The Story of Tongsai BayThe story of The Tongsai Bay began in 1985, when the late Khun Akorn Hoontrakul, then chairman of The Imperial Family of Hotels, saw Tongsai Bay from the sea and declared that it was love at first sight. Seven days later Khun Akorn purchased the land. For three months he slept on the beach, dreaming of his ideal resort, and began to draw up plans for the location of the cottage suites, each of which was to be constructed without cutting down a single tree and with minimal damage to the beautiful natural surroundings.The Tongsai Bay opened its doors in July 1987 and became the first five-star luxury hotel on Koh Samui, under the umbrella of The Imperial Family of Hotels. Following a period of illness in 1993, Khun Akorn decided to sell the hotel group to a Thai tycoon, retaining only The Tongsai Bay, where he vowed to live out the rest of his life with his beloved wife Khun Chompunute.In 2000 Khun Akorn passed away and management of The Tongsai Bay passed to the capable hands of his son, Thanakorn Hoontrakul, and his daughter in law, Saisiri who shares Arkorn’s passion for the environment and for providing the highest standards of hospitality and service. Under his watchful eye, The Tongsai Bay has continued to grow from strength to strength, recently developing its own ‘Green Project’ and working with other local hoteliers to preserve the island’s natural environment for future generations.The Tongsai Bay is a little bay on the north-eastern most tip of Ko Samui in the Gulf of Thailand approximately 800 kilometres from Bangkok, set in 25 acres of beautiful gardens and designed to blend harmoniously with the surroundings. This is a peaceful resort with a private beach.A mere 10 minutes drive from Samui Airport where Bangkok Airway flies directly from Bangkok, in around 1 hour, The Tongsai Bay can be reached conveniently.Since opening in 1987, The Tongsai Bay has established itself as the leading family owned hotel on the beautiful island of Koh Samui, Thailand. Hidden amongst 25 acres of breathtaking natural beauty and overlooking a sandy bay, the hotel is renowned for its privacy and tranquility, its passionate love for the environment and last but not least, the friendliness and professionalism of its staff. This gives rise to our proud boast that the Tongsai Bay is “Koh Samui’s most romantic hotel”.
AccommodationSet within lush tropical gardens on a hillside overlooking a secluded bay, accommodation at The Tongsai Bay consists of 83 suites, cottages and villas. All rooms offer mesmerising ocean views and boast spacious terraces, enabling guests to enjoy and connect with their tropical surroundings.
Beachfront Suites are located in a 3-storey building aside the main pool. They all enjoy fabulous direct pool and sea views. The ground floor rooms have an oversize indoor bathroom, terraces complete with sun-loungers and have direct gated access to the pool and gardens – wonderful for families with children. The two upper floors all have our signature “bath-with-a-view” on the terrace, sun loungers and a dining/writing table.
The Cottage Suites stand among coconut trees and tropical gardens on the hillside overlooking the sea. Most are semi-detached with a split-level design of bedroom and living area. To capture the very best seaviews the cottages are all slightly different in shape and arranged on different levels. Each has a private open-air balcony complete with our signature “bath-with-a-view”, 2 sun-loungers and a dining/writing table.
This unique cottage suite has an extra large living area and arguably the finest view of Tongsai Bay itself. On the terrace, in addition to the signature “bath with a view”, and 2 sun-loungers it has a large dining table and an outside four poster bed complete with mosquito net to experience sleeping under the stars and listening to the sounds of the sea!
The Tongsai Grand Villas are situated high on the hillside to the south of the bay. Each spectacular villa is luxuriously furnished and features a vast open air terrace complete with signature “bath with a view”, 4 poster bed with mosquito net, bar, pantry, dining area and sun loungers. The sea views are far reaching and the sense of privacy and tranquillity is astounding!
The Tongsai Pool Villas are found on the second row of the Tongsai Grand Villas. Each spectacular villa is luxuriously furnished and features a vast open air terrace complete with signature “bath with a view”, 4 poster bed with mosquito net, bar, pantry, dining area and sun loungers. The sea views are far reaching and the sense of privacy and tranquillity is astounding! These villas have a marginally smaller terrace space but have a spectacular private pool. Two adjacent villas can be linked for larger families or friends travelling together.
The Akorn Villa is named after our founder, and is our largest villa of which more than half comprises an vast open-air terrace. It has two bedrooms – a double and a twin. This villa is luxuriously furnished and features an open air terrace complete with signature “bath with a view”, 4 poster bed with mosquito net, bar, pantry, dining area and sun loungers. To top it all off is a large L shaped private pool around the terrace and spectacular views .
Down on the beachfront and overlooking the bay, the recently re-modelled and extended Po-Lad Beach Bistro & Bar is buzzing throughout the day. You can enjoy a range of Thai, Chinese and Western dishes for lunch from 10.00 till 17.30. As dusk sets in, the Bistro transforms itself into a contemporary and romantic gourmet restaurant with a totally different menu featuring all that is “local fresh” with the emphasis on a “fusion” of seafood and fine meats. You can choose to dine in the open sala, on the canopied terrace or directly under the stars on the deck. Close by is the Po-Lad bar where you can enjoy drinks and cocktails seated at the bar itself or on oversize lounging sofas. The bar is open from 11.00 in the morning until the wee small hours.
