Firstly, as the title of this review suggests, this is my first review- ever. I have always been one to take the opinions on trip advisor seriously and therefore felt the need to share my own experience of Montra. I don't intend this to be a damning piece so I will start off with the pros that I found at this hotel
Pros:-
1. Beautiful hotel- could not have been happier with the room and pool itself. Was great value for money and a very romantic setting. Bathroom was particularly lovely with a bath that was so big that my 6'4 boyfriend could stretch out his legs completely.
2. Koh samui is littered with western watered-down Thai food so we chose to eat at the hotel restaurant every night. The food here is slightly more expensive than external restaurants but reliable and of a decent quality.
3. As a self-confessed messaholic, I was very grateful for the high quality of room service every day- complete with origami styled towels on the bed.
Now onto the main reason for this review...
Cons:-
1. Staff service here was the worst we had experienced in Thailand to date. With the exception of one lovely lady who really went out of her way to help us with our tours, the rest of the staff were very unfriendly and generally unhelpful (and not a smile to be had!) When we arrived our first day, we were not given any information on the location of the hotel, we were not shown around and no cards or maps were given to us. We decided to head down to lamai beach late evening (11pm) for a few drinks and when we asked for a shuttle service, the receptionist laughed at us and told us to walk with a little flick of her hand. We assumed that the beach would be very close so headed out in the dark on our own. Due to our crap sense of direction and the darkness of night, we ended up getting lost for an hour and a half. I do not blame the hotel for our own ineptitude, but a more tourist-friendly approach would have been appreciated I.e. A map or offering to call a taxi.
2. Unfortunately, the level of English that the staff possessed here was virtually non-existing, which is surprising for such a tourist-dense area. This led to constant confusion during our stay here and little communication with staff.
3. Location- although this hotel is beautiful, it is not in the best location. It takes around 25 minutes to walk to lamai beach and is a 45 minute driven from chewang beach. Although the hotel provides a taxi service, the rates here are nearly double what you could get from the Tuks Tuks on the road.
4. The man at the front of the restaurant was very keen on soliciting our services for his car hire, with constant questions about our daily routines and whether we wanted him to take us around the island. Whilst this is to be expected by other taxi drivers, I found the attention jarring in the comfort of our own hotel (especially during breakfast).
In summary: a beautiful hotel, but unfortunately the experience was ruined by the (generally) unfriendly staff here. I would not come back to stay here. I was
Particularly disappointed after reading all the rave reviews on here, especially the ones regarding the "intimate" feel of this hotel. The need to share our bad experience is what prompted me to pop my review cherry! Hope this was helpful.
Stayed June 2015, traveled as a couple