OUTRIGGER Koh Samui Beach Resort

Rooms and decor

OUTRIGGER Koh Samui Beach Resort on Lamai belongs to Outrigger Hospitality out of Hawaii — a group that knows Pacific beach resorts — and opened in its current form in 2018 on the east side of Koh Samui. The resort runs to 146 rooms in a white colonial-Thai style that mixes teak furniture with Thai cotton. Rooms begin with the 32 sqm Deluxe Garden View from around $130 and climb to a 70 sqm Beachfront Suite, all with a balcony and a bathroom that pairs a rain shower with a tub. Real reviews on Trip.com (9.0/10) keep landing on the same points: the rooms feel bigger than the price, they're clean and comfortable, and staff go out of their way for families.

Food and amenities

The standout here is the Edgewater Beach Club, sitting across the road and linked to the main resort by a footbridge. It holds 4 pools of varying sizes plus a 3-4 metre waterslide kids love, a shallow children's pool, and a long, slim beachfront pool for adults. Parents say in one voice that their kids never want to leave because of that slide. The free kids club runs 9:00-17:00 for ages 4-12, with carers and a daily activity schedule — the thing that lets parents slip off for a spa treatment or the market. The main restaurant is Sand Restaurant, serving a varied breakfast buffet and à la carte through lunch and dinner, while the Pool Bar pours cocktails and snacks. The spa is Spa Cenvaree, part of the Centara group, since Outrigger Lamai was formerly the Centara Grand Beach Resort Samui; it uses Thai herbal treatments. The resort scores 8.7/10 overall.

Location and getting there

Outrigger Lamai sits right on Lamai beach, which runs further south than Chaweng in a calmer spot — a stretch of sand about 4 kilometres long with gentle surf and clear water, clearly quieter than Chaweng. Lamai Walking Street, with its restaurants, fresh market, bars and massage shops, is roughly a 5-minute drive and has a buzzing Sunday-evening market. Samui Airport is 22 kilometres away, a 30-minute drive, and the resort arranges a private transfer for about $45-55. Chaweng and Fisherman Village are a 25-30 minute drive, so anyone expecting Chaweng within walking distance needs to factor in the travel time.

Things to know before booking

Straight talk to help you decide. First, it's a 25-30 minute drive to Chaweng and Fisherman Village, so if you're planning markets and nightlife in Chaweng every evening that's a full hour round-trip — the fix is to use Lamai as your base and lean on its own Walking Street, or split the trip with a few nights in Chaweng or Bophut. Second, the beach in front of the hotel is small, and the Edgewater Beach Club with its 4 pools is across the road, reached by a crosswalk — no hardship, but not truly beachfront either. Third, Booking sits at 8.3, below Trip's 9.0, and some Booking reviews grumble that the rooms have started to age since the 2018 renovation; it has been refreshed in places but isn't as brand-new as Centara Reserve, so ask for a Beachfront room or a suite when you book.

Our take

OUTRIGGER Koh Samui Beach Resort on Lamai is about the best-balanced pick for a 5-star family resort at a reachable price — the Edgewater Beach Club with 4 pools, a waterslide and a free kids club, a Lamai setting that's quieter than Chaweng and built for unwinding, and rooms from around $130. If the trip in your head is bringing the family to Samui so the kids can swim every day while the parents actually rest, this is the answer. If you're set on markets and nightlife every night, Lamai may feel far — look at Centara Reserve or Mercure Chaweng instead. Overall we give it 8.7/10, best suited to families with kids and couples who like Lamai's calm.