I am going to Thailand this weekend and I was wondering if anyone has any ideas about good hotels on the beach with beachfront bungalows, that are cheap or reasonabily pricedl… Can you post your ideas thanks
At the southern end of Lamai Beach (close to the infamous Grandfather and Grandmother Rocks) 
is the Aloha Resort, a very nice place with reasonable prices. 
Saaaamuuuuiiiiii!!! LOVED the place right down to the free bananas at the quaint airport. If you’re looking for action, then I recommend staying at the south end (enough hotel choices for you to pick from without worries). If you’re looking for solitude then stay north. I stayed north in a VERY cheap but liveable bungalow right on the beach near Big Buddha. Played with the puppies, ate fresh shark and drank mekong shakes everyday. There was an older feller from Denmark who ran a “restaurant” next door who makes an incredible “Burning Love” – it’s basically a heart attack on a plate and you can lounge about watching his very cute (of age) son take dips in the ocean between waiting on tables. Green with envy I am…have a great trip.
I was there two weeks ago for the 4th or 5th time…I forget (hey, it’s Thailand!)
Around the center of the strip in Lamai, the places are pretty full near the beach.
Bungalow A105 at Coconut Resort (not the smaller Coconut Beach Bungalows nearby) was going for 1,300bt but the fact is that most are reserved. Check www.sawadee.com
Maoman is right about the end of the beach area, but it is a bit away from the stuff going on at night there, but maybe that’s what you want.
Depending on your budget, there is a small group of places next to Lamai Inn 99 (on the left as you face the ocean) that face the beach (they are right on it) and only have a bed and fan and light, no facilities, but they are very cheap and are exactly like Thai bungalows used to be in the 1980s (for the travelers).
Chaweng was a nightmare of wall-to-wall sunbathers.
There are two places that have tables out on the sand at night for dinner at Lamai, one is the resort called Magic, and the other is walking from there to the grandad/ma rocks…you will see the fair lights on the beach. Oh, Bill’s also has this, but they are a bit upscale but are probably good. Try one of these places for sure; the view is incredible. Why people would eat on the street when they could sit next to the waves is beyond me…and the food is scrumptious.
The Thai massage place nearest the boxing ring and microbars in Lamai will close in Feb. and the girls there all do a fine job of kneading out the kinks. Another place for that is called Mint’s (run by Mint, any of the massage people can direct you). It is off the main drag away from the beach a bit. She’s nice and very personable. If you see her, tell her you know the guy who owes her 6,000bt from playing cards…
Also, unless you really are comfortable with the place online, don’t put down a deposit unless you are confident you are getting the place you want. Lamai Inn 99 said they had a place as I wanted, but when I pressed to see if it was “on the beach…beachfront” they didn’t reply, but still wanted me to pay a big, non-refundable deposit.
Just go there and find anyplace (the Coconut Resort is very nice and run in a sense by a Swiss or something). Then the next day you can wander up and down and ask for what’s available.
There is a new place open just by the grandpa/ma rocks that is really upscale, but interesting, the most expensive suite on the beach is only about 4,500bt, a real deal.
Remember, with Christmas near, the place will start to get a bit busy, but there are zillions of places to stay.
Enjoy.
I concur! i always stayed at big buddha. it’s not too far from the nightlife anyway, and chaweng/lamai is just too too crazy now. in fact that’s kind of true of samui on the whole but it’s still fun from big buddha it’s easy to catch the ferry to koh phangan and check that out, if you really want some peace and quiet that could be a good option, there’s a party scene on the beach where the ferry lands too. one thing about the north beaches is at this time of year due to the prevailing winds the water stays bottled up in the bay and can get kind of foul. if you intend to spend a lot of time in the water i’d keep it in mind.
In Lamai I stay in Weekender or Aloha
Chaweng - Chaba Resort
So, Big Buddha beach isn’t good for swimming, Tempo?
Cause I just reserved a room here http://www.samui-shambala.com/index.php on Big Buddha and I’m hoping to spend a lot of time swimming and laying around on the beach this weekend.
[quote=“Erhu”]So, Big Buddha beach isn’t good for swimming, Tempo?
Cause I just reserved a room here http://www.samui-shambala.com/index.php on Big Buddha and I’m hoping to spend a lot of time swimming and laying around on the beach this weekend.[/quote]
my experience at this time of year at big buddha was that the water tends to get a bit slimy. it sits in the bay baking under the sun and gets filled up with tiny little critters. not the best for swimming when it gets bad. they used to have a live band on saturday afternoons at the secret garden bungalows, wouldn’t mind hitting that!
Don’t put down a deposit at the airport either. I’m going to Lamai again for Chinese New Year…there’s a shitload of bungalows to choose from. The beachfront ones that the airport has brochures for tend to be about 900 baht and you need to rent a motorbike to get from place to place. You can get others fro around $250 baht plus in Lamai itself.
I recommend the Samui Resotel. 1600 Baht, includes a buffet breakfast, and is on a relatively quiet part of Lamai. If anyone is going there for CNY and is interested, I could lend them my VIP card (15 percent discount). PM me if you would like to borrow it. For the price, it
Get on the boat and go to Ko Tao, the west side of which will knock your socks off.
Without a doubt, the best beach on Samui is Hat Chaweng -that’s why it’s so popular. Regardless of its popularity, it is highly, highly enjoyable. I was there this past summer, and it was one of the best trips I’ve ever had. I stayed at Bang Chaweng Resort (or something like that) -right next door to Chaweng Gardengs, which offers fairly cheap bungalows (maybe 600 baht). I paid 1400 per night, because I was with my Taiwanese girlfriend, but it was worth it. If you want to pay less than half that at this awesome beach, stay at Charlie’s Huts -350 baht. The seafood barbecues offered by the bungalows on this stetch are to murder for, and many of the restaraunts on the main drag behind have fantastic food. Enjoy!
Everyone else is going to Koh Samui and I’m stuck in Taipei. 
Practical question:
When people stay in the very reasonably priced bungalows on the beach, which I’ve read here have no “facilities”, where do they use the bathroom and shower, etc?
I would like to go to Koh Samui sometime next month, any updated hotel info? We are not looking to stay up all night drinking, just want to relax, swim, and snorkel.
From the previous posters and some other friends I talked to, they all suggest to just go to that island, and look for a good hotel right there.
Koh Samui is very popular in teh Chinese New year. I’d say book somewhere. Try ]Thai Pro. Booked through them last year. No problems.
However, if it were me, I;d head out to Koh Tao or even the top end of Koh Phangan. Much cheaper, quieter and better for relaxing by the beach.
More tourists than locals in Samui.
HG
[quote=“Erhu”]So, Big Buddha beach isn’t good for swimming, Tempo?
Cause I just reserved a room here http://www.samui-shambala.com/index.php on Big Buddha and I’m hoping to spend a lot of time swimming and laying around on the beach this weekend.[/quote]
Big Buddha beach… pfff… I hope you like to watch the airplanes coming over very low …
We stayed in a friendly small resort with good accomodation (we atre no back packer types)
The place to be if ypou like it more calmer ; samuizazen.com/
No hookers on the streets like in Lamai, (which I found very low class , but this was a personal perception)
hookers? where you there recently?
Lamai has quite a vast area devoted to bars and bar girls.
HG