This "resort" was booked as part of Imaginative Traveller's Thailand Family tour. Our tour leader seemed very enthusiastic about the place, promising some kind of island paradise in the jungle. Having stayed the previous night at the truly amazing River Kwai rafthouses nearby I was expecting more of the same. Things were looking up as we
jumped onto our large ferry boat and headed to the lights on a distant island in the middle of a large serene lake.

And then it came ... BOOM BOOM BOOM. A disco boat! Then another, and another, and another. And then a disco or bar on the shore near where
the ferry left decided it would do the same. BOOM BOOM BOOM. And so it continued until the early hours, BOOM BOOM BOOM. The noise wasn't the loudest I'd heard in a hotel but it was all the more annoying for ruining a potentially wonderful stay. Why the local authorities allow this noise hell, I'll never know.

Sadly the rooms aren't up to standards, plenty of cracks, loose fixtures, stains, mould, dust, grubby curtains, electrical sockets with exposed wiring, all the signs of a hotel going downhill. The air conditioning also put up a serious attempt to beat the local discos in the noise stakes. On the plus side the rooms are in individual cottages, so there's no noise from neighbours and ours had a wonderful morning view over the lake.

The island is a great safe place for the kids to run round, the pool is a little small to say the least, easily the tiniest one we saw in Thailand. The restaurant is also basic to say the least, very little to get excited about and the staff seemed to be wanting to be elsewhere. On one of the disco boats perhaps ? :-) Entertainment was provided by the thousands of geckos running up and down the walls of the restaurant, good for keeping the insect population down I guess (not surprisingly there's huge numbers of mosquitoes).

A great location if they could sort out the nighttime noise problem. And those rooms and restaurant sure could do with a makeover !

I am really fond of this place. It has a certain magic to it. The enchantment begins with the boat ride to Kasem Island with the magnificent grand mountains in the background. It was great to walk around the place and see the gardens that were carefully tended to, watch the flow of the river as well as see the rabbits, frogs and lizards and explore the place in general especially at night when it was all lit up. I really didn't care that the service could have been better, that there were cracks in the walls and that there were stains on the ceiling and in the shower. It was the kind of place that made you feel happy and relaxed. The buffet dinner by the river was also great. There was no stuffiness or commercialism I wish that we had stayed here longer.

Be careful with your expectations with this place. Maybe if you are backpacking, this place is great but part of your main 2 week holiday, be aware of what to expect. It is pretty basic and as the other reviews say, could do with a lick of paint. I think this is an understatement - it needs a refurb.

We had a 1500 baht room which previous reviews recommend, and we thought this would be OK. We had to kill a cockroach when we got to the room. The curtains and rail were broken, the shower curtain could have done with a real good clean and it was very dark. There was an adjoining door to the next room with a gap underneath so could hear our neighbours. Mind, this was drowned out by the riverboat discos and disco on the opposite bank. This is definitely a place for ear plugs. I think if you stay anywhere in Kanchanburi on the river this will be an issue.

The pool area is OK, there are only 6 sun loungers and chairs. We ate in the restaurant one night and is was only OK too, vey little atmosphere.

Never had any problems getting the boat over. The `office` on the mainland is actually someone`s house and one night when we knocked at 9.15pm, the chap was asleep and wasn`t too happy. Don`t think they keep rigidly to the every half hour to the mainland schedule.

Whilst there, I`d recommend Erawan waterfall (mind the fish nip if you`re thinking of swimming), and Hellfire Pass museum and walk.

In hindsight, we shouldn`t have stuck it out at the resort, we`d taken 10 hours to get there and it was 7pm when we got there so once we`d got the boat over it was too much hassle to change. If it had been on the mainland and earlier in the day, we would have gone elsewhere. It didn`t add to our holiday experience.

Beautiful setting, nicely kept, but sadly has been left to get a little run down. The boat ride from the pier takes just a few minutes and the views of real river life are great. The resort had very few guests whilst we stayed there and we found the isolation of a five day stay a little too much. The ferry runs to the main land every half hour and should return you at any time up until 10pm. After this time a 150Bht charge is made up until midnight. We returned from a trip into town at just gone 10pm and found ourselves stranded. After telephoning the resort for almost an hour, but to no avail, we were lucky to be offered a lift on the local cross river taxi boat. The staff do not speak much English and communication can be a problem. The menu available is very poor and well over priced.
Our room over looked the river, but was in desperate need of re- decoration, the A/C was very loud and rattled noisily.
The gardens are well kept and the pool offers a refreshing dip and is kept clean, but sadly the over whelming noise from the passing river boat discos blots out any chance of relaxing. A neighbourhood disco on the main land plays very very loud music until the early hours.
It should be noted the resort is quite a distance from the town and transport is required, it is a good idea to use a local taxi and ask for his/her number so they can be waiting for you as you leave the ferry. The resort will offer a taxi service but at hugely inflated prices.
The excursions trips that are offerd are roughly the same price as elsewhere and I must recomend the Evening Elephant and Hill Tribe Meal. You get a short elephant ride and then are led down to the river where you are given your own elephant to bathe in the river...a real experience and very well organised..the meal after is also very nicely served and appertising. I feel there are much better places to stay around Kanchanaburi town offering better amenities and costs.
On the whole it was nice just for a 2 day stay, but as we found no longer, think twice before you book.