Overall:
Overall: 5/10 or 2/5 the hotel was full and I don't think it can cope with a full house, both in terms of space and in terms of staff levels. 67 villas are likely 132 guests. The room, housekeeping, and general standards were inconsistent. I loved the sustainability endeavors, and appreciate the fine balance between sustainability and 5 star luxury, however a number of inconsistency grated somewhat. While I loved the ceremony of the gong which encourages you to leave all stress behind and cleanse from stress, they then reinstate the stress it by lack of beach space, IT issues, needing to check if bookings have been confirmed, etc etc. Equally, experiencing other guests becoming irate due to the lack of space at the beach, and vociferously stating the standards were not those of a Six Senses, was not conducive to a relaxing atmosphere. The review is detailed and while negative in tone, it is a reflection of the price the hotel demands, rather than out enjoyment. We did not let this ruin our holiday, but certainly not the standard I expect for this level and price.
Location:
The hotel is blessed with the most amazing sunrises and sunsets. Being able to benefit of both is a rare occurrence and its location which left plenty of greenery all round, is to be applauded. This is particularly noticeable when one looks to the right of the beach, where densely built up areas are visible. The unique location allows spectacular views from all the amenities, from the spa, to both restaurants, the pool and the beach. The fly in the ointment is it being under a flightpath. While it being 15 minutes from the airport is convenient on arrival, the consistent landing/takeoffs so low over the hotel take a while to get use to.
Room:
We had an Ocean view pool villa number 3, which was brilliantly situated for both the view and the access to restaurants and main pool. The room is built in wood, bamboo and with minimal use of concrete, which is laudable. The configuration of the room is nicely laid out at first appearance but not practical. It is essentially a glass box perched in the trees which appears utterly secluded. However, privacy within is near impossible. I visited with my nephew, so we were in want of individual privacy. The bathroom and dressing rooms are in the same space, the only shower is outside and the bath is far too large so by the time it's filled, the water is cold, rendering it unusable and not particularly in line with the eco credentials. After a few issues with the hot water on the outside showers, we were happy to use that, but its separated from the main dressing room and bathroom by only a clear door, which means one person can use the shower and dressing room at a given time. This is further exasperated by the lack of mirrors in the main bedroom area, by the loosely fitting sliding doors which prevent either visual or audio screening between the room and the bathroom/dressing area. The toilet also has a loosely fitting door and a porthole which makes it rather uncomfortable and impossible to secure the required privacy.
I applaud the near complete lack of plastic and reusable soap, shampoo and other containers, and dispensers with soap, shampoo, conditioner, mosquito lotion, aloe vera and body lotion are available. Cotton buds, cotton are not available. While I understand these can be wasted, there are eco friendly options like bamboo versions of both, which could be provided. In fairness I did not ask and I am certain they would have provided some on request. However, the key to luxury is anticipating needs, so not optimal. In addition, the soap easily gets clogged and is not frequently checked for refill. The bed is not particularly comfortable, although this is a personal preference, it was very soft and caved in, in the center and the pillows were extremely high and hard. Again, in fairness, I did not highlight this predominantly because I prioritized issues and did not want to ruin my holiday by continued complaints, so I simply slept without them, but in other hotels of a similar standard, in my experience, housekeeping would have noted the removal of these and prompted the question, or as a minimum removed them to avoid me having to do so every evening. Air-conditioning is difficult to operate, being either akin to the artic or the tropics. It seemed to automatically start the overhead fan at intervals (unless it was triggered by the remote control in the adjacent room) which woke us up on more than one occasion, it being located over the bed. In addition, the room's design (single glazed, loosely fitting doors etc) means the cool air leaks from the room through various gaps and as such, renegues the sustainability the hotel supports. We turned it off. I understand the tightrope one must walk between eco credentials and 5 star luxury, but a better compromise needs to be struck. In addition, the style of the room renders it impossible for it to be soundproof, whilst normally this would not be an issue, the location of the hotel, in a flight path near the airport, meant the 5 am flights woke us every morning, as did the landings and takeoffs thereafter.
Staff and Service:
The hotel assigns a butler to you but then they encourage you to use the app for all requests. After check in, the first time our butler approached us, we asked about excursions, and he mentioned he needed to go as he had other 6 rooms to look after and he would contact me through the app. Having not initiated the reach out myself, I found this quite unpleasant. Thereafter I communicated primarily through the app, as requested, although this did not work consistently, and I had to verify that bookings were being made, as they did not appear on "my requests" and neither did they consistently receive a confirmation. Again, not inducive to relaxation to have to chase booking confirmations and dealing with IT issues, screen shots etc. Beyond that, our butler was very helpful when I had to cancel the excursion as a result of the fall I had taken and he did pass on any comments I posed.
