Mercure Koh Chang Hideaway
Share a peaceful vacation experience at Mercure Koh Chang
Due to the APEC 2022 meeting that just passed, I had the opportunity to travel for 5 days, so I had the opportunity to try out the services of the Mercure Koh Chang Hideaway hotel that I had been eyeing for a long time, but never had the chance to go. Because normally, going to Koh Chang during the long holiday is quite difficult to drive a car across the boat, sometimes having to wait in line for a boat for 4-5 hours. And if you don't bring a car, it may be inconvenient to travel on the island (I don't know how to drive a motorcycle, this can't be helped, lol). But since during the APEC holiday, only some agencies are closed, it's a good opportunity as mentioned.
==Travel==🚙🚕
Traveling from Bangkok is not difficult. Drive along the motorway for a long distance through Rayong, Chanthaburi, Trat for about 4 and a half hours. Leave home at 6 am, arrive at the ferry pier before noon. And the boat leaves every half hour, making planning very easy. And it only takes half an hour on the boat to reach the island.
When you arrive on the island, it will take about 20-30 minutes to drive to the hotel because the hotel is located almost at the end of the island. Some parts of the road are quite steep uphill. Be careful while driving. Drive slowly along the road and you will reach the hotel and be warmly welcomed by the receptionist.
==Overall atmosphere in the hotel== 🏡🏞🛖
For this stay, I booked a Pool Villa for 2 nights and a Superior for 2 nights. When checking in, the staff offered to upgrade the Pool Villa to a Beach Front Pool Villa, telling us to go and see both rooms and then decide. However, since I like the Pool Villa more because it has a Jacuzzi, I declined.
The atmosphere inside the hotel is quite shady with lots of trees, but it seems to lack maintenance, making it look a bit messy, especially the bushes along the walkway and the fallen leaves/dirt along the walkway. If it were cleaned more often, it would be much better.
==Room== 🛁🛏🚪
When arriving at the Pool Villa room, the first thing to look at was the outdoor area with a swimming pool and a Jacuzzi. It was a good size. The pool was suitable for swimming and the Jacuzzi was comfortable for two people to sleep in. But there is one thing to note, the outdoor area can walk to the bathroom, which means both the toilet and shower room are all outside the door (but this one has a roof). You may have to be careful of mosquitoes when taking a shower or doing heavy/light business. Fortunately, there is mosquito repellent.
The room is quite spacious, it may look a bit empty, but it is not a problem at all.
One (very) regrettable point is that the swimming pool has a lot of sediment. The reason is probably because of the roof design. If it rains, the rainwater will bring all the dirt from the roof down to the pool. In addition, the rain also caused a problem of clogging the drain pipes of both the Jacuzzi and the shower area. Therefore, on the second night, we could not take a shower at all because the pipes were clogged, causing water to overflow in the shower area. The water also flowed strangely slowly. We could not adjust the temperature.
The hotel's solution was good. The front desk staff suggested that we move to the Beach Front Pool Villa (the room we were shown on the first day) and let us stay until the check-out day without having to move to the Superior room.
As for the Beach Front Pool Villa, the room inside the room did not feel much different from the Pool Villa. The difference is that the outdoor area does not have a Jacuzzi and the overall area seems smaller. The swimming pool is also smaller. But in exchange for a sea view and being able to walk from the room to the sea, and the indoor shower + toilet makes it feel more private and safe. But the sediment in the pool is still found in the same way as the Pool Villa room.
==Sea== 🏊♀🚣🤿
When talking about Beach Front, we have to talk about the sea. Because the hotel is located at the end of the island, it makes the sea here quiet and has a bay shape, making the waves not strong. The water is very clear and the marine life is abundant with shellfish, crabs, fish. And the hotel has built a stone walkway extending into the sea. You can walk to take pictures and see shellfish, crabs, fish. And in the evening, the sunset is very beautiful. Sometimes there are more people playing in the sea than in the pool, whether swimming or kayaking.
==Food== 🍲🥖🍰🍽
In terms of the hotel's food, it is considered okay. The taste is average and the price is not expensive if you consider the price of food on the island. As for breakfast, it is also average. It has everything that a general breakfast buffet should have, such as egg station, ham-sausage, cold cut+cheese, salad, bread, rice soup, various side dishes. There may be special menus on some days, such as pizza, Khanom Pak Mor, Patongo with custard, etc.
In conclusion, Mercure Koh Chang Hideaway is an option for those who want peace and quiet, not too luxurious, along with a relatively affordable price with a pool villa at an affordable price. However, you may have to avoid the rainy season, which will affect the cleanliness in some areas, and the problem of clogged pipes as mentioned. If the hotel can fix it, it should easily become a favorite hotel for many people.
#Review of beautiful accommodation