This hotel is out of the way and long taxi rides are necessary to get to other restaurants, shopping and beaches. Our room was below average- the description was misleading. We had to ask for fresh towels and sometimes the room had not been cleaned by 3.00 pm. The hotel restaurant was not great and we mostly ate at the bottom of the hill at Barracuda or Fishermans outlet or otherwise went to Fishermans Village at Bhoput which is highly recommended for a fun evening.

Staid From December 26th to Jan 7th 2012. 3 of us on the holiday and we stayed in a spar villa. Plenty of room for an extra bed for our daughter. Huge bath shower room, all very nicely presented. Sheets were replaced daily, not just made up which we thought was very good. room had access to wifi and the strength in the room was good enough to face time. Wifi in the lobby was however not so fast. Spar villa worked out twice the cost of other villa's and the only difference was the Jacuzzi. we would go again but not spend the extra money just for the Jacuzzi.
resort is Villa's only about 100 of them. All spread out and nicely private. The Villa's are on a hill from reception at the top down past the 3 pools on 3 different levels to the beach. The restaurants and bar are all next to the beach. There are a lot of steps between the lobby and the beach. if you struggle with steps then this resort will be a problem for you.
Hotel food is very good but can be a little expensive, however, we were having very nice lunches at the hotel with drinks for under €25. the hotel does lots of deals with buy one get one free's on drinks which make the drinks cheaper than else where on the island.
The Beach: there are no other resorts next to this one that can be reached by walking along the beach (unless you are a goat) which makes the beach very nice and private, with some very empty additional beach either side of the resort. There is a reef about 150 meters off shore which makes the sea easy to swim in and the beach goes out gently so easily able to walk out a goo 50 meters. (I'n not going to tell you it wonderful, as you know this its Thailand)
Location: down the road about 5 minutes walk away there are a number of restaurants and car/trip hire places. we eat in one as did a lot of the other guests, the food was as good as the hotel and about half the prise. However watch out for mosquito's here, these tricky little sods even managed to bit us through long shirts and trousers. YOU NEED MOSQUITO REPLANT AT NIGHT AND PARTICULARLY AT THESE RESTAURANTS. However don't give up hope and think that this is a reason not for going. forget your nice organic western replants, and take yourself off down to Tesco Lotus and get the local stuff "STOP" it works, very very well.
We also hired a car from this place and from the hotel, on both occasions we were very happy with the cars and the service. The price for car hire was 1400Tb, 300Tb for moped hire and 800TB for a Jeep. (Every single tourist seemed to be on a moped :))
the nearest town of interest is Lamai beach. This can be reached by the hotel shuttle bus at a cost of 25TB per person. It is about a 15 min drive away. Great night markets, fun beach and loads of stuff to assault your senses.
So I will finish this review with this: we would go back again, and we would stay at this hotel. Why because if is close enough to the noise and fun of Lamai when wanted, but far enough away to let you sit on the beach under a palm when you need it.

Stayed here for the first time in 2009 and happy to be back as a guest once again, the hotel is about 15 minutes drive from Chaweng and offers a peaceful retreat for families and couples. We had a villa for ten days wit its own pool and couldn't fault the facilities - even using the Centara in Chaweng FOC for a change of scenery. Food at the hotel was good with some really competitive BBQ foods on offer, all in all a happy time here. Enjoy

After a hectic 2 days in Bangkok we were so pleased to arrive at the Centara. We arrived to a warm welcome and a welcome drink, staff were very friendly and welcoming and told us everything we needed to know. It has such a calm and relaxing atmosphere in a beautiful environment.

The hotel and rooms are set out very nicely, amongst lots of greenery and little paths around the place. There are lots of steps but its good exercise so we didn't mind!

Our first room was a deluxe garden villa. It was a very nice room but just with a small balcony which faced directly onto one of the public paths so there was no privacy. We decided to upgrade to a pool villa, it cost us an extra £200 for the 12 nights but we thought it was worth it. The rooms were similar to the garden villa which was fine, very clean and spacious. We had a private deck with our own pool which was lovely as well as two sunbeds and a double sunbed and table and chairs. It was much more private so definitely worth it!

The 3 pools were really nice and when we went there were always sun beds available. We were really impressed with the beach too, loads of beds available and it was always really clean.

We were so impressed with the food at the restaurant. Yes, it is more expensive than the local restaurants but still much cheaper than you would pay at home. I would highly recommend both the Massaman and Thai Green Curry! Breakfast was great, lots of options and something for everyone. Drinks were not that cheap but if you catch the bar at happy hour and stock up it isn't so bad. (If you are in a pool or spa villa you get a drinks voucher where you can have a free cocktail each night too) Both restaurants down the road, The Fishermans and Baraccuda are worth visiting. Also the Cool Bar along the beach from the Centara is great, but be aware of the Blue Cocktail!

All the staff were really friendly and helpful, especially the bar and restaurant staff who really make an effort to be friendly and make sure you are happy.

Definitely make a trip to the Spa! It is lovely and we were very pleased with the massages that we had, so relaxing!

The staff are very helpful with regards to trips etc. We hired a moped a couple of the days and that was definitely worth it! Only £6 for the day and such a great way to explore the island. There is a place near the fishermans (it belongs to the sister of the lady who runs the Fisherman's restaurant) where you can book trips too and we found this to be slightly cheaper than the hotel.

All in all a great holiday and I would definitely recommend this hotel!