When I arrived there were an English couple in reception complaining and trying to get new accomodation, so that wasn't very promising..BUT...

I was shown to my room and it looked absolutely fine. It had obviously just been cleaned and I didn't spot any roaches during my stay. This hotel is quite basic, so if you're looking for 5* then you're in the wrong place. However, if you're going to be spending most of your time on the beach and not in your room, like I was, then it's perfectly acceptable.

I found the staff to be very friendly and helpful. Their english wasn't amazing - but then neither is my Thai, so who's to blame!? The food served was very nice and I liked the little 'lounge' area near reception where you could watch TV or play board games. They also had an internet desk for a decent price.

There's a small beach type area outside. It's not the most beautiful beach I've ever been on, but it was fine for a couple of hours sunbathing each day.

This place is a little bit off of the beaten track. But I found it really easy (and very cheap) to get a taxi to and from the main strip in Ko Phangan. I wouldn't have walked at night as it's a very dark area (and we are 3 young girls), but we walked during the day and it was fine.

I did find the price slightly high for what I got, but this was during a Full Moon Party weekend, so I expected nothing less. I was actually glad we stayed a bit further away from the Party itself as a lot of nearby hotels got broken into and were full of party goers that we not even guests!

If you want a basic and clean place to sleep with friendly staff -then this is for you.

If you want 5* luxury and to spend a lot of time in your room - then it's not!

We have strong suspicions that the positive reviews written about this "hotel" on other sites are the work of an english speaking owner or a tourist who was paid to post them. This place is beyond terrible. Located on a far and deserted part of Haad Rin, dirty and worst of all- overpriced. They misrepresent themselves online and charge prices that are exhuberant for this island. You will be sorely disappointed upon arrival (as we were) but will be forced to stay 3 nights around the full moon party (the only time this hotel has any guests... I saw their booking calendar during our stay). Do yourself a favour and stay at any other place....

I stayed here in low season so expected the area to be as quiet as it proved to be. The hotel is an 8 minute walk from the pier, another 5 minutes on to the town, but walking back after 1800 you must clamber over rocks that jut out into the sea (so make sure you're still relatively sober!)
The staff were all helpful and pleasant, I had no problem with understanding them or them me. The food is good, quality and price, and the service was prompt - but throughout the majority of my stay the hotel was no more than half-full except for the three days around the full moon party. The hotel has the cheapest intenet service I found on Koh Phangan and was also one of the only ones from which i could access my Irish internet bank account. I'd booked one of the more expensive rooms with dvd player and fridge, which was situated on the corner, and was no better or worse than i'd imagined (having stayed on the island on 4 previous occasions). My only complaint is that they did not supply soap or shampoo which most hotels in this price bracket tend to.
While I doubt I would return to Vimarn Samut, the hotel was clean and the staff friendly. Yes, there was a cockroach in the bathroom but this IS South-east Asia, and I had to request that my bedding was changed but this was done promptly once requested.

Do not waste your money here! It is one of the most overpriced hotels I have ever stayed at. There were cockroaches in our room, the bathroom roof leaked and there was no television even though they claimed it as one of the best hotels on the island. Besides that, the air conditioning took forever to get cold and it wasn't remotely close to sunrise beach. The other reviews said it was a short 10 minute walk. It is more like 20 minutes (which in the heat is horrible) and you would never want to do the walk by yourself at night. The property is located in sunset beach, which is dirty and deserted. The staff barely speaks English so if you have a problem you would need to figure out how to mime your way to a solution. I would recommend any other hotel besides this one!