Anantara Bophut Koh Samui Resort

Rooms and decor

Anantara Bophut opened in 2009 right on Bophut Beach, on the north coast of Koh Samui and just a 5-minute walk from Fisherman Village — the best location in Samui's 5-star set. The resort has 126 rooms and suites in a Thai-Sri Lankan colonial style that blends teak and marble with Lankan touches like arched doorways and carved stone furniture. Rooms start at the 50sqm Deluxe Garden View and run up to the 110sqm Pool Suite with a private jacuzzi pool; every room has a balcony with a day bed, a marble bathroom with a rain shower, and Anantara signature toiletries. Real reviews on Trip.com (9.2/10) agree the rooms feel calm and shaded, the gardens are deeply green, the bedding is soft, and there are good photo angles all over the resort.

Food and amenities

The highlight at Anantara Bophut is High Tide, the main restaurant whose breakfast buffet many guests call the best on Samui. The draw is the live egg station, where the chef cooks to order any way you like — Eggs Benedict, omelette, scrambled, poached — with crispy bacon, sausages and fresh-baked bread, plus Thai, Western, Indian, fruit and bakery spreads. Elsewhere there is the Full Moon Lounge for tapas and cocktails, and a beachfront Beach Restaurant serving fresh seafood. The Anantara Spa uses Anantara signature products and Thai herbal treatments and is widely rated best on Samui for couples, with a hammam, vichy shower and couple's rooms. The Spice Spoons cooking class teaches Thai and international dishes with a morning fresh-market visit and a private chef, well suited to couples. There is a large central pool with a separate Kids Pool and a small kids' club. Overall score: 9.2/10.

Location and getting there

Anantara Bophut sits right on Bophut Beach, a 5-minute walk from Fisherman Village — a location that is hard to match. Fisherman Village is a 700-metre beachfront street of old colonial buildings now turned into restaurants, bars and boutiques, and on Friday it becomes a Walking Street from 17:00 to 22:00, with the road closed for a long market selling food and souvenirs from about $1.50 to $6. Samui Airport is 8km away, a 15-minute drive — the closest in the luxury group. Chaweng is 15 minutes by car, Big Buddha 10 minutes, and Choeng Mon 15 minutes.

Things to know before booking

Straight talk to help you decide. First, the main pool gets crowded over peak season (December to February, plus Songkran); reviewers complain that guests reserve sunbeds from 7am, leaving latecomers without a seat. The fix is to get up early and grab a spot before 8am, or use the quieter pool at the Pool Suites. Second, the beach goes shallow at low tide — in the morning Bophut Beach can drop so low that you can wade 50 to 100 metres out and still be only knee-deep, so swim at high tide or use the resort pool. Third, resort dining is pricey: a meal at the Beach Restaurant runs about $43 to $100 a head, while walking out to Fisherman Village costs roughly half and tastes more authentically Thai — use the resort mainly for the breakfast buffet.

Our take

Anantara Bophut Koh Samui Resort is the most well-rounded 5-star pick when you want to walk into the market and nightlife of Bophut Fisherman Village every day. It combines a prime beachfront location steps from the market, a top-rated Anantara Spa, and that live egg-station breakfast. If the trip in your head is slow, adults-and-couples luxury in a boutique-heritage district, this is a very strong answer. If you expect deep water you can swim in any time, or you want true ultra-luxe, the Four Seasons or Vana Belle will suit you better. Overall we give it 9.2/10, best for couples and adults travelling together.