Khao Tao Beach Lodge Old Siam

Fabulous location on an almost deserted, pristine beach. The Lodge is rustic, and the room with the big balcony should have been a great place to relax. However, the thumping music all day spoiled my enjoyment of the balcony during the afternoons when it was too hot on the beach, which is a shame. I persevered though, as the view is really amazing. The German-run place has a restaurant that specialises in German food and draws fellow countrymen from miles around, which is no surprise as the food is excellent. I would definitely recommend eating here. However staying he is another matter....if you don't mind music all day, TV blaring from the resto until 2 am, despite the place closing at 10 pm, or the owners sitting drinking and smoking with their friends until the early hours of the morning, and being off-hand when you ask them to keep it down at 2.30 am you might be ok. This is not a place to relax and I left after the 3rd night as I was so sleep-deprived!. On arrival I was told they don't clean the rooms daily, okay, disappointing at that price point but what can you do? I was also told the next morning at 9.30 am that there was no breakfast available so accepted a plate of fruit which was lovely. For two days the resto was shut, although the owners were there from 9 am with the TV blaring, no breakfast was available. They were still there drinking beer with friends at 2 am in the closed restaurant. I had a leak in the bathroom, water all over the floor from a leaking sink. On arrival, I let the owners know, and I was told that the resto was too busy and I'd have to wait. It was never fixed. I really felt that the resto is their priority and they don't care about the rooms or the guests. When I advised I was leaving a day early, I was told 'no problem'. I left a review on the platform I reserved the room on, and the untruths in the response from the owner were actually a bit nasty. My acceptance that the room is not cleaned is not the same as 'declining' the offer of the room being cleaned. There was no offer; they said they didn't clean them! Accepting a plate of fruit for breakfast when there is nothing else available isn't the same as 'not wanting to wait 10 minutes'. The sink not being fixed was apparently my fault for not leaving the key, although I was told that they were too busy to fix it. According to the owner, I couldn't have heard the music all day as I left after breakfast and came back late in the evening. What breakfast? I was there from 2 - 6 every afternoon, hoping to catch up on sleep lost during the night! I was back from dinner by 9 or 10 every evening. I think there is some delusion or denial with criticism Really disappointing attitude.

Aan het eind van het mooie brede strand vonden we dit eethuisje. Keuze voor eten is enorm en ipv een menukaart worden er 4 schoolborden om je heen gezet met daarop de keuzes van die dag. Als je daar niet uit kunt kiezen lukt het nergens! Van kaasfondue tot schnitzel (die zijn écht 4-persoons!), salades, flammkuchen, you name it. En lekker als je eens geen Thais wil eten, al hebben ze dat ook! Alles is lekker, vers en zeer vriendelijk bij je gebracht. Ik zou er niet willen slapen, het ‘hotel’ ziet er wat verwaarloosd uit en dat is jammer, want het eten is super en als ‘hollandse’ check ik graag de hygiëne en daar is niks mis mee.