Koh Kradan Homestays

While we had a nice stay at Sevenseas Resort, I have to say that I was a bit disappointed. This is in my view not in any way a 4 star resort - and not value for money when considering the price! I stayed 3 nights with 2 friends. The hotel is quite worn and could definitely need an update. The third bed in our the room was a mattress on the floor, and when we arrived there was no mosquito net covering this bed. This was however fixed on the second day after we alerted the reception. However, the interior of the room was simply not convenient in any way. It was mostly made up by a huge king size bed (very comfortable), but there was no place put any stuff or your suitcase. The outdoor bathroom was almost the same size as the room, and here was put the wardrobe, but really, in such a humid heat, we had no wish to put our clothing out in the humid bathroom. So really not a smart design of the rooms. We heard that the beachside villas are nicer and more updated. The area of the hotel is indeed nice, right on the beautiful beach, you have an option to rent snorkeling equipment or kayaks/SUPs, and with plenty of sunbeds to lounge on. The restaurant was so-so, food was ok, but nothing special I'm afraid, and we ended up having our meals in restaurants in other resorts on the island. Lastly, while the staff were all very friendly, smiling and accommodating, the service level was quite off, it's like there was missing some efficiency and management, as if each staff had his or her task, and they would never stray away from that. So for example, there could be dirty and empty dishes sitting on tables in the restaurant for extremely long, because the two waiters who were just standing looking at their phones clearly were not tasked with cleaning up tables, and the guy who did that was not there... And in the morning, there was one filter coffee machine, extremely slow, for all those guests... So overall, while a nice hotel and beautiful surroundings, I was disappointed and would not call this a 4 star hotel.

This is a tough one to review. On the one hand, you have the prime location on one of the most beautiful islands in Thailand if not in the world. On the other hand, the resort itself is very average for the price. To quote the resort’s website, ”The Reef Resort in Koh Kradan Thailand is a corner of paradise and with 18 luxury beachfront and sea view rooms will allow you to enjoy the crystal emerald Andaman Sea and the lush tropical gardens.” I fully agree on the beauty of the paradise island, but the above seems a bit of an overstatement in terms of the actual accommodation. The rooms are clean but very simple. Basically just a bed (decent one), a fridge, AC and an outdoor bathroom. The decor is very minimalistic but that’s what we expected. The rooms do not really have much a view to speak of. They are tightly placed in a U-shaped building, giving you a distant feeling of staying in a tropical motel. To have any privacy, you need to keep the curtains closed all the time. The sea view is limited and indirect, blocked by the trees and the bar hut. What you mainly look at is a sunburnt yellow/brown lawn (at the least during the hot season) and the pool. The difference to some of the neighboring resorts with their well kept gardens is striking. It seems that the Reef has decided not to upkeep the garden, maybe to save resources. During our stay we did not see a gardener around. If this is their choice, I would rather suggest them to replace the lawn with sand as a continuation of the beach. I would also pay more attention to the overall appearance of the property. Eg. the building where they have table tennis and a small kiosk was really messy and unorganized. The breakfast was simple but adequate with white toast, sausage, bacon, pancakes, a couple of warm options plus some fruit (pineapple and watermelon). Eggs were prepared by order. I would suggest them to improve the way the breakfast is presented - it was not very very attractive with many food items served on foil. What was really annoying is that there were lots of flies all around during the breakfast hours. I know this is something normal in a tropical environment but at least they could try to manage the situation, eg by very regularly raking the sand on which the tables are placed. I never saw them raking the sand although this could help to mitigate the root problem by removing the eggs etc. We had most of our meals at their restaurant. The Thai food was decent but not spectacular. The prices were reasonable. Some of the waiters could practice showing a happier face with their customers. The beach is spectacular with a coral reef just in front. The resort has canoes, SUP boards and snorkeling equipment for their guests free of charge. The swing in the beach is also great. I also recommend waking up at 6am to see the sunrise, it’s really beautiful. It can get a bit busy later in the morning and around noon when day trippers arrive (this mainly affects the neighboring Seven Sea

Some of the accommodations have now been modernized, but the older cabins are in such poor condition that they are no longer allowed to be rented out: no hot water, no safe, no refrigerator, no beach chairs - and the air conditioning is only turned on at night ( where you could simply open the windows if the mosquito net wasn't broken). There can be no question of room service - one hopes that at least the beds will be changed after the change of guests. The staff in the restaurant are friendly, but apparently untrained and overwhelmed. Even though breakfast is officially served until 10 a.m., no more coffee is made after 9 a.m. There is a wild garbage dump behind the complex.

The hotel is located on the wonderful island of Kradan. Many people are brought here on excursions to the reef, which is accessible from the beach. Those. Once here, you can spend as much time on the reef as you want and you don't have to pay for a tour. The reef off the island is very lively with a wide variety of corals. There are also plenty of fish, but we didn’t see any large ones. The snorkeling areas are fenced with buoys; boats do not enter this area and it is safe to swim there. The water is clear as a tear, but in May there was a lot of plankton, which impaired visibility in the water, and when swimming on the beach it was very biting. Jellyfish were seen here only once. For swimming on the island, the tides are critical. The beach here has excellent clean sand, but only in high water. The island itself is quite expensive and you need to understand this when evaluating hotels. This hotel has a lot of accommodation options, from relatively cheap to expensive. All Kradan hotels are located on this side of the island, the Mali resort is the last one from the pier. Those. There are fewer people here than ever. On the other hand, it’s almost a kilometer along the beach to get to the pier (some hotels block the passage through their territory). A small modern rubber boat takes you from the pier to the hotel free of charge, with the name of the hotel on its side. It would be nice if the hotel sent a welcome letter explaining this point. Without knowing this, we were already planning to walk, because we did not see anyone who would meet us (we informed about the time of arrival in advance). It’s good that some person asked us what hotel we were staying at and started calling someone. He called an employee who was wearing a uniform with the name of our hotel and he showed us his boat. Speedboats to the island from other places arrive once a day, at 10:30-11:30 hours, depending on where from Phuket / Lanta or Langkawi / Koh Lipe. The bulk of the island's guests arrive by this means of transport, so the policy of the island's hotels regarding check-in as early as 14:00 is not entirely clear! It's the same at this hotel. But there is a toilet and shower near the reception, you can change clothes and use the hotel’s beach infrastructure. There are a lot of sun loungers, located along the entire beach ***** of the hotel. The hotel provides masks, snorkels, fins, kayaks and SUP boards free of charge. The hotel area is long, mostly shady, with plenty of places to hide from the sun and on the beach. We booked the cheapest room, it is the farthest from the reception, but on the border with the neighboring hotel, where the restaurant is praised (it, unfortunately, did not work). The room is not cramped, in a small building of 3 rooms. Its advantage is a large covered veranda, which provides good protection from the sun and rain. The room has everything you need - quiet air conditioning, TV, refrigerator, kettle, hairdryer. The shower room is spacious, but the water temperature was poorly regulated, the water was either cool or too hot, we were unable to adjust it. There is a problem with the toilet flushing; apparently there are problems in the sewer system and the water does not always drain well. Once I smelled mustiness and mold in the room; the room needed to be ventilated so that it would go away. There were few mosquitoes, but mosquito repellents are still desirable. Based on the reviews, I expected the worst, the room is very good and the shortcomings are not so critical. Breakfast is quite modest, there are almost no ready-made dishes, you can order scrambled eggs with whatever you like. Cold cuts. There is plenty of fruit, but no fresh vegetables. The restaurant in the hotel is a little expensive by local standards, we went to other hotels.