hi just got back after 13 nights at centara villas we had booked and paid for a deluxe ocean view when we arrived after already having spent 8 nights in thailand we were told we would have to wait 1.30 hours for it to be prepared i asked if we had an ocean veiw this was met with laughter when i asked what room it was
i was told 310 we went to look at it to find no sea view a small room with small terace and no privicey on going back to reception
i told them i was not happy they then said they were full and had only 1 room left 315 large balcony large room twin beds but not
deluxe and definaitly not what it looks like in the books 1 chair no day bed and very basic but we thought well at least we could swim and snorkel all day of the reef the reef is dead and the sea so murky you could not see your feet the sea bed felt like silt and at some points felt like your feet were stuck at least we can get the shuttle into town yes if your lucky 1 bus 5 times a day each holding 12 people and needs booking 24 hours in advance after 1 week of this and a lot of anger they put on another bus but the day before we left 2/5/08 it was back to one also the hot breakfast never was hot the day before we left we felt the containers and they were cold staff watched us and the next day they were hot we aslso noticed things missing from the mini bar in our room on arrival but were not charged for them as for bar prices drink out side at the bar next to the baracuda which does good food cheap i would say this hotel at best is only 2 star and needs a good overhal if they spent as much time maintaining the buildings and training staff as they do on the gardens it could be nice

Myself and my partner and a friend and his partner arrived at Centara Villas on 16th April after a 3 night stay in Singapore, and I can honestly say that it was one of the worst experiences of my life.
After a complimentry drink and a friendly welcoming check in all seemed well, until we arrived at our room where instead of the double beds we thought we had booked, we only had twin beds. We had several trips to reception to complain about this, where we were told that we had already been upgraded to a deluxe villa that dont have double beds, to then be told that we couldn't be upgraded to a deluxe villa because it would cost Centara to much!!! On our last visit to complain about this, we were told we would be contacted during our stay about getting double rooms, but that was the last that was heard on the subject!

After this bad start we all decided that we would make the most of our stay. We went on several tours booked through the hotel which we found enjoyable and fun.

The rooms were clean and tidy but there were a few maintainance issues on both rooms that we had. One room had the door that was rattling and unsecured, and after asking twice, a member of staff came, but told our friends that nothing could be done as the bolt was broken, and therefore had to sleep for the full 8 nights with an unsecure room. In both villas, the showers had very little pressure which made it difficult to shower properly. Also the shower in our room leaked from the pipework causing water to spray, flooding the bathroom everytime we showered. Once again we mentioned this to the staff, and upon our return to the room we found that it had been repaired with electrical tape, with not much success.

We ate in the hotel on several occasions and found the food nice, not expensive, similar to English prices, but expensive in comparison to the rest of Koh Samui.
However, when we attended the themed Thai night, expecting it to be exceptional, we were left feeling very disappointed. We found the beef curry contained no beef and the duck curry also missing the duck and the bread was covered in ants. We mentioned this to the restaurant manager, who laughed at our complaint and told us that we should have waited until they had refilled the dishes, but by this time it was 15 minutes after finishing our meal.
To add more insult, one of the waiters thought it would be appropriate to join in the conversation, despite not knowing the situation. He raised his voice to us saying "there is plenty of choice, why didn't you order from the a la carte menu". At this point the restaurant manager was still stood beside our table, but didnt say anything to this member of staff and laughed further when we raised the issue of the waiters attitude. Two other guests dining close by agreed with us about the attitude of the staff and said they would not stop here again due the attitude of the staff and the accomodation offered.

The complex itself was not maintained appropriately, consisting of cracked or missing tiles in swimming and sun loungers being in a poor state of repair.

Upon check out, when we thought we would be leaving the problems behind, we were asked to pay for an item taken from the mini bar that was not consumed by us.

Most of the points above were given to Centara in an official written complaint, who said we would receive a signed copy by the hotel manager via fax in our next resort, this was never received, making us feel like it was just a waste of time complaining to people it seems dont care!!

We won't ever be visiting Centara villas again and wont be recommending it to anyone!

Having visited Phuket & Krabi before, this year we decided to try Ko Samui, but being errrmmm mature, we didn't fancy the usual busy tourist spots. The Centara Villas appeared in an e-mailed offer from a major travel company, and appeared to meet our requirements, confirmed by previous Trip Advisor reports.
We were whisked away from Ko Samui airport by the resort's mini bus, to follow the snake of traffic along the ring road. It actually circles the whole island... Eventually, our driver decided he could not wait any longer, and proceded to overtake about four cars in one go, forcing oncoming motorbikes to flee off the road! Not a pleasant journey, and worse driving that we had experienced in Thailand before!
On arrival, shaken and a little stired, we were ushered up the steps and onto a sofa near the reception, where our passports were taken for checking, registration forms filled in and fresh coconuts provided to refresh us. We were told our room number would be 106....and that was it. The two receptionists carried on with their paperwork and the chap who carried our cases up the stairs and checked the passports, disappeared. After about 20 minutes, I asked if we could go to our rooms, which seemed out of the ordinary to the receptionsts! After all we had only been travelling for about 18 hours, why on earth would we want to go to our room? One of the receptionists, who was German I think, escorted us down the steps to our room and let us in. All we needed now was our cases... These arrived after about another 20 minutes, and a phone call.
The accommodation is as the name suggests, is villas. These are dotted over a hillside. Ours was clean and tidy, but looking a little tired, as were the others on site. They were cleaned daily, usually in the afternoon, by friendly staff, who carried all their supplies in large bags from villa to villa.
The restaurant and main bar were situated at the bottom of the hill overlooking the beach, sea and lagoon. All meals were of good quality, though we waited for 90 minutes for one dinner, after the maitre'd, forgot to pass our order to the kitchen... Like most hotel restaurants, the meals not included in the package were expensive, compared to local restaurants, so much so that we calculated that we could hire a car for a week, eat out and still save money! There are several restaurants nearby, two of which are just a short walk down the hill...but don't forget you have to walk back up afterwards, if you don't have transport! We tried both and found them to be good value and the service friendly.
Our tour guide recommended several trips to us, but as we wanted to get away from the tourist trail, we got a map and headed in all directions except those suggested! Heading south and west you discover the real Samui. Empty roads, hidden bays and even the odd resort. Everywhere we went the beaches were unspoilt and empty, with other explorers a rarity.
Getting back to the Centara Villas, we found it to be an ideal spot to unwind, swim in one of its pools, or snorkel in the lagoon. There is no nightlife, apart from the restaurants and odd bar. If you want nightlife, you have booked the wrong resort.
As rather out of condition, older visitors, the steps up and down the hill did become a little tiresome, but you don't need to be a mountain goat to survive them!
So, if you want peace and quiet (apart from the rather noisy cicadas) the Centara Villas offer a reasonably priced option.

Stayed here for 2 nights following a 5 night stay in Bangkok, found the villas to be very nice and there are a lot of stairs but that was no problem and gave you plenty of exercise.

The only down side was that i found the bed hard and the pillows like bricks, esp after the different pillow choice in the bangkok hotel.

I used the Spa and they were very good and very helpful. I found all the staff to be plesant and at no time was i pressured into doing trips or using the spa.