Banyan Tree Samui

Firstly apologies for this being about 3 weeks late! we stayed at the Banyan Tree Koh Samui for 10 nights in early May. We came with the sole purpose of relaxing after a stressful time at home and this place delivered that in abundance. Everything about this place was just wonderful, the villas, the view, the food were all faultless. But most of all it was the amazing staff that made this please even better, everyone we encountered was so warm and they honestly wanted to make your stay as wonderful as possible and they truly did. All of the staff were amazing from the housekeeping staff, to the buggy drivers, to the staff at the beach. However there were a couple that we have to mention in person as they were truly excellent. Am at breakfast always greeted us with a warm smile and a coffee everyday, Anna our villa host who went above and beyond on all of our requests and the amazing Khwon in the lobby bar who made us a delicious pre dinner drink or two every night. We stayed in Villa B3 which looks out to the beach and is a very short walk to the beach and the beach restaurant. The view was incredible. The villa itself was so well kept and cleaned by the housekeeping twice a day. Each evening we were left some lovely snacks and a gift which was such a lovely touch. The villa was light and spacious and the outside area and pool were amazing (the pool was also regularly cleaned– I spent a lot of time in the pool even in the rain! We mostly ate in the hotel as we have been to Koh Samui several times before and was looking for more of a resort holiday than an adventure one. There are 3 main restaurants and we went to them all as well as having the in villa dining on several occasions. For me the breakfast was incredible – I would go as far as saying probably one of, if not the best breakfasts I have ever had – there is everything that you could ever want for breakfast from eggs, to cheese, croissants, fruit, yoghurt, sushi, curries and lots of thai dishes which we really enjoyed. All dietary requirements are covered too and there are lots of gluten free options. We mostly ate lunch on the beach or from the in villa dining menu – again the food and service were always outstanding. We also spent a couple of evenings at the beach restaurant and loved the barbecue and Fire show on the Saturday evening We also tried Saffron which was exquisite, although I ordered far too much food so had no room for a desert! We went on the Tuesday when the Thai dancing was on and the show was great The Spa is amazing – if you are staying I would highly recommend a massage here. Overall experience The hotel itself is gorgeous, it feels very private and although its grand it still feels like a really warm and cosy place. The number 1 thing that made the difference here though are definitely the employees. They actually seem to care and go above and beyond to help in any way they can. It was the small things like we had some mosquito bites, so they bought some mosquito coils and some bite cream. The also sent over a yoga mat as we asked where we could buy one, for us t use during our stay. They all seemed to find small ways to make our break the best it could be and these are the things that will make people return to a hotel. We had a fantastic holiday and hopefully will be lucky enough to return one day