Santiburi Dusit Resort

As for Santiburi, my base for five days, it’s undoubtedly the best on the island.

The beachfront villas—ask for 414, 415, 419, 314, 312, 310, or 309 (mine) —with uninterrupted views of palms trees and the sea beyond, are everyone’s idea of paradise. (If you can’t get the beach, #208 overlooks a Lotus-filled, Coy pond.) Each villa, the architecture of which was inspired by the famous summer palace of King Rama IV in Petchaburi, has a large sitting area separated from a raised king bed by a beveled glass partition. The bathroom is a study of black ceramic and tile, trimmed in teak. There is a shower stall, matching loo, central round tub, and plenty of room around the matching black basins. Even better, the air conditioning can be adjusted, and the housekeeping staff is considerate, fast, and efficient.

Everything else is what you would expect: water sports, gym, aerobic studio, sauna, Jim Thompson shop, etc. As the place is designed for some 150 guests in 59 Villas, 12 “Equitorial Suites,” and 2 “Presidential Suites,” you can imagine how idyllic—Gauguin or otherwise—it was with only 16 other people when I was there.

Downside: the food in the western restaurant, Vimarmek, might best be described as “Best Western,” but I don’t think that motel chain even serves food. Each of the three dining spots dismally failed the vodka-martini-on-the-rocks-with-an-olive litmus test, and the well-meaning staff always brought the wine at the end of the meal. Hey kids, if they don’t get The Point soon, I’m going to open an F&B training school here.

As for the local food, one of the three dishes we ordered in the Thai restaurant, Sala Thai, was outstanding—curried duck that we asked them to spice up—the others were far too toned down for me. I don’t know about you, but good tasting food is at or near the top of my priority list whether I am traveling or not. I go to Thailand for Thai food, not what I can get back home in a “Thai” restaurant on Second Avenue.

Santiburi—The Bottom Line:

· The Santiburi pool is the largest and most enticing I’ve seen in a long time · The beach, literally right outside my front door, was immaculate · No matter how early I got up, the beach boy had already put fresh towels on my villa’s two chaise-longues · The room service breakfast always arrived on time and was neatly laid on the table on my terrace before the soft knock on the door.

I had a great time, go off-season.

Note: I booked Santiburi online and paid my deposit online. It couldn’t have been simpler. However, I recommend that you print out the email confirmation of your credit card payment. When I checked out, the cashier didn’t have any credit recorded, but happily accepted my printout as proof of payment.

Santiburi (on Koh Samui): Tel: (077) 425-031
Central Reservations: (66 2) 636-3333
email: booking@dusit.com
www.kohsamui.net/santiburi/