We booked 2 nights over the internet while travelling in Thailiand. The sea side is nothing special. The resort seems abandoned. It is not central. The food at the restaurant was not eatable and I left it in my plate and they seemed to be used to that and did not ask me if anything was wrong with it and or if I wanted something else instead. It is really expensive for what you get, the standard room is old and the bathroom shower was giving me the electro shock. I definitely do not recommand this resort, it was the only bad place where we have been in Thailand!

We stayed for ten days at the Twin Lotus Resort on the Island of Koh Lanta, in March 2010, for the second part of our Thailand holiday. Following on from three days in busy sleazy Bangkok, we found the Twin Lotus to be delightful haven of tranquility. At the time of our stay, the hotel occupancy was only thirty percent, which meant that staff and facilities were never stretched.
The hotel is situated at the north end of Khlong Dao beach, on the west coast of the island of Koh Lanta Ya,i close to the northern tip. (Note that at the time of writing Google Maps places this hotel on the Thai mainland, miles away from its true location!). TheTwin Lotus is just one of a number of resort hotels strung along the length of the mile-long beach. It occupies a large expanse of land behind the beach, with the main swimming pool, bar, and restaurant situated at the front overlooking the sea, while the bulk of the guest accomodation is scattered in beautifully tended garden areas behind. We had a "deluxe room" on the upper storey of a two-decked terrace of rooms at the back of the resort, overlooking a palm-fringed lawn (about a three or four minute stroll from the beach). The room had all that we expected from a four-star holiday hotel, with twin beds,wash- basin, and cupboards in the principal area, complete with refridgerated mini-bar, satellite TV, wardrobes with guest robes and slippers, excellent air-condtioning, tea/coffee making equipment, hair-dryer, programmable safe, etc. The spacious bathroom with shower, w/c, and full length mirrors was separated by a sliding frosted-glass door. A wooden door opposite led outside into a small enclosed yard with an outdoor bathtub (open to the sky). A lockable service entrance at the back of the room allowed access by the maids for daily sevicing of the rooms without disturbing any guests sunbathing on the veranda at the front . Copious free bottled water was replenished daily, as were the tea and coffee sachets. Mini-bar tarrifs were reasonable, and not much more than the prices that the local shops charged for the same items.
The buffet breakfast, supplied in the main restaurant overlooking the pool and beach, consisted of a decent choice of the usual hot and cold food and fruit juices, with fresh tea/coffee brought to your table. We didn't use the restaurant for any other meals (as we were Bed and Breakfast only), although the menu looked good (if a little overpriced!).
The beach and sea were really excellent for bathing, with gradually sloping sand, clean water, and gentle waves. The rest of the beach was backed by a continuous string of restaurants offering a massive range of both Thai and international cuisine, and often specialising in seafood .We tried eight or nine of these, and all were pretty good if rather "samey". On the last day, we realised that we had missed what was probably the most up-market (and expensive) restaurant on the beach, which was only about fifty yards north of the Twin Lotus (in the opposite direction from all the other restaurants) , with a "Royal Thai" type cooking that was close to " haute cuisine".
The hotel provides free bicycles (all newish good quality mountain-type bikes) which are great for getting to the local shops on the back roads, and will take you to the little town and ferry port of Sala Dan in about fifteen minutes. Also provided free was internet access (four PCs in the reception building), although the bandwidth was pretty narrow (remember dial-up speeds?) and websites tended to "time-out" frequently. Since attempting to write and send a "hotmail" email almost always ended in the connection being terminated before the message could be sent, we found that it was always best to highlight and "copy" the email message that one had just composed, so that it could be quickly "pasted" back in to Hotmail after a reset and sent immediately before the program had timed-out!
The staff were always extremely helpful and friendly, and there was never any overt expectation of tipping.
All in all, we were very happy with this hotel and its friendly ambiance. Yes - as has been mentioned in other reviews - the rooms are probably due for a refurbishment soon, but everything was clean and tidy, and it has the feel of a genuine 4-star resort.

The majority of other visitors to this island are Scandinavian, and it has acquired a good reputation as being middle-class and family-friendly. There were quite a few young children around during our stay, and most were quiet and well behaved. We saw no signs at all of the sleazy side of Thailand in Koh Lanta. It was very hot and dry in March (35-40 degrees most days) and I'm pleased to say that there were no mosquitos at this time!

