.

Method: 157 guest reviews read one by one, 61 on Tripadvisor, 80 on HolidayCheck and 16 on Trip.com, with about 52% from the last 18 months. Booking.com, Agoda and HotelsCombined gave aggregate scores only. Checked 1 October 2026. Every judgement below is what guests report or what the file shows.

What does the brochure say?

The resort opened in 1986 as the Imperial Samui Beach Resort and now runs under the Sheraton flag, with a last renovation in 2015. It stands on Chaweng Noi Beach, the small bay south of the main Chaweng strip, and the address is 86 Moo 3. On paper it offers 141 rooms on a wooded hillside, two pools (a lobby pool and a beachfront pool), the StarKid kids club, Glow Spa, a free 24 h fitness room, a free tennis court, free kayaks and paddleboards, and a breakfast buffet spread over three rooms. Dining is Long Talay (Thai), the Blue Monkey beach bar and Coco Scoop.

Two lines are hotel claims that no guest in the file confirms in detail: an ASEAN Green Hotel certificate with grey water recycling, and laundry service. Pets are not allowed. Parking is free on site. The file found no closure or rebrand, so the resort is open.

What do guests actually report?

Platform scores look healthy. Tripadvisor shows 4.2 out of 5 from 1,225 reviews. HolidayCheck shows 5.0 out of 6 from 135 reviews, with 86% recommending the hotel. Trip.com gives 9.0 out of 10 from 263 reviews. Booking.com sits at 8.4 from 503 reviews, Agoda at 8.7 and HotelsCombined at 8.6 from 949.

The 157-review sample shows where the Samui69 score of 6.8 comes from:

The file shows a resort with a great setting and a warm team, carried by a building that has aged. About 35 of 157 guests call the rooms dated or ask for a renovation, and about 22 flag the stairs and the hill. Staff are named in praise by guests (Sukit, Atitaya, Nan, Sai and Pho appear in several reviews), and slow baggage or slow beach service is reported only a handful of times.

What are the rooms like?

Rooms score 6.0 with 40 positive and 34 negative mentions. Guests describe them as spacious and clean, but the last refit was in 2015 and the complaints are consistent: worn or dated furniture, tiles that came off once, and in one room a leaking roof and gaps in the shutters. Sea views are reported as a strength from hillside balconies (14 positive, 4 negative), although one guest says there was no sea view as promised, and some rooms face service areas.

Beds score 6.0. Comfortable beds are praised by some, but about 15 reviews mention loud or weak air conditioning, and a few each mention a hard mattress or thin walls. Bathrooms score 5.2: dated tiles, low shower pressure, drain flooding and fan odour. Cleanliness is mixed at 6.8. Rooms and grounds are called spotless by 32 guests, while about 7 report a sewage or drain smell and others a dirty kettle or stained seating.

How good are the pools and the beach?

The beach is the strongest physical asset. It scores 8.8 with 62 positive and 9 negative mentions: a private-feeling bay with white sand, a gentle slope, clear warm water and no crowds. The complaints are small: some litter, broken loungers, too few chairs and early towel reserving. For the wider bay, read the Chaweng Noi beach guide.

The resort has two pools, a lobby pool and a beachfront pool, and they score 6.6 with 24 positive and 18 negative mentions. Guests praise a quiet top pool and the setting. The recurring problems are a rough, sandpaper-like coating that scratches children, a sloped beach pool with rocky edges, and few loungers.

Grounds score 6.8: lush waterfall gardens, a free e-buggy, and a steep hillside. One guest counts about 80 steps to the pool, and others mention dark stairwells. The buggy helps, but reviews say it runs irregularly. Free kayaks, paddleboards and a tennis court sit under wellness, which scores 6.8. Entertainment is thin, and HolidayCheck guests rate sport at 4.1 out of 6.

What are the food, drink and spa like?

Breakfast is the best food story in the file: 50 positive and 8 negative mentions, score 8.5. The buffet spans three rooms and guests call it huge, varied and fresh. The complaints are that some items are not hot, fruit comes canned, and the breakfast room without air conditioning is warm.

Restaurants score 7.2 (25 positive, 12 negative). Guests call the Thai food excellent. The negatives are pricey extras, a limited menu for all-inclusive guests and a few who found it below the Sheraton standard. The file shows no all-inclusive plan as a default; ask the hotel which meal plan your rate carries. The Blue Monkey beach bar scores 6.7: guests like the sea-view cocktails and dislike prices, music and slow service.

