We arrived at the Four Seasons Koh Samui in the Thai COVID authorized transport, after getting our COVID test at the Koh Samui airport (and getting the box of Flowflex antigen rapid tests to take 6 or 7 days later at the hotel). We were met at the reception sala by the General Manager Sean Mosher, as well as Jingyi (Front Desk Manager) and Panicha (Resort Assistant Manager, Rooms), the staff with whom we had made all of our arrangements. They gave us a warm welcome and a special drink! After doing the paperwork and learning about the hotel, we were told how the "quarantine" in our villa would work until our COVID test results were received from the airport personnel. We would stay in our villa for dinner that night and breakfast the next day. After receiving word of our negative test results the next morning, we would be free to travel anywhere in Thailand.
The Four Seasons Koh Samui is built on a very steep and hilly area by the water. Our deluxe one-bedroom villa has a magnificent view and is absolutely lovely. We were brought to our villa in a buggy that had a "Happy Birthday" sign across it for us; how wonderful! We were immediately happy with our 1000 sq. ft. accommodations (which is very unusual for us).
We spent our first afternoon inside the villa, as required, unpacking. The storage was good enough and we were able to unpack everything and send our suitcases away to be stored. The Four Seasons Koh Samui provided a gift of a delicious bowl of fruit with 2 young coconuts (full of juice and meat), longan, mango, passion fruit, banana and pear, which we ate outside by our private pool for lunch.
Before dinner, we took showers in our indoor-outdoor shower, brushed our teeth and generally felt human again. We loved, loved loved the instant hot water. We ordered a light meal: a Thai papaya salad for Audre and a Massaman Nua curry for Dimitri, along with sticky rice with mango. We sat outside (with lots of mosquito coils) and saw the full moon until the clouds covered it and a little rain began. We had a great night's sleep on the Four Seasons mattress (not the same as ours in Vail but very good).
The next morning we ordered in-room dining again. Dimitri had the Thai Set Breakfast and it was terrific. On it was a juk, the rice porridge that he wanted and he loved it. The set came with lots of other Thai food and was delicious. Audre had a yogurt and fruit breakfast with a glass of fresh mango juice--yum!
Around 10:30 am we received the negative COVID test results and we were free to go outside the villa. All of the villas are built on concrete platforms that extend the length of the building and are supported by impressive concrete stanchions. Because the terrain is so hilly the pools at the villas are also supported that way. The gorgeous landscaping conceals all of the support systems and what is visible is beautiful. Buggies (golf carts) are available (without a wait) to take guests wherever they were going. Rarely do we see people walking on the vertical buggy paths. (Even with the COVID staffing shortage there are plenty of buggies and drivers for the number of guests.)
We were in Koh Samui during the monsoon season and the torrential rain could be ferocious. Even so, we could generally sit outside on our deck and watch the storms without being battered by the wind. When we could, we would walk to breakfast at Koh restaurant, up a steep hill to a staircase with 86 steps up. Otherwise, we could take a buggy that had enough power to get up the semi-vertical paths that could only accommodate buggies, not really bigger vehicles.
As we settled in, we needed help with one thing or another. The staff was unbelievably accommodating. If we wanted brighter lights, they did their best. If we needed help with connecting the Four Seasons Bose system to our laptops, an IT person named Boy worked on connecting to Bluetooth until he had success. Dimitri also managed to get Alexa working just like back home. Eventually, Alexa even knew that she was in Koh Samui and could give us weather forecasts and, most important, was able to connect to Pandora, our favorite music source. (Pandora blocks our laptops when we are out of the US. How Alexa gets past that is a known, unknown.) The Internet speed at the hotel was one of the fastest we have ever had, even better than our Xfinity at home.
On our second morning, we had breakfast at the Koh restaurant. There was a lovely buffet with Western and Asian dishes, as well as a chef to make whatever you wanted. The fruits were gorgeous and the croissants delicious. At first, Natt was our assigned server and she was fabulous--so charming and helpful. Actually, all of the servers were terrific. We (and all other guests) were asked to wear masks and gloves when we served ourselves food and everyone did without mass protests. Sean, the General Manager, made rounds in the morning and he would sometimes sit with us and chat. Alessandro, the Resort Manager, would also sit with us and chat. When Macall, Director of Rooms and Residences, came back from her vacation, she too would stop by to talk to us.
