We had booked in advance to stay at the Rawi Warin, labouring under the misapprehension that it was part of the Langham chain. For various reasons we arrived 3 days early and were offered a room in sore need of some maintenance by one of the receptionists. The price incl breakfast was 5800 BHT which was well over the prebooking rate. We moved rooms a day later to a very comfortable, large, teak-floored room on the third floor of a block with a fabulous view over the pool to the sea. Some things you need to know: the staff (of whom there are relatively few) speak very little English. The hotel is very popular with Swedish families with pre-school children. The hotel is a fair way from the main "town" Saladan so you're pretty isolated, however transport is easy to arrange (outside the hotel). Breakfast is good, there's a comprehensive buffet with all the usual fruits, bacon, etc. etc. The hotel also has it's own bakery/cafe just outside the grounds which is excellent - as is the poolside cafe (although the somewhat surly staff there have a penchant for playing obscene gangsta rap very loud at lunchtime - it's OK, they turn it off if you tell them). But note, no-one eats in the restaurant in the evening, the food is mediocre and the place usually empty - this is partly due to the prices which are unreasonable. Walk down to the beach and turn left and you'll immediately come to the Orchid Restaurant and bungalows - that is where everyone eats, both lunch and in the evening. It's friendly, the food and atmosphere is good and it's very cheap. For variety, walk out of the front of the hotel, turn right and try one of the restaurants on the main road - avoid the steaks, go for the fish. Better yet, jump on a tuk-tuk and head down the road past the 7-Eleven to Cook-Kai or one of the others on the "Clean Beach" strip - great food and atmosphere to be had down there. Back to the hotel, it comprises either bungalows, villas or rooms in blocks all scattered throughout some gorgeous gardens. It is VERY steep to some of the rooms - be warned. In places it could use a lick of paint but otherwise it's a pleasant place to while away a few days. The excursions to Koh Rok, Phi-Phi etc. etc. are excellent if a little dramatic when the wind blows. Would we go back? Yes. Thanks in part to to the friendliness of the manager - but we'd haggle over the room rate, especially as the place was far from full.

Stayed here for 3 nights over Xmas. Paid £62/rm for first night then £114/rm for remaining via expedia.co.uk. Had 2 rooms close together (not interconnecting as requested) with great views thanks to the development being on the side of a hill. This was not a problem as there was a shuttle tuktuk you summon via telephone as/when required. It wasn’t even a 5min walk from the pool up to our rooms but could be a little steep for some. The rooms were quiet, spacious, clean and well equipped and also had separate shower. Although, we found the beds were too hard and pillows like bricks. Some areas were a little worn - scuff marks on some of the furniture and I didn’t expect worn slippers to use but to be honest, not enough to make the whole room feel tatty. The pool was a good size and had a slide but the tiles were painted too dark a blue so that it never looked inviting and was in fact, cold! Plenty of sunbeds at any time of day and waiter service to same for drinks/lunch, albeit pricey. The hotel had a programme of activities in and out of the pool but the only one I saw operational was the free scuba session. The choice of free DVD hire was paltry with most counterfeit and I thought the charge for internet access excessive (100BHT/half hour). Food generally was mediocre and really not good enough at this standard of hotel. Xmas day dinner buffet was the worst I’d ever had and reminded me of school dinners – indescript mushy food, not well presented nor cooked properly and lack of choice. We had xmas pudding served as an option on the breakfast counter the next day? Staff didn’t clear dirty plates/cutlery in a timely fashion, sat couples at tables meant for 4/6 so that when families came in – surprise, surprise no tables….. They had no idea how to serve wine and often forgot drinks orders but seemed to think a smile and shake of the head would see them through – that and a folded napkin in the shape of a shirt! Generally, it was all the niggles and little things that this hotel got wrong which if tweaked would go some way to hugely improving a stay here. Would I stay here again, don’t think so to be honest. It’s a shame, our expectations were high, especially after an excellent check in - free welcome drink and massage but it went downhill from there really. Clientele were mainly scandanavian whom we found preferred no eye contact and did not favour an exchange of civil greetings…….. Ko Lanta itself is still relatively unspoilt and I would say a great choice for families (no girly bars, sleaze etc). Many muslims have settled on this island. According to the locals, tourists are relatively new to the island (4/5 years), so it still has a laid back feel to the place, although there are plenty of new hotels at development stage. The usual array of cheap and tasty places to eat, tour offices, plenty of ATMs, shops and good connections via ferry/longtail to other islands. Previous review dated 8.1.09 spot on. True, you couldn’t really swim in front of the hotel, thanks to the rocks and the ‘sea pool’ consisted of large blue plastic blocks in a square with netting underneath. When you were in it, all you could see was blue plastic instead of the lovely thai coastline……. Another idea badly executed……. Not recommended.