The staff at the restaurants were particularly attentive and excellent. Of particular note:
The trainee on the beach the morning of the 20th of August, was amazing and very attentive. (Shame the name tag was not carrying his name)
Tak, Da, Best Noon, were all extremely helpful, attentive and professional.
The spa team and yoga/sound bath teachers.
Housekeeping:
Inconsistent. The cleanliness level was acceptable, acknowledging the difficulty of keeping such large expanses of glass clean, but the glass door to the outdoor shower, should have been easily reachable and often had watermarks and fingerprints left. The towels were on a couple of occasions left hanging and still damp, even if additional towels had been added. The oil diffuser was lit once at turndown in the 5 nights we were there, and there was no lighter until the last day, to light the mosquito incense burners. The netting had a hole in it. The fruit plate was not removed and replaced despite its use, at turndown. On one occasion a screw was left on the step which we narrowly missed and as one walks around barefoot, this could have been unpleasant. Overall, not aligned to the 5 star hotel housekeeping standards. I strongly suspect this was due to lack of staff rather than lack of willingness.
Restaurants: The breakfast was good and I particularly appreciated the menu as this ensured limited waste and a better product. It was a nice balance between buffet selections and menu. Not as extensive as other hotels of the same quality, but sufficient for our needs. The fruit bar and daily smoothy were particular favorites. I would like to have seen a broader selection of cocktails, especially if one stays a week or more, the list is very restricted, although I am sure any request would have been fulfilled. I would have also liked to see a wider selection of local delicacies and fresh fish, with less fusion style food to give it an appropriate sense of location. Especially the beach BBQ which instead of being a feast of fish and local vegetable, comprised beef and lamb from Australia, Burrata (likely flown in from Puglia) all at a horrendous carbon footprint.
Beach:
There are 67 villas I believe and only 7 sets of two sunbeds with umbrellas on the beach. This caused quite a few problems, which was to be expected. There were other areas available away from the beach and near the pool or just off the beach, but even these were a handful. This resulted in some guests getting up early to secure the beds and then proceeding to breakfast or coming back after a couple of hours, causing upset amongst some of the guests. While some bean bags were made available, these were in full sun. This cause a few guests to become irate, in my view a pointless exercise, but I did hear management advise one guest that there was a waiting list for the beach sunlounges of 6 couples.
There is also a semicircular stone plinth behind the beds hidden by the sand, unmarked, that made me fall over, scrape my toe badly and ruin my sandals. When I highlighted this to reception, the day after I noted it was buried under sand, which makes it even more treacherous. In general not a place for anyone with disabilities, unsteady on their feet or not deploying extreme care, as the paths, steps and random objects left can cause one some trouble, even if I am perfectly fit and able.
As to the beach service, I think they are severely understaffed, so service is very sketchy, some days you have someone showing you to the subbed with towels and refreshments, mosquito repellent etc, others you are not supplied with anything and have to grab a towel yourself as a basic amenity. It's not through lack of will but when there is only one person setting up the pool, it becomes inevitable. The beach itself is very nice and the water calm but cloudy and on one occasion, with a distasteful smell of sewage. The peace of the beach is occasionally disturbed by jet skis and visiting boats, but not too frequently for it to become a nuisance.
Main Pool: Beautiful picture perfect location, especially at sunset. Did not struggle to find a sunbed at any time we tried and was mostly staffed, although not consistently and on one of four occasions, I had to help myself to towels. I only managed to order a drink once without going to the bar to do so. To be honest, the view made up for the inconvenience.
Eco credentials: This is a fine balance, which I think needs more work. I applaud the construction, greenery, sustainability endeavours, the glass bottled water, the near complete lack of plastic. Some inconsistencies which are very evident: they had to "relocate" the monkeys which resided there; mosquito fumigation three times a week would surely also impact other insect species and therefore the wildlife which prays on them; the building style is not sufficiently hermetic to efficiently use the air-conditioning.
Spa: The spa was simply brilliant and probably one of the best features of the hotel. The prices as near UK standard of course, but the quality is much higher. The massage I received from Nam did more for my back than 8 months of Physio therapy. I did not catch the name of my first therapist, but she was equally superb.
Other Amenities:
The complementary ice-cream parlour near the main pool was a nice touch. Provision of mosquito repellant body sprays and lotions was useful.
Concierge organised tours were fairly uninspiring and limited. The buggies which ferry you around the resort are not readily available with long waits, we walked but the stairs and steps being quite uneven, as previously mentioned, does not make this the most comfortable of meanders.
