Koh Ngai Villa

Nice location, some good value bungalows, expensive food - 14th April, 2006
I’ll differ with travelfish in that Ko Hai Villa is actually pretty central on the 3 km long eastward facing beach. I heard they were offering their older fan bungalows at 300 baht, and got me one - wood and bamboo-thatch, tin roof, clean and in good condition, with attached bathroom, nice verandah, comfy double bed, insect screens (but a fairly big gap at the door bottom), a big mirror BUT NOT in the bathroom (another guest told me her 300 on the other side of the restaurant had no mirror at all and no wash basin), good powerful lights for reading, including the verandah. This was another cheapie supplying towels, soap and toilet paper. There was plenty of room inside for two + their gear without being enormous. It was set in a reasonable garden setting - I noticed a staff girl doing a great job of raking the ground area around a vacated adjacent bungalow yet there was a fair bit of small rubbish around mine until I spent 3 minutes cleaning it up. The restaurant is open plan on the beachfront with great views of adjacent karst islets, Ko Muk to the south and the similarly rugged mainland. Staff are described as “grumpy” in that best selling guidebook, but I found them friendly enough and the service quite good. Food was quite nice, however food and beverage prices tended towards the higher end of my dozen or so bungalow stays this trip. 100 for a large Chang, 90 for a green curry before rice and 120 for a club sandwich - ouch!. Note that several much cheaper places were even further from the mainland and had to also bring their stuff in by longtail. Speaking of longtails, Ko Hai Villa’s is a wet one, chucking plenty of spray at the passengers even in a very calm sea. The beachfront has a fair few easy seats and lie-lows, plus plenty of shade from mid-day on, and naturally has the same excellent views. There was a small attractive beach bar alongside the restaurant which played cool but not loud music early evening. Swimming is good, except for a few hours around lowest tide when the rocky bottom is exposed right to the fringing reef about 70m out. But it is still attractive with a wide expanse of sand except at highest tide when a fairly small strip is left. Snorkelling along the fringing reef is reasonably good with some fair coral and fish life. There are about 5 resorts along this 3 km and so there is plenty of untouched rainforest going right down to the sand adjacent to the resorts. This is the perfect island to kick back and relax, but for the energetic there are some good walking tracks to other beaches, although my walking friend had to ask another resort for a map. My value for money rating system gives the 300 bungalows 8/10, food 5, location 8.5, staff 7.5, grounds/landscaping 6.5. Overall I give it 7.5.

Koh Ngai Villa reviewed by tezza on 14th April, 2006, rated 4 out of 5.
Stayed here 3/2006
This is a Travelfish recommended reviewer
Total reviews submitted: 28.
tezza also reviewed: Ao Toh Ko Bungalows, Bailan Hut, Bulon Lae Resort, Coconut Corner, Khao Lak Nature Resort, Kho Yao Lam Sai Resort & Seafood, Koh Wai Paradise, Koh Wai Paradise, Lanta Paradise, Le Dugong Resort, Libong Beach Resort, Mai Pen Rai Bungalows, National Park Accommodation, National Park Accommodation, Paradise Resort, Phi Phi Hill, Pudsa Bungalows, Railay Cabana, Siam Beach, Silver Cliff, Sukorn Beach Bungalow, Thong Ta Kian Villa, Tiewson Bungalow, Viewpoint Resort, White Wind.

Beware of the transfer costs - 29th November, 2006
I communicated (briefly)with the Kho Ngai Villa people. They charge 1100 baht each way for transfer from Trang airport. Although the lady on the phone assured me that this was the same price for every resort on the island, this is definitely not true. Two other resorts quoted 600 for the same trip - so don't forget to factor that extra 1,000 baht into your budget!

Koh Ngai Villa reviewed by russdwaters on 29th November, 2006, rated 0 out of 5.
Stayed here 11/2006
Total reviews submitted: 2.
russdwaters also reviewed: Koh Hai Fantasy Resort.