In a word: Incredible. If you are looking for a place to relax, enjoy nature and be surrounded by some of the nicest people ever, then look no further! A remote unspoiled island, Koh Phra Thong is an absolute gem! The houses are open, so yes, you will get to know some of the wildlife around you, but that is part of the beauty of this place. There are mosquito nets around the beds, so you shouldn’t be bothered during the night. The beaches are stunning, the food is FABULOUS, and staff are simply wonderful and will do their very best to help you in any way.
Waking up and enjoying yoga every day, while listening to the waves and lovely birdsong is what made this vacation simply unforgettable. I will certainly be making Golden Buddha Beach a regular vacation spot.

There can't be many places left in Thailand that are as unspoilt and peaceful as Golden Buddha. It takes ages to get here and it took us a day to get used to the peace and calm here and pace of life. The beaches are beautiful and completely unspoilt, which also means no sun loungers or waiters which we'd normally expect for a resort that costs this much but after a few days we realised that's the charm of this place. We spent hours sat on our veranda reading and watching the wildlife around us. Diving here is good with blue guru but expensive (expect to pay £200 per trip to the national park) but well worth it. morning yoga sessions were a great way to work up and appetite for breakfast. Food is great too, simple honest Thai food with a well stocked bar.

Yes, there's limited electricity, no wifi really and cold showers but if you see if as part of the charm it's fine.

We'd definitely return

Golden Buddha is very remote so before you head over there do make sure that you are in the mood for this type of getaway.

Their marketing sales pitch is "The Luxury of Nature" but really it should say " The Simplicity of Nature" because there is nothing luxurious about GB.

The website is pretty clear about what GB stands for so I won't repeat. I have to precise however that our bungalow called Ban Tugea was simple but not worth 175$.  The extremely hard bed -yes Thailand has hard mattresses but this one was hard as wooden planks- does not make the 175$ a night worth it at all if you can't sleep.   I would not have paid more than 75$ for this bungalow.

Even though the bungalow is fairly nice everthing is open so be ready to deal with bugs and cockroaches.  The bed has a mosquito net though.

GB has 2 beaches: one small bay where you can swim early morning or end of day but don't expect amazing turquoise water like they have on their photos.  The other beach in front of our bungalow was not for swimming as the current and waves are quite strong.

We cut our trip short as this was not exactly what we expected even though we had thoroughly read their entire website.  Note: a fancy website does not make a "resort" fancy.  You all probably know this by now that's why you are reading tripadvisor.  Even though we were not looking for fancy when we booked GB we expected a tiny weeny more comfort for the price.

Besides the steep price GB is a very relaxed family with lot's of kids type of place.  The atmosphere reminds me of going to the cottage: totally laid back.

The staff is quite friendly especially the ladies that take care of customer service.  

The food was absolutely delicious.  The dinner menu is a set menu at about 15$ per person (not including drinks) and they served us authentic Thai dishes.  They give you A LOT of food for 15$!

Overall this is a great place to totally unwind and relax, but you need to know what you are getting before you go (which we did).
Its a bit of an eco resort so there is no air con, only electric at certain times of the day and you will certainly get to know the local wildlife (including bugs). The insects are very loud at night. All that said the houses are great, the food is great, and its a true place to get away from the hussle and bussle of Thailand. Staff are very friendly and helpful.

Tips - take plenty of mossy coils which you can burn and lots of repellant as they are about! No need for hairdryers or anything like that, its so hot there is no point. All the houses are great but try and get a beach front house if you want the view. Kayaking around the islands was lovely and peaceful and also the diving with Blue Guru was a great experience. Bear in mind also this place is difficult to get to and a long trip but it is worth it.