Sabai Resort by MANATHAI Surin

My first time to Thailand for me and my Partner. I looked at the reviews for Manathai before coming and obviously any negative ones will make you wonder if you have made the right choice. Personally I think anyone who gave this place less than 4 stars needs their head examined. I say this as I will typically measure the experience overall, and for us it was absolutely top notch. We arrived at night so really couldn't appreciate any views or surroundings but we were met with warmth and friendliness the minute we arrived. From then on in it was the same each and every minute of every day. I'm in the service industry and I was blown away by the consistency of service from the front of house staff and housekeeping. Absolutely noone walked past without a huge smile and a really genuine "Sewasdee" this made me feel valued, especially Ibrahim who always came from behind the desk to greet me personally and ask how my day had been, what our plans were. My Partner has an extreme phobia of lizards (We didn't know she would be as bad as she was) but the staff didn't laugh or joke or make her feel embarrassed. They were nothing but sensitive and understanding and we truly appreciated it. I agree with some of the comments about some aspects of the decor possibly in need of a touch up but this didn't detract from my overall stay. The rooms are designed to give you maximum space but with that we found the wardrobe space a bit tight so ended up living out of our cases. We had a room where you could slip straight into the pool, so I guess rooms without this feature may have had a slightly different design and possibly more wardrobe space. The food was delicious and consistent, agree a little pricier than eating out but didn't bother me as I knew what I was getting and it's important to me I don't ruin a holiday by getting an upset stomach. Breakfast was worth waking up to, so much so I'd race my partner to the shower to get eating. It is served between 06:30 and 11am which we found great for lie-ins or early starts like if we were going to the Phi Phi Islands and had to get going by 7am. The Beach is literally a couple of hundred metres away and it is clean and reasonably clear. Lots of stalls and a bar/restaurant at each end of the promenade. There's also a kind of open air seating area where you can buy food from a number of street vendors and sit and eat. Not much in the way of night life, it looks like people choose Surin for that reason. But you can be in Patong for your adrenaline rush within 30 minutes by taxi. I'm at Changi Airport writing this, not because I'm bored (You could probably holiday here for a week too there's so much to do) but because I felt it was important to share what a great little hotel this was before anyone was influenced by one or two negatives if they were perusing holiday sites right now. This place was such an enjoyable experience and it should be celebrated. We came for some "Mummy and Daddy" time but we've already discussed booking as soon as we get back for a family holiday next year. I would definitely stay here again