The Shore Samui

If you are looking for a budget stay very close to the beach and don't need luxuriesand are no bothered about noise, unpleasent smell and loads of ants in the room then this one is for you.
Pros:
1. on the beach
2. Good location
3. Cleaned daily

Cons:
1. Bad smell
2. Ants in room
3. Very noisy from the road
4. Noisy fridge and air con

Staff was amazing and the room was good size but the bed and pillows were extremely uncomfortable. The air conditioner struggled to cool off the room. Room was noisy from the street traffic as it’s on the main road. Only stayed 1 night.

We found The Shore from TikTok a few days ago. Last minute, we called up to see if they had their private pool villa available, and luck would have it, they did! Here’s what I thought about our stay:

Overall, it was decent. Would I say this was a “luxury pool villa”? No. But then again, you get what you pay for - there is no other private villa with a pool anywhere else on Koh Samui that comes at a cheaper price. So for many people, this might be all they can afford!

There were some great upsides to The Shore: first off, the owner is extremely nice. He made check-in super easy, was quite friendly, and he is enough reason in and of itself for us to return. The location is awesome as well. Bangrak Beach is my favorite part of Koh Samui - it’s much less crazy than Chaweng Beach, filled with way less drunk party people, and a much more relaxed atmosphere. It has a healthy balance of things to do though - for instance, Lamai Beach is terrible and is nearly completely abandoned. At least here in Bangrak Beach, there are many restaurants, stores, massages and taxi stands within walking distance. Finally, I love that there is direct beach access. They have a shower for you to clean your feet off after going in the water, and all in all, the ocean is pretty clean on this part of Koh Samui.

However, we can’t forget about the negatives. To start, when we arrived, the sliding door didn’t completely close. The owner was nice and fixed it as best as he could, but it still left about a 2 cm wide crack in the door the whole time we were there…which obviously means bugs could easily get inside. And, on the subject of bugs, there was a big ant problem in the shower. The window in the bathroom wasn’t technically a window, but rather a screen with direct access to outside, so ants could travel in and out to somewhere else in the room (I couldn’t tell you where, but you saw a whole line of ants traveling across the bathroom).

Also, the pool attached to this villa wasn’t really private at all. Yes, technically no one else staying at The Shore is able to use the pool, but the pool is right alongside the main walkway people use to get to the beach; so, anybody can see you while you’re in the pool. The shower also didn’t get that warm, so keep that in mind if you’re planning to stay here.

All in all, I would say The Shore is a good value for money. It’s certainly not a luxury resort like many of the others on this island, but I don’t think it tries to be. If you’re looking for a place to stay on Koh Samui that is inexpensive and also has your own semi-private pool (only private in the sense that no one else can use it), give this place a shot.

Would I return? Probably not, but I can certainly see how others would enjoy this place. Maybe visit first and see the place before you book!