The Vana Belle is  hotel with about 70 rooms located on the Thai island of Koh Samui and is a member of Marriott’s Luxury Collection. If you have not heard of Koh Samui you will, as season 3 of the White Lotus takes place there. Luxury Collection  are independent hotels managed by Marriott , but generally are on the level of service as a Ritz Carlton and St. Regis. However, since they are all unique, the Luxury Collections don’t have the consistency of Bonvoy’s two other luxury brands, which means some are better than others. So, how was the Vana Belle? It was perfect and exceeded our expectations.

Location

Koh Samui is a pretty large island with multiple towns and villages. Most of the luxury hotels are located Northwest, a little ways from everything. One drawback of Koi Samui is the lack of sandy beaches. Vana Belle is located just steps away from Chaweng, the main town on the island. The hotel is also located on one of the few considered one of the best in Asia. It was a perfect location as the resort was quiet, but a short walk or taxi to the town for the evening market.

Booking

Thailand is quite seasonal so rates were a little lower in July. All rooms come with a balcony and plunge pool. We initially utilized Marriott points for 4 nights (5^th night free on points) for a premier Oceanfront room and were later upgraded to a private villa using suite night awards.

Check In

Vana Belle has a wonderful reputation as a small(ish) hotel with wonderful service and that was evident at the airport when our driver picked us up. We tend to book our transfers through the hotel because it is just easier and sometimes it nets you an upgrade and better treatment (no evidence to support this, just a feeling). Our driver was waiting for us with waters, snacks and cold towels upon our arrival. This probably cost the hotel a whopping 1 dollar, yet the way it made us feel welcome after a long trip was priceless.

When we arrived the check in was quick and our butler Tick escorted us to our beautiful villa following the wish ritual.

The Villa

At first I was a little worried that our villa only having a partial view of the ocean, but we loved the mixture of the tropical jungle, and the ocean. The villa was very private which was great with a plunge pool, massive bathroom and comfortable bed.

The Food

Vana Belle has two restaurants and a bar. We had breakfast every morning overlooking the ocean. Since we are Bonvoy Platinum, breakfast was included. It consisted of a very large buffet with a combination of eastern and western style choices and a menu you could order anything off of. Everything was delicious. We had lunch at their poolside restaurant a few times for some typical local Thai food and it was always excellent. The bar had a nice happy hour every evening (mocktails too) and we appreciated the fact that it was lively but not too loud. The whole hotel was quite serene. We also had a private dinner catered by their other restaurant. The food was outstanding.

The Service

This is where the hotel truly shined. From check-in, the housekeeps, to the restaurant staff, everyone addressed us by name and were only just delighted to help/serve. Notice in the USA many hotels have staff that check the boxes, offer a fake smile, but you can just tell hate everything. It was the polar opposite at the Vana Belle.

Tick-Our Butler

The Vana Belle offers butler service for those in private villas and Bonvoy status of Platinum or higher. This is beyond serving coffee on occasion in your room. Tik our assigned butler was constantly checking on us via WhatsApp, visiting us while dining at the hotel, arranged our private romantic dinner for our anniversary, decorated our room many times and always checked in on our safety if we left the grounds. She was such a delight and made our anniversary very special.

Overall

This was easily one of the best hotels we ever stayed at as it was small, perfectly located, wonderful grounds and accommodations and personalized with our butler. I would point out those with kids or looking for more of a party vibe might want to look elsewhere as this is definitely a quieter property with limited amenities for kids. The pool area is pretty but small which is logical as every room had a private pool.

5/5 *****