Let's start off by stating the obvious. This is NOT a Langham hotel. Yes, the Langham group has acqured it, but they have done no rebranding, so, upon arrival, you will find that you are actually staying at the Rawi Warin. There is nothing on the property to suggest that it is a Langham property. The impression I got was that it was going to be completely renovated and restructured. Lord only knows, it needs it. So if you're looking for reviews, I would strongly suggest you look for the Rawi Warin instead.

From the moment we arrived, there were problems. True, none of them were huge, but they were constant. Little things like: tired-looking rooms, no hotel information in the rooms (including no room service menus), half of the wines on the list in the bar and restaurant were unavailable (they claimed that it was difficult to get wine in Thailand...so why is everyone else able to source it?), one of the restaurants was entirely closed, pricing kept changing at the internet cafe, etc., etc., etc.

And then there was the beach. If you fancy a nice dip in the sea, you're going to be sorely disappointed. The shoreline is very rocky (impossible to get into the water in low tide), and the touted "ocean pool" is made of jetty blocks and is small and a long way out. There is also not a single tree on the beach, and frankly, not a beach chair or umbrella to be found. We had to drag our own deck chairs over the rocks in order to get down to the sand.

The chef was arrogant, the food mediocre (a lot of focus on Western - specifically Scandinavian - food) and the service throughout the property was appalling. This included housekeeping, restaurant, internet cafe/library, etc.. It just seemed as if every single little request was too much to ask.

After two nights, we checked out and moved down the road to the Pimalai. While the reception manager seemed concerned that we were leaving (they actually knew before we told them, as they had received a fax from the Pimalai, but made no effort to contact us to discuss our departure), she was quick to point out that we were not getting our money back because we'd booked through Expedia.

Frankly, the money we wrote off in favour of the amazing next 8 days was worth every single penny. Go there instead.

This is a rather belated entry but my husband and I were on honeymoon when we stayed here. We had to get a boat over to Koh Lanta which went fairly smoothly. On arrival, we were given cool peppermint-scented flannels which were a heavenly treat in the stifling heat and also given a glass of water.

Check-in was smooth and efficient. By golf buggy, we were taken up to our room. Unfortunately, there was no privacy here at all though as this room was right next to the Hotel's main pool so everyone would be able to see you outside in your own private pool. Oddly, this room had no suitable private fencing. We asked to move and the staff were prompt, efficient and extremely understandable.

Our new room was up the hill slightly. Most of the rooms are built on the hill so it's quite a walk to get to them but the views they offer make up for it. Our room had a large bedroom with big tv, luxurious bathroom, separate living room with plasma tv, DVD player and fantastic hi-fi and again, our own small private infinity pool which faced the ocean. It was absolutely paradise through and through.

The Hotel's main infinity pool is huge with a small waterfall you can stand under and sun loungers all around it. There is also a smaller infinity pool for children with a slide. The gardens of the Hotel are idyllic and nothing but. There are little enclosed spaces dotted around with massage beds in. I presume you can lie down, have a massage and fall asleep with paradise all around you. There are ponds, little bridges, an Eden of flowers, plants, trees. Stunning.

Every day there are activities you can join in on. Yoga for example led by qualified instructors. There is a child's playroom and even a room specially for teenagers where they can play their computer games. You can also hire bikes and cycle around the resort (it's that big!). There is a spa/beauty salon area which we didn't go into but it will be fabulous as we've stayed in other Langham Resorts and they are truly fantastic and luxurious. You won't be disappointed.

We took breakfast and dinner in the Hotel. Breakfast was a buffet with anything you wanted from fresh fruit to a full fry up. The staff are attentive, always smiling and so friendly. Dinner was the same. Good menu. We often went to the local sports bar for drinks after dinner whcih was good fun. Alternatively, we went to get free DVD's from the media room where you can also surf the internet and borrow books.

The Hotel has it's own beach. It's not totally private but has it's own private access. It's sandy and looks heavenly but it was dead when we were there so we stayed by the pool instead.

All the staff here were fantastic, friendly, full of smiles and we just had the best time ever relaxing and sunbathing and will definitely be returning. It is worth every single penny you can afford. It truly is paradise! Enjoy!