Make sure to ckeck the weather forcast before you book a stay in Mai Pen Rai. The beach - Than Sadet is not the most beatiful bech, the sand is stony, the water if´s far from crystal clear and the wafes are high so its hard to swim. From nov- feb the winds are blowing from the east and that makes Than Sadet far from cozy. If it rains (and it did a lot when we were there in december/january) you are stuck. There is no other chocie than Mai Pen Rai and their family (all the other 4 places are also the same family) and you have to buy all your food, fill the waterbottles (for a fee of course) and use the only internet (wifi - 150 baht a day!) there is in their place. The wind blew, storm destroyed the beach and it was kind of unpleasant. Of course the weather also forced you to become friends with the other cast away guests. When the sun was shining it was a totally different place. Beatiful setting, it really looks like paradise (apart from the yellow stony sand and the greyish water of course). We heard that when the wind change in february the whole atmosphere of the beach changes. The water is then crystal clear and the (few) palms give nice shade (since it tends to get crowded - you will fight for your bit of shade though).The bungalows are really high class. beautyful and very comfortable (apart of course from the brown water in the shower - it tends to be like that when it rains, so again - check the weather forcast). The food in the restaurants is EXCELLENT, we were very impressed. Everything is really good. Especially Mai Pen Rain and Plei restaurant. The owner is very (mai pen rais) correct and service minded although not the warmest and most relaxed person on the island I suppose (she doesnt seams happy with her life there). But whooverall its a very nice place I guess when the weather is good. Its almowst impossible to get out of there when its NOT raining so you cannot get out of there when it rains. So again - check the weather... (a very good weathersite is www.yr.no).
Good Luck!

Went to Mai Pen Rai for my 2nd time in December 2011 - stayed for just under two weeks and had a thoroughly great time. Anyone going there should know what to expect before they travel - if you're looking for a luxury 5* resort this isn't it - you will get creepy crawlies and there won't be hot showers and it's a pain to get to, but all that aside, it's lovely and quiet and pristine and beautiful and you pretty much have a private beach to yourself as there weren't that many people about when we were there. The weather in December was pretty hit and miss, it rained/thundered probably half the time we were there which kind of sucked, but in December the weather on KP can be pretty touchy at the best of times. Food was good at MPR but I'd also definitely recommend going to check out Plaa on the cliff tops as they do an amazing red curry. The only thing about Mai Pen Rai which I'd warn people about is just how far away it is from anywhere else and how difficult it is to get in and out. Pretty much the only safe way in/out in my opinion is by 4x4 or pickup truck - the roads getting there from the other side of the island are ok about 60% of the way, but then the last 40% of the journey are some of the worst roads i've ever seen. I saw some people tackling them on mopeds but I wouldn't do it personally. The boats weren't coming in or out due to the choppy seas so the only route we could take to get elsewhere was the taxi which for a small group could cost anything from 500baht to 1500 or even 2000 baht depending on how many of you there were and where you were going. All in all though I had a great time though and would recommend the place to others - it's reasonably priced, run by lovely people and a welcome break from the madness of Had Rin

Mai Pen Rai is not a hotel, but if you are looking for a quiet, beautiful spot by the water, where you can wake up to birds and waves every morning and avoid the crowds, Mai Pen Rai is a good bet. The beach is beautiful, the bungalows eclectic and charming, but the best thing about this place is the total lack of stress and noise. The staff are extremely chilled, and the place attracts a kind of visitor who is ready to take things as they come and enjoy the peace and quiet. I loved it.

First of all i just want to say that i agree with the other reviews in that the views are beautiful and if you are travelling and staying for a few days then yes this would have been ideal. But as we were on holiday this was the worst experience ever. We are a very laid back group who went and never complain but i just wanted to let people know just incase they make the same mistake as us (as we were only on holiday for 10 days).
Good points
Views, friendly staff,

Bad points
We had to climb through a tiny hole to get to our room on the rocks, one guy is 6ft 6inch so proved very difficult, while we were there there was a storm and you had to dodge the waves to get to your room otherwise they would have covered you and maybe worse. I felt like this place was a death trap. There were no bars to hold onto when you climbed your stairs to get to your bungalow and when wet they were very slippery. Everywhere i looked people had bandages covering there bodies.
Our first night was ok as it was new years eve and the full moon party (which was amazing) a definate must in your lifetime.
The second night was terrible. We were in room 29 family bungalow the shower was like ice, there were flying beetles in there with me, my friend and i deciced to do a crossword in the upstairs part of the family bungalow to discover that there were actually ants crawling on our back. We went downstairs to the double bed and the bed was soaking wet from the storm where the roof had leaked. During the night the rain and the waves sounded like they were going to wash your bungalow away, very scary and to make matters worse the electric goes off at 01.00 in the morning and it is pitch black so you dont know what is crawling on you either you just find out when it gets light.
We had booked 7 nights here but that next morning we just had to leave. I decided to go the long way round as the waves were to big to get passed from our room (the long way you have to climb about 500 stairs) when i got to the top i couldnt get passed becasue there was a huge pig in the way, very surreal experience.
Once you are at the bungalows then there is nothing to do apart from chill out-the ride to had rin is about 40 mins.
We also got talking to a couple who were travelling and had been staying at the bungalows for 10 nights (not once had they had there sheets changed or there toilet bin emptied) however they were staying in a bungalow on the beach which is far safer than on the rocks.
We left Koh Phangnan and went back to koh samui where we had a 5 lovely nights prior to coming home. (hot shower, felt clean, places to walk too)
It has been an experience and i wouldnt change that we went to Mai pen rai bungalows. But if you are on holiday then i would avoid this place.
The ride to the bungalows is also crazy, i have never seen such mad roads (not great after a few beers).