I had booked to stay here for 2 nights to celebrate my birthday somewhere special whilst on Koh Tao- we enjoyed our stay so much that we booked a further 2 nights! We were picked up by the hotel van from our hotel in Sairee and taken up the very steep road to the resort. Here we were greeted and shown to our room. We had a room with floor to ceiling windows overlooking Shark Bay with a big balcony, the views were amazing. The water was so clear and shallow below that we often saw sharks from our balcony! The rooms aren’t going to win any design awards and I think they’re going for a western feel with carpets etc. but they were certainly comfortable, spacious and very clean with Thai touches.

The pool is fabulous with views out over the sea and Shark Bay which is a beautiful and unspoilt white sand beach. Comfortable loungers and pool bar serving tasty snacks and fresh fruit cocktails, absoulute bliss.

You can also snorkel or sunbathe down on the rocks by the sea which is fun. You can borrow snorkel gear from the guy down there and he will also take you across to the beach at Shark Bay and pick you up whenever you want- your own private taxi boat! We would also pick up cheap water from the beach shack as the water in the hotel mini bar was a complete rip-off and you get through some bottles of water in Thailand in April!

My partner and I both had massages in the spa on my birthday which were lovely, the spa was quite expensive but you get what you pay for which is a bit of luxury. Definitly worth trying out.

The hotel has a 'business centre' which is a quiet and cool retreat next to the restaurant where you can go and borrow DVD's and use the computer, this came in handy when we had to book our return flights back to Bangkok.

Breakfast was served in the restaurant where you can sit next to the big open windows and look out over the bay. Breakfast was very good and included most things you can think of and everything was covered up from the annoying flies. I have to say food was one of the highlights of our stay here, the friendly French chef always came out to talk to guests after their meal to gain feedback. We ate the best Pad Thai of our trip as well as some beautifully cooked sea bass in banana leaves. The waiting staff in the restaurant were also very sweet.

All in all, we spent a very memorable few days here for my birthday and would definitely recommend staying here for at least a couple of nights as the room prices are reasonable for what you get- however bear in mind that mini-bar prices and drinks are very expensive. If you want to get away from it all and chill in beautiful surroundings, this hotel is perfect. As the hotel is quite isolated with no bars/nightlife in walking distance, we also stayed in Sairee for a few nights whilst on Koh Tao which suited us perfectly, if like us, you also like to be in the middle of the action.

Nice staff, wonderful amenities and facilities, great rooms (all rooms have a sea view although no beach bungalows), and wonderful surroundings.

Be warned that the resort is located on a hill that is unpaved and incredibly rocky. It makes it inconvenient when you want to go into town, but there plenty of places that rent out ATVs and scooters and pretty much all of the taxis there are trucks (400 baht to go to the pier and 500 baht to go to Sairee Village). The resort, however, makes it easy to just stay there instead. The prices are higher, but the attention to detail is worth it.

we stayed already twice at the jamahkiri and its still a great place to stay on koh tao. it s for me the only luxury hotel on the island. it s of course more expensive (also the restaurant) but compared to koh samui and other islands still a great price / value ratio.
the rooms are comfortable and have all a wonderful sea view.
i would not recommend it for a stay with children or if you are not in a good shape as there are many steps to climb
the restaurant has a nice selection of also different dishes than what i am used to on koh tao, e.g ostrich filet.
only disadvantage is the road to get to the hotel. unfortunately it is a dirt road with many rocks and holes, but it is manageable if you are an experienced scooter / motorbike driver. if you are not experienced DONT DRIVE THERE BY YOURSELF, it s too easy to fall
there s a shuttle from the hotel, but it runs only until 18.30 so if you wanna go out for dinner to sairee or mae haad (which is recommendable) the taxi costs 10 eur one way (400 THB)
i recommend not to stay longer than 4-5 nights and then change to another hotel on the island

I stayed at this hotel twice a few years ago and have never stopped thinking about it! I will go back again one day! The hotel and staff are brilliant, the place is clean and the views are stunning, would highly recommend this to anyone! Koh Tao is a beautiful place to be, I would recommend hiring a quad or a motorbike if you can, the rest of the island is worth exploring, especially the Italian restaurant in town!