Koh Samui steals spotlight: Readers rave over four island getaways

Readers of the popular American travel magazine Travel+Leisure voted four accommodations in Koh Samui as winners in the Beach+Island Resort category.

Travel+Leisure released its 2024 Luxury Awards Asia Pacific ranking, allowing readers to nominate and vote for outstanding accommodations in various categories, including five-star urban escapes, private-island beach resorts, innovative spas, Instagram-worthy swimming pools, awesome airlines and airports, cruises, and more.

Categories differ in each country, and rankings for accommodations in Thailand are divided into city hotels, beach+island resorts, upcountry hotels, hotel general managers, hotel pools, and hotel spas.

For Thailand, the focus seemed to be on the beach+island category, as the country is a top destination for beach lovers. This year, Koh Samui in Surat Thani shared the ranking with the popular destination holiday resort of Phuket.

Four accommodations in Koh Samui made the list: Cape Fahn Hotel, Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui, Silavadee Pool Spa Resort Koh Samui, and Centara Reserve Samui.

In addition to the beach+island category, another hotel on the island, Six Senses Samui, won the hotel spa category. Its spa room is known for its beautiful sea views from the four sides of its high-ceiling glass wall.

In related news, the President and CEO of Bangkok Airways, Putthipong Prasatthong-osot, revealed to Thai news agencies that the company plans to invest 1.5 billion baht to expand Samui International Airport.

Bangkok Airways aims to expand the passenger terminal from seven to eleven buildings and increase check-in counters and commercial space. The project is expected to be completed by next year, 2025.

Besides expanding the airport, Bangkok Airways will also increase flights to and from Koh Samui from 50 to 70 flights per day and invite more airlines to operate there, as only Bangkok Airways and Scoot Airlines currently do so.

The airline also planned to invest about 700 to 800 million baht into an extension of Trat Airport in the eastern province of Thailand.