Raileh is beautiful and so is this resort.We booked std fan room at 1900bhat at high season.We were quite skeptical since it is the cheapest room in a budget hotel on this posh West Raileh.But on reaching this resort we were bowled by the absolute stunning location of this resort.We got a room in well maintained beautiful garden setting.It is cottage style,private and comfortable.It is nothing luxurious just to fit all your necessities and thats all.The pool is small but very clean.Breakfast and the restaurant is fairly decent.Check in was smooth.It is a well run family resort and I can say it is an all square budget accomodation just to suit all your necessities without any exaggeration.

My two adult daughters and I stayed in one of the small bungalows here in January, 2012 and we were pleasantly surprised by our terrific room (especially the very modern bathroom!) after reading that Sand Sea Resort can feel a bit dated. It's a superb location ... right between the more expensive resorts, so it's the same exact spot ... there's a fantastic pool (with a terrific view of the sea), which is important given all the longboat activity at the beach (think smell of gasoline). But the food was decidedly not terrific. But neither was the food at the other resort, either! Even breakfast at Sand Sea was unfulfilling because there was no yogurt or granola and the fruit wasn't as fresh (nor as good a variety) as we'd had elsewhere.

It is true, definitely go to the other side of the beach, following signs to the Cave, just as all the reviews state, and you will find a terrific beach, a cool cave, and long boats arrive daily from which you can order lunch and/or snacks for a much more reasonable price. Kayak around the karsts...it's lovely.

We did note that lots of families with young children visit this resort, so if that is not your thing, you'll appreciate knowing this. It didn't bother us in the least, except occasionally at the pool, the kids would be splashing and having their fun. But again, that's a very minor point...and it's actually fun to watch sometimes.

This is the 3rd time ive been to Railay and the second time ive stayed at Sand and Sea.
It was exactly how i remembered it excepts for the extra thousand tourists! i was really shocked that in 3 years it grew in popularity so much to the point where it was hard ot get a -place on the beach (the beach near the where the rock climbing is, the one where you walk past the monkeys)
the hotel was nice, the rooms were a little dated but still ser ved their purpose well. they were a good size and the beds were comfortable.
we found that the food on railay for dinners weret great but that yoyu could go for a nice drink and some sheesha to Last Bar where they have some cool fire twirling.

I wqould definitely stay at this hotel again as it was a really good locaiton, had a nice pool, a good breakfast and the staff were friendly.

Firstly, the location - PERFECT. Absolutely stunning location. We caught the ferry from Phi Phi and got dropped off literally at the front door (long tail boats come out to meet you, help with luggage etc) and when we got to the beach we had hotel porters waiting for us with trolleys etc which was great.

Check in smooth, quick & efficient like it should be. My only gripe, and this is totally my own doing, was the room. Whilst i am no prude (i can live on most scales of a budget), our room was a little disappointing but i knew this anyway when i booked it. I chose the cheaper fan bungalow which was very outdated, a little 'crummy' if you know where i'm coming from. The bathrooms weren't up to much either. These cheaper bungalows were all down one side of the resort. On the opposite side of the path were the far superior Air-Con bungalows, which i now wish i had chosen. Although over 50% more cost, i think they would have been well worth the extra outlay, and looked very modern and up to date.

All in all tho, a good place to stay, although there is some rather classy resorts overlooking Railay West i might add. Something for all budgets, if you tight on budget the fan rooms are fine, but if you can, push the boat out and go for the deluxe bungalows