Located on an outdoor terrace overlooking the bay and tropical gardens, Chef Chom’s serves fine Thai cuisine the ‘traditional way’. The restaurant is named after Chef Chom who worked here for over 20 years. During her illustrious career, which started in the kitchens of the palace of the late Princess Vibhavadi Rangsit, a member of the Royal Family in Bangkok, she trained over 500 Chefs. One of the highlights of her career was acting as collaborator to English TV Chef Keith Floyd when he made his now famous “Far Flung Floyd in Thailand” series. She is now happily retired in Bangkok but keeps in touch with us on a regular basis - no new dish would ever be introduced here without her approval!
Dining at The Tongsai Bay is a truly memorable experience. The hotel’s dining options cover a variety of cuisines to intrigue even the most discerning palates and satisfy the heartiest appetites. For that truly special occasion we can serve you a fine menu of your own choosing on your private room terrace or on the beach itself. The service comes complete with your personal Chef (24 hours notice required).
Free Form Pool ( Main Pool)The pool and beach area is where you will spend most of your days. Our main free form fresh water pool is enormous and between it and the beach we have Thai style Gazebos, sun-loungers with parasols and tables. We also have a separate relaxing Jacuzzi and a children’s paddling pool. Even when the hotel is full there are more than enough loungers and parasols for everyone, so there is no need to reserve - we work on a ‘first come, first served” basis. The Beach Boy team are on duty from 09.00 to 19.00 to provide you with fresh towels, bar drinks plus complimentary iced drinking water and fresh fruit. However, their main responsibility is your safety.Half-Moon PoolOur “Half moon” swimming pool is found half way up the hillside on the pathway from the Po-Lad Beach Bistro to our villas. This pool offers spectacular views of the bay and total tranquillity. To maintain the peaceful nature of this area we maintain an ‘adults only’ policy.
We provide complimentary Hobie Cats, Windsurfers, Kayaks and snorkelling equipment (subject to availability and weather conditions). In keeping with our green policy and desire for tranquillity, no motorised water sports are available or allowed. Our Beach Boy team are happy to offer training to beginners.
The exercise room is located on the upper pathway to our cottage suites. The equipment available includes treadmills, bikes, steppers, rowing machine, weights and multi-purpose exercising units. Yoga mats are also available upon request to use either in the exercise room or on the terrace of your room. The exercise room is not manned all the time but serviced regularly each day.
The floodlit tennis court, located high on the hill by the main entrance to the resort is available from 07:00 – 21.00 daily. From here you can get a panoramic view of The Tongsai Bay and Choengmon beach which can be quite a distraction if you are playing to win! Reservations are required and we can provide you with rackets and balls. Our staff will make sure there is plenty of ice-cold drinking water.
Located on the beach next to our main swimming pool, Tongsai’s Gift Shop stocks a selection local Thai handicrafts, books, swimwear, hats, t-shirts, wraps, bags and handcrafted jewellery as well as those always needed necessities such as sun cream.
This air-condition room next to our Po-Lad Beach Bistro, has been especially created with our younger guests in mind. We have 2 PC’s for games and emails, a Nintendo “Wii” station with a wide screen TV and lots of board games to keep all ages happy (including a few adults)! The room is not staffed but soft drinks can be acquired from any member of the restaurant staff.
There are many things to do and see on Koh Samui and our reception staff can happily make recommendations, give advice and make bookings on your behalf. We operate our own taxi and car hire company, SES Car Rental that offers modern, well serviced and fully insured cars with experienced drivers. Koh Samui is not renowned for its safe driving! You will need to be aware of motorbikes, dogs, fast cars, poor lighting and erratic traffic lights not to mention the potholes. The recommended maximum speed is 60 km / hour. Overall, the driving standards on Koh Samui are comparable with the condition of the roads - poor! However, if you take great care at all times it can be a pleasurable experience - a good rule is to imagine every other driver will do the silliest thing possible and 99% of the time you will be right! Whilst freely available, we suggest extreme caution before considering the hire of motorbikes. Make sure to bring a current driving license (an International License preferred). Lastly, we drive on the left!
Spice up your holiday and learn how to cook authentic Thai cuisine with "Chef Mark Krueger and his team. The course is geared to cater to experienced cooks and beginners alike. As well as being educational it is great fun. Each student is provided with everything needed for a complete hands-on experience. You will also receive a special recipe cook booklet, photographs and certificate of achievement signed by Chef Mark. When the meal is ready, the class members get together in the lovely setting of Chef Chom’s Thai restaurant, where each student can invite a friend, at no extra charge, to “eat the results”. Cooking Classes take place from 12:30 – 15:00 twice a week and reservations can be made on arrival. Tours of our spice garden and organic produce farm can also be arranged on request.