The speed boat transfer from krabi (organised by hotel) was good. However, our room (which was supposed to be deluxe) was a grave disappointment. It was shabby, gloomy and on the edge of the rather run-down complex neighbouring the main road to Saladan. We promptly asked to be moved and were taken to the beach end of the complex and housed in a bungalow, which was much more indicative of what we had paid (£120 a night). If luxury is what you are after and you paid over £75 a night to stay at this hotel, I would not settle for anything less than a bungalow near to the beach - the apartment we were shown was not 3*, let alone 4*. That said, the staff were very helpful.
There is a language barrier, so be prepared for this if you have special needs or dietary requirements. Further, the spa is seriously lacking facilities - there is no yoga, tai chi, manicure, pedicure or meditation (despite what the website advertises).
The food at the Twin Lotus, although good on the whole, is quite pricey - the restaurants along the beach cater for all ages and budgets and there are plenty of good value eateries farther along the beach.
The hotel has good bikes, snorkel gear, body boards, kayak available to hire free of charge and I thought this was a great facility - we made use of these every day.
The holiday makers to Koh Lanta are formed of a good mix of ages and nationalities (but mainly families) and by venturing into Saladan or moving around the island, you do get to experience the local culture so you can escape from the feeling of being trapped in a resort. Beware that a Thomas Cook hotel has already stamped its mark on this particular beach (and it is not too far from Twin Lotus) so I am not sure how long it will be until the beach is invaded by annoying animation reps and 18-30 pub crawls ;) The tranquil Koh Lanta may be a very different place this time next year.
The sea is gorgeous, just like a bath. It was a little rainy and overcast in January but perfect if you're not a sun worshipper. We were still able to get a nice colour. The pool at the hotel is also quite nice, but the sun beds are plastic and uncomfortable as not all have covers - it's a small point, but again one to bear in mind if you are after luxury.
A disappointing end to the holiday was being squashed on to a speed boat with a rather disorganised family of six (and all of their luggage). It was a case of the hotel trying to get more money but not actually putting on an adequate service - the boat could barely move and the 2 hour drive to Krabi airport was almost unbearable with noisy children. If you're brave enough to barter, perhaps you could book something private from an operator in Saladan in order to avoid this issue.
To summarise: good location, plenty to do but be wary of getting good value for money - Twin Lotus was very mediocre in places, so in order to get the most out of your holiday don't be afraid to complain!

We stayed at the Twin Lotus in Ko Lanta for our anniversary trip during the end of Jan beginning Feb in 2009 and absolutely loved it.

We were welcomed with a nice foot wash and massage and fresh fruit and then a day later, when the hotel found out it was our anniversary, they gave us an anniversary cake which was so big that we had to share with the staff!!

We stayed in a standard room which was really nice and clean and well equipped. We stayed at the bottom floor of the hotel with the garden view and close to the garden pool. The were a wooden rail to hand our wet bathing gear and staff were really accommodating with everything. Laundry service was excellent and cheap.

The location of the hotel is perfect. Less than 10 mins from the Pier for the ferry to Krabi and the hotel had free shuttle service. The hotel also had a shuttle service from the hotel to the restaurants in Saladan, at scheduled times. We didn’t use this service as we rented motorbike and bicycles from the hotel to get around the area. We used the bicycles to ride from our hotel room to the breakfast area in the morning which was like a 7 min walk but we found riding the bicycle (free for hire) more enjoyable! We took a ride through the local roads, roadside markets and pulled up at secluded beaches away from the hotel and loved it ! Breakfast was plenty and great variety from hot food to fresh fruit and the staff were very attentive.

The main pool is located right in front of the beach so you can swim up and have a view of the beach. It wasn’t every hard to get a spot for the pool lounges as most of the people also enjoyed the private beach of the hotel. The hotel is located towards the end of the beach which is nice but not far away at all from all the nice restaurants located on the beach. I recommended eating anywhere along the beach. We tried everywhere and loved them. They are certainly cheaper than the hotel and tax free. Same with the beach bars. We usually left our hotel, walked along the beach to these fantastic restaurants on the beach and sat there for hours enjoying our meals and drinks. There is like a 7-Eleven store about 5 mins walk long the beach from the hotel where you can get a lots of things from sun screen to packet noodles and if you walk about from this shop towards the road, you will find other shops including pharmacy, opti-care etc – very convenient if you run out of supplies. The 7-Eleven staff were very helpful as if they don’t have anything that you want, they will try and get it for you to take you to a place where you can get it for a mere 100baht.

Also, all the island tours you might want to arrange for (like the 5 island tour – loved it!) are also conveniently located along the beach. Hunt around for a good deal. Don’t go with the tours organised by the Hotel -they are too expensive. Same with massages etc.Along the beach you can get a nice massage on the beach for about 250baht !

I would really recommend this hotel for anyone who is looking for a nice, restful getaway. The beach is not crowded, the nights out are very chilled and relaxing and walks along the beach are amazing. This place is for couples and children. Although we mainly spotted couples in this area.

You wont be disappointed! I will definitely be staying at the Twin Lotus again for an overall good value for money, great location and lovely staff.