Alessandro gave us a tour of the property in a buggy, taking us to the infinity pool and the beach. Pla Pla restaurant is by the beach and looked lovely. The pool is truly impressive and Audre was excited to find out how many laps she could do in a 50-meter pool. (Ours at the Vail Four Seasons is 25 meters. One summer she worked up to swimming 1 mile but that was years ago.)
Before breakfast, we would make a Nespresso coffee at our bar on our deck and sit to take in the view. We were first given another type of coffee maker but it only made a thimble full of coffee. We asked Beam, the head of housekeeping, if she had another type of machine and voilà the Nespresso machine appeared with lots of coffee pods (and even decaffeinated pods).
After breakfast, we would generally stop to talk to the excellent, personable, and knowledgeable concierge about what Thai restaurant we should go to for dinner outside of the Four Seasons. Between the restaurants that Dimitri had previously identified and the ones recommended, we found great Thai food. We miss ethnic food in general in Vail and particularly lack good Thai food. The concierge also helped us in identifying hikes to do (when it wasn't raining). We wanted to do a mountain bike tour and the concierge helped us to find business doing that (which was open).
So many businesses were closed due to COVID and many had not reopened when we were in Koh Samui. The small resorts were shuttered--only the big ones could withstand the pandemic. We got used to making sure places would be open. Everyone was wearing masks both at the resort and outside.
After we rented our Yaris (which was delivered to the hotel by the Sixt people), Dimitri needed accessories for attaching the cell phone to the windshield to follow Google map directions. Boy or Om from IT would go to a store and buy what was needed.
Housekeeping "did" our room twice a day and that was such a luxury. The staff was very accommodating and nice to have around but we tried to be out when they were working. Each day they would leave Audre a personal lotus flower, lily or orchid next to her computer and on her side of the bed. She loved that. Every time she thought of buying a bunch of flowers for the room she said "no" to herself; having personal flowers was so much nicer.
Dimitri, every so often, said "Wow! are we getting spoiled". It was absolutely true. Click here to read about the most incredible thoughtfulness that was shown us when we were treated to dinner at Pla Pla Restaurant by Sean and Alessandro. The Four Seasons is known for exceeding guests' expectations but nothing ever can top that treat and the joy the Four Seasons gave us!
One morning we asked the concierge how much it would cost to have a fruit bowl delivered to our villa like the one that was a gift of the Four Seasons on the first day. The concierge said that they would be happy to deliver fruit (and refresh the bowl when needed) at no cost. OMG we were impressed with the services and the amenities. Dimitri found wearing a mask was difficult with his hearing aids. Every time he removed the mask, he risked flinging off a hearing aid into oblivion. Kam, at the concierge desk, found on Internet, a plastic device that he could wear so that the mask did not rest on his ears but instead sat over his ears.
After we went to UniQlo and bought Audre some "at home" drape pants, we asked where we should go to have a pair shortened. Jingyi said "we have a seamstress on the property who will do your hemming." That was wonderful but we were worried about the cost. Jingyi said "no charge". OMG we were even more impressed with the services and the amenities.
On the other hand, we were happy to pay US$10 to have our very muddy hiking boots cleaned. They looked better than when they were new. After Dimitri went to the dentist at the Koh Samui branch of the Bangkok Hospital, he need to grind up his antibiotic pills. The concierge went out to buy him a mortar and pestle and it was in our villa in minutes. We were happy to pay for that but were never charged--it worked great.
Our beautiful surroundings at the Four Seasons Koh Samui were "fogged" often for mosquito control. With that, and the supplied mosquito coils, and using the supplied mosquito spray, Audre kept her mosquito bites under control. The Four Seasons was doing what it could under the circumstances.
We enjoyed the Fitness Center at the Four Seasons and we did our stretching and toning in our 1000 sq. ft. villa on rainy days. Taking a kayak out in Koh Samui was a sporadic activity because of the rain and the wind. Our time in Koh Samui may not be called a "beach vacation" because of all the rain. Even so, we had a great time in large part because of the attention of the staff and the beauty of our villa and the surroundings.
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