A big letdown.
Let's start from the fact that this hotel is marketed by Starwood's Luxury Collection, which sells itself as “Hotels that Define the Destination” which "are true representations of their destinations" and with "a core promise to deliver authentic, ingenious experiences". There's absolutely none of this in the Naka Island. Not only there's nothing unique about this property, which could be in any tropical place on earth, but it doesn't even feel like being in Thailand at all. Even the Thai food at the restaurant is bland and the curries were runny.
Overall, the signs of neglect by management are evident. Grounds are ignored, with lots of grasses growing within the sand. The beach is ignored, and does not get cleaned up. Personnel is absent and there's nobody looking after guests at the pool. Food is severely overpriced for Thailand, and with huge variance in quality. The service at the bar is a complete joke (20 minutes to get a drink, the server disappears at all times). The "tapas" one can order at the bar, which are not at all tapas, as if people didn't know what tapas are, are downright awful yet extremely expensive. Even Wi-Fi is rationed, with only a small number of devices allowed.
Yes, the villas are big (with lots of wasted space), but this hotel should not be part of the Luxury Collection. Its core target is honeymooners in their once-in-a-lifetime packaged trip, which does not fit the Luxury Collection at all.
Having stayed at the Andaman (another Luxury Collection property) the week prior, the jump down in quality was staggering.