Close to the Chaweng Noi Beach, Nithya, Sangita and I loved our small hotel, Chaweng Tara, run by a caring and fun family. One evening, we even played cards with the grandparents as everyone showed off some of their more impressive tricks. With the staff very friendly and the location convenient, this was a great choice; however, to get our super fancy Koh Samui boutique hotel experience, the three of us made friends with the wait staff at such a hotel just next door. The friendliest of the staff, Toom, let us use the vanishing edge pool, enjoy cocktails at happy hour, and simply lounge around the beach side of the hotel. They may have thought we stayed there because we were always asked for our room number to pay for the drinks; however, we would respond that we wanted to pay with credit card explaining that it was “more easy.” In short, we had the best of both worlds with the small friendly place to stay in the evenings and the exorbitant (from $250 to $800 per night) hotel to enjoy during the days.
