Sun Moon Star Resort Koh Phangan

Every room looks out over the garden. Rooms can have air conditioning, a balcony or terrace, a seating area with a sofa, an in-room safe box, a coffee or tea maker and bathrobes.

Each of the rooms measures 40 m². A double bed sleeps up to two guests, and a single bed with a king bed sleeps up to three. Both rooms have a shower and a satellite or cable TV.

For meals, the resort has restaurants, room service and a shared kitchen, and the poolside bar serves drinks and cocktails. Guests can also use the games room for pool and table tennis, and the beach volleyball area.

Activities include canoeing, diving, fishing and snorkelling, and tours, bicycle rental and car hire can be arranged. The resort also has a shuttle service, currency exchange, luggage storage and a concierge, and the shuttle service and car hire can be used to get around the island.

For families, there is a playground, babysitting and a laundry service, and the resort is family and child friendly. Parking is available on site, and Wi-Fi covers all rooms, with internet access in the public areas too.

Haad Yao is a bay on the coast of Ko Pha-ngan, and the resort sits here with the beach 80 m away. Ko Pha-ngan has no airport of its own, and the crossing from Ko Samui is made by boat to Thong Sala, the island's main town and ferry pier, where the hotel's transfer starts. The resort's garden, pool and games room give guests plenty to do without leaving the grounds.

Salad Beach, 700 m away, is a lively stretch of sand lined with beach bars, and the Haad Yao (West) beach lies 400 m from the resort. Wang Sai waterfall, 2.2 km away, is a forest waterfall set inland from the bay, and Wat Sri Thanu, a pagoda in the village of Baan Sri Thanu, is 2.4 km from the hotel. Together they make a varied mix of sea and forest within a short distance of the rooms.

A good day could combine a morning on the beach near the resort, an afternoon visit to Wang Sai waterfall and an evening at Salad Beach. Diving, snorkelling, fishing and canoeing can also be arranged. Sea conditions can make boat crossings rougher in the rainy months, so ferry trips to Ko Samui can be affected at that time.