Glow Spa scores 6.5 from a small base: 7 positive and 4 negative mentions. One guest calls the massage blissful, another reports a missed appointment, and a third says there are too few therapists, so book ahead. The gym is free, open 24 h and scores 7.2, with one power cut and one broken machine on record.

Where does Sheraton Samui fall short?

Condition. It is the worst physical score in the file: 4.6, with 10 positive and 45 negative mentions. Reviews name worn furnishings, rust, broken loungers and power trips, and “needs renovation” appears in more than 30. Some guests say the place is older but well kept.

Access. Accessibility scores 3.6 (4 positive, 22 negative). There is no lift, the site is a steep hillside, and the buggy is irregular. Reduced mobility is a poor match.

Smell and noise. About 7 guests report a sewage or drain smell, and about 15 report loud air conditioning. Quiet still scores 7.0 (25 positive, 14 negative), because the bay itself is calm; the negatives are AC hum, thin walls, restaurant exhaust, cruise crowds and construction.

Value. The entry rate of about 4,400 THB (~126 USD) sits below the roughly 6,000 THB (~171 USD) median for 5-star resorts in the file, and the peak rate reaches about 7,500 THB (~214 USD). Value scores 6.8 with 22 positive and 20 negative mentions: several guests say quality is good for the price, others call it dated for a 300 EUR night and point to pricey extras.

Who should book, and who should not?

Book it if you are:

• a family with young children who want a shallow, calm bay and the StarKid kids club
• a beach and breakfast lover who values a quiet bay and named, attentive staff
• a couple on a calm stay, including anniversary or honeymoon set-ups guests praise
• a guest who wants a 5-star label at a below-median entry rate and accepts older rooms

Skip it if you are:

• travelling with reduced mobility, or with a pet
• hunting for modern, renovated rooms
• a nightlife seeker without transport, since Chaweng centre needs a taxi or the shuttle that runs every 2 to 4 hours
• a light sleeper sensitive to air conditioning hum

Pros and cons

Pros

• Staff praised in about 75 reviews against 10 negative
• Calm white-sand private bay (62 positive, 9 negative)
• Large varied breakfast buffet, about 50 positive mentions
• StarKid kids club and a good family fit
• Lush gardens, a free buggy, tennis and kayaks

Cons

• Dated rooms from the 2015 refit; about 35 guests want renovation
• Steep hill, no lift and many stairs
• Loud air conditioning and about 7 sewage smell reports
• Rough pool surfaces and too few loungers
• Pricey extras

What are the alternatives?

• Chaweng Regent Beach Resort: scores 7.2 in the file, on the main Chaweng strip with lush gardens and two pools. Staff praise is strong, but about 26 guests report plane and nightlife noise, which the Sheraton’s quiet bay avoids.
• Hyatt Regency Koh Samui: scores 7.0, five cascading pools and Camp Hyatt for families. Its beach is rocky and coarse, reported as unswimmable by about 38 guests, so the Sheraton’s sand is the better swim.

For the trip from the airport, see the airport to Chaweng guide and the getting around guide. Free kayaks are covered in the kayaking and SUP guide.

FAQ

Is Sheraton Samui Resort all inclusive?

The file shows no default all-inclusive plan. Some guests mention an all-inclusive menu that they found limited, and pricey extras come up in reviews. Ask the hotel which meal plan your rate includes.

Where is Sheraton Samui Resort and how far is it from the airport?

It is on Chaweng Noi Beach, Bophut, Koh Samui, about 15 minutes from the airport. Chaweng centre needs a taxi or the free shuttle, which guests say runs every 2 to 4 hours.

Does the Sheraton have a private beach?

Guests describe a quiet white-sand bay that feels private, with clear warm water and few crowds, praised in about 60 reviews. Some mention litter, broken loungers and too few chairs.

Is Sheraton Samui good for families?

Yes, with caveats. Families score it 8.2 in the file (25 positive, 5 negative): the StarKid kids club, the shallow beach and family rooms are praised. A rough coating on the kids pool has scratched children, and the hillside has many stairs for prams.

Are there photos of the rooms and pools?

The photos on this page show the pools, beachfront, a twin room, a suite, the lobby lounge and two dining spots. The hotel also publishes its own gallery on its Marriott page.

What do the review platforms say?

Tripadvisor 4.2 out of 5 from 1,225 reviews (Tripadvisor page), HolidayCheck 5.0 out of 6 from 135 reviews (HolidayCheck page) and Trip.com 9.0 out of 10 from 263 reviews. Booking.com and Agoda are higher still. The Samui69 score is lower because it weights condition, access and value, where the complaints gather.