Stayed here recently for 4 days for a company trip with a big group, fantastic views, rooms and pools. Everything would have been perfect except for one really unpleasant experience with one of the staff that left a bitter taste in my mouth and a very bad impression. We wanted to go to Chaweng one evening which is the main area for shopping etc etc so we ask one of the hotel staff about arranging for a transport to town... The lady receptionist was really helpful and friendly and told us it would cost us 2000 baht for 2 ways by a mini van for the 8 of us and so we told her that we would like to arrange for it after our dinner. When we came back the lady was not around and there was another male staff there in her place by the name of Jean. We approached him and told him we would like top arrange for a trip to Chaweng. He picks up the phone and makes a call and says something in Thai and looks at us and said that it will cost 3000 baht for 2 ways. This was 1000 baht more than the price quoted by the previous receptionist. So this made us very suspicious. We told him that the girl working earlier told us it was 2000 baht for 2 ways to which he replied in an annoyed tone that she's gone home for the day and that if we still wanted to go it would cost us 3000 baht now. I ask him,"How could this be? Are there any other options? To which he replied, "No, this the only option and there is no other way. You want or not? " again with his annoyed look. All of us looked at each other and felt really trapped by the situation. Not because of the extra 1000 baht but because nobody likes the feeling of being ripped off especially in a place where you would expect to have professional hospitality. We had no other choice the hotel was up in the cliffs and there was no other way down. We discussed among ourselves and decided we had no choice. Just as we were about to accept the rip off deal, another lady working for the hotel came up and ask what was wrong and i ask her how much do they charge for transport to Chaweng for 8 of us and she said 2000 baht for 2 ways. The thai staff Jean immediately said looked at her and said something in thai angrily but it was too late we now knew for sure he was trying to rip us off. We now completely ignored him and told the lady that yes we would like to arrange it with her. We didnt even have to wait the transport was right at the lobby and boarded and left. The driver was really nice. I asked him while we were on the way how much for 2 ways just to make sure and he said 2000 baht for both ways.Honest guy too. We gave him a nice big tip for both ways on top of the 2000 baht.
Every other evening we paid the same amount for the same transport arrangement even with different drivers so this confirmed that our "reception/concierge" Jean was trying to make a quick buck off guests.
So if you do decide to stay here, watch out for this guy!
All the other staff were nice, helpful and always had a smile and we had had an amazing time apart from that incident.
I still give the hotel a thumbs up and big thank you to the rest of the of the team working there!
Good job!

Best Regards
Daniel Lois

On overall balance I was not that happy with the stay at the IC, the fact that the reservations department did not come back to my e-mail queries until I contacted the GM should have given me pause for thought.

Don’t get me wrong, this hotel is outstanding, the views fantastic and most of the staff is friendly, but on overall balance I think it was too early to stay there, I should have waited a couple of month.

I was upgraded to a 2 bedroom villa and purchased Club add-on extra go get access to the excellent benefits that Club offers even if there is right now no dedicated club lounge.

The 2 story villa compromised of an open area living/dining space upstairs with a large balcony and 2 bedrooms (each with bathroom) downstairs with another balcony but in my villa downstairs balcony was not in use.

The beds are extremely comfortable (one king in the master bedroom and 2 singles in the 2nd bedroom).

The bathroom in the master bed is featuring both a shower and a freestanding bathtub.

Each bedroom has a large TV with a Blue Ray player and the living room has also a Bose Sound system with an iPod docking station.

There is a small working desk (but Wi-Fi was not working for 2 days) and the dining area has a large table for dining.

I purchased club benefits, there is no dedicated lounge, instead beverages out of minibar are free, breakfast is served in the restaurant or via room service, afternoon tea is served in the reception area and drinks in the evening in the open air bar. Also all day coffee/tea/juices are available from all bars/restaurants for free. And on top of that a villa butler is available 24 hours, so this additional charge is well worth it.

The hard product is excellent; the renovation had done a great job in getting this up to a good standard and the views are outstanding from every point of the resort, be it from the hills or the beach area or pool areas (but not all pools are open yet).

The spa services were great, but spa is still in a temporary place (a villa converted) and once it is in its own space I’m sure it’s even better. The staff is very professional and provided excellent services even if for 2 days noise from renovation works at other villas disturbed during the treatment.

The Butler was great and provided a tailored service, however the other Staff was very inconsistent, some of there were outstanding, and other just plan unacceptable. Being greeted on a morning walk to the beach twice by the same person with “Where are you going, what do you want” is just not acceptable.

Also I found the Room service staff is great but the food is not the hottest when it arrives, the food was tasty and the quality great, but the temperature was just not the best consistently.

The breakfast room in the restaurant is too small; it’s uncomfortable to constantly bump into other people trying to get items from the buffet. The buffet area is to dark, too much is cramped into the little room which looks like it’s smaller the than the villa living/dining area. So I reverted to breakfast in the villa.

For 3 days I could clearly hear renovation work going on in other villas near to the SPA and my own villa, a clear sign that not everything is finished.

The Internet was not working for 2 days after a short power outage; I really question their IT department because a short power outage should not completely destroy their routers configuration.

On check-out I found that the charges they asked me to review were correct and for my room, she then proceeded to debit my card twice (one for the guarantee amount they took at check-in and one for the extra amount I owed). All fine and good but on the way to the airport I noticed that the final printout of 3 pages were only 2/3 mine, there was another’s guest printout in it. I can’t understand why they not just print invoices instead of screenshots of their internal charge system.

If you ask me if I would return, the answer would be not right now but in future yes.

I will wait a while until they have completed all the renovation work, the spa has moved to its real space and the staff is better trained, not to mention until they can actually print out a real invoice.

We stayed at the intercontinental samui for 3 nights at the end of april 2012. The hotel is brand new and still has some work in progress. This however did not affect our stay.
The hotel is set in the southwestern part of samui which is about 45 minutes from the airport and other tourist spots.
We chose the ocean view suite which is available in the main building and villas. Our room was on the upper floor of the villa with an unobstructed view of the ocean. The villas are all brand new and have excellent furnishings and amenities.
The hotel staff did everything to make our stay memorable. We took a one day trip to the anthong national park with the hotel and had a fantastic day out.

Food in the hotel is above average but the view of the lobby and restaurant more than made up for this shortfall.

One small problem we faced was the wireless internet which never worked in the villas on either of the days.

The concierge desk was very helpful and Johan did a great job to show us around as well as suggest places to visit in samui.

We spent the last 4 nights of our trip at 6 senses samui. Although the 6s is a different experience, I would give the Intercontinental a heads up; that too at half the price.

Dining tip: the 5 island restaurant is right next to the hotel. It is one of the best restaurants in samui and they offer a free ride to and from the hotel.

The Interconinental Group has recently taken over this hotel. This resort is fabulously located on a cliff overlooking the ocean. The view is fantastic and provides a great setting for afternoon cocktails and drinks.
We stayed in a family villa which was very well fitted out and provided us with everything we needed. The living space is huge and provides adequate room for everyone to do their own thing and for everyone to come together when required. Again, the views from our villa were majestic.
The various pools located around the resort are potentially the best you will ever see. Each with its own unique view of the landscape or seascape.
The food at the two resort restaurants was very good and provided our family with what we needed. It probably lacks a little bit of variety and you do need to get out of the resort and try other restaurants after a few days.
The resort is built on a cliff, which therefore means that there is lots of walking up and down hill. This is great for your fitness, but can be a little bit tiresome with small children. The resort however does offer golf cart service and will pick you up and delivery you anywhere in the resort at minutes notice.
It is certainly a great resort for family, friends alike.