Ark Bar Garden - Beach Resort

J. stayed at Ark Bar Garden - Beach Resort on 2008-February and said, "Ark Bar is comfortable place if you are on the move with party mindset. The restaurant & beachfront is very popular which tends to attract lots of people. Additionally Chaweng nightlife hot spots are 5 min. walk away, excellent location. So this means, it can be bit noisy around closing time, but ok if you like to go out too.The room was clean and all services were delivered as agreed in advance. So good value for money if you look bargain place with good location. Not recommended for families with small kids."

nurit stayed at Ark Bar Garden - Beach Resort on 2008-04-16 and said, "thank for everything. exelan holyday"

jonathan stayed at Ark Bar Garden - Beach Resort on 2008-04-07 and said, "I stayed ther for 10 nights over the songkrann period and thought it was absolutely faultless. Friendly staff, fantastic food, reasonable room rates and they do a mean English breakfast if you can drag youself out of bed before 11am which is included in the room price. mainly a young croud stay there though as it can get quite lively at night, wouldn t recommend to over 50s unless you like 12 hour beach parties. Would definetly come back 10/10"

Kjetil stayed at Ark Bar Garden - Beach Resort on 2008-03-17 and said, "Stay away from this hotel. That they charge 1800 baht pr night for these rooms is to me a mystery. First off , my room was infested with moskitos. It also had a terrible smell. The bathroom was disgusting. We were also tormented by construction noice from 8 o , clock in the morning.(Since this is a party hotel a 8 o clock wake up call is not wanted :-) ) there is no safe in room , which turned out to be a problem. The reception staff looked like they wanted to kill you every time you wanted something from the safe. When this is said , you can not beat the beach parties that they have every wednsday. The food in the restaurant is also ok. The beach is really bad on this part of Chaweng. Litter and bottles everywhere. But its not worth the money. you can get better rooms just up the street for 700-900 baht pr night.So my advice is , unless they cut their prices in half stay away from this hotel."

Justin stayed at Ark Bar Garden - Beach Resort on 2008-02-20 and said, "Pros: cheap price for an excellent location, great lunch and dinner food in the attached bar/restaurant.Cons: bathroom can get disgusting, water pressure not reliable, door lock was broken upon arrival, no lockbox in the room, terrible breakfast food in the attached bar/restaurant.This hotel is good for those people that don t mind sacrificing cleanliness for location. Ark Bar hosts one of the biggest parties each Wednesday night, so it s nice to be staying right in the middle of it. I don t recommend this hotel to families, as the thumping bass plays til 2AM and can be heard from most rooms. If that s your thing, though, this place is a MUST! My friends and I had a great time."

keit stayed at Ark Bar Garden - Beach Resort on 2008-02-14 and said, "do your self a favaour and stay some where else. The rooms are small and not worth half the money they charge.The staff in the so called reception where rude,one night we went to get some money out off the so called safe which is a envelope in there filling cabinet, and the staff told us to come back in 15 min because they was eating then sat there laughing and talking in thai.The sink in the shower room had no connection so when you turned on the tap your feet got wet never got fixed in the 6 days there. The plus side is the food in the resturant and the bar. I would recommend that you you stay else where and go to bar and beach area for the atmosthere. ps we also emailed the ark bar twice to be picked up at airport and you guessed it know one to pick us up. The ark bar should take a good look at there self and get back to giving service with a smile(thai style)"

Anthony stayed at Ark Bar Garden - Beach Resort on 2008-02-12 and said, "just arrived home from this resort and can t think of anything good to say about this place except the food in the bar was good. The rooms are very small. Power kept going off. toilet leaked water kept going off when in the middle of a shower. Very noisy people wandering round and banging on doors until 6 or 7 oclock in the morning. The pool was very small and never cleaned to our knowledge during our stay. I think the price was to high for what it is and you can get rooms much cheaper when you get there.The breakfast was included in the price but we only had it once as it was not worth bothering about. The location is good but the road leading into the resort is covered in potholes and very mucky especially if it rains. I wouldn t recommend this place to anyone with children and its full of young people getting drunk every night and making lots of noise.This is not a hotel style holiday more like a hostel."

Chui stayed at Ark Bar Garden - Beach Resort on 2008-01-03 and said, "so-so, near to the chewang beach, just steps away. our room has badly smell but still ok. if you are always go out for sunshine or just need a place to sleep, i think it s alright. but the price is rather high comparatively to the montien house."

Michelle stayed at Ark Bar Garden - Beach Resort on 2007-12-17 and said, "The Ark bar was a really great place to stay for the young hearted!! We are two girls from England and we stayed for 4 days in Dec prior to moving onto the ko phangan for full moon for xmas. The atmosphere here was fantastic both day and night and we met lots of great people. In the day, they have great tunes playing and everyone would be recovering from the night before and just enjoying soaking up the rays then at night this is the place to hang out prior to everyone moving onto the club Green Mango or other bars only a street or so away. The food is fantastic and very cheap and the staff are quite friendly but be prepared if its your 1st time in thailand. I dont think they quite understand the word service ! On the whole, its clean, equipped, sits on a fantastic beach and great for those who want to be in the heart of it all but if your after a good nights sleep or your a couple who want a few days of chilling then I would recommend staying in a neighboring luxury hotel as you certainly wont get any sleep here! 4 days was defo enough for us.I would advice booking in advance as it does get busy. The Ark bar also do a pick up service from the airport which was excellent for us."

Eleanor stayed at Ark Bar Garden - Beach Resort on 2007-12-03 and said, "Definitely a place to recommend for people in their 20s. Perfect location if you want to have easy access to all the bars. The hotel s bar plays music until at least 11pm so bring ear plugs if you want to go to bed before that and you have a garden room. :-) My room (Garden Room) was nice and clean. The pool was out of use during my 5 nights stay."

Gerry stayed at Ark Bar Garden - Beach Resort on 2007-09-30 and said, "Ark Bar is probably the liviest resort on Chaweng Beach. The bar is always busy, the food is excellent and the staff are very friendly. Be aware that you can hear music until around 2am each night. If this doesn t bother you its the place to stay"

Karel stayed at Ark Bar Garden - Beach Resort on 2007-08-02 and said, "Rooms are clean and spacious. Staff were helpful in giving info about what to do, where to go etc. Small pool right near the beach and a good spot to meet people. Overall a nice place to stay."

Mike stayed at Ark Bar Garden - Beach Resort on 2007-05-02 and said, "Great location, being on the beach attracted lots of people in the evenings - range of age groups. Rooms good for the price and would definately go back. Cheap and cheerful - staff very friendly, laundry service good, rooms cleaned and sheets/towels changed daily - recommended to the young and non-fuss pots!"

Andeep stayed at Ark Bar Garden - Beach Resort on 2007-05-01 and said, "Rooms are decent, but a good size. The service I though was pretty good. The food was good, but you can find cheaper places to eat in town (which is a very short walk). The best thing about this hotel is the location. If you re looking for a hotel located near the nightlife, then this is the place to stay at. My only negative experience was that I had my Ipod stolen from my room, so be sure to lock up your valuables!"

Robert stayed at Ark Bar Garden - Beach Resort on 2007-04-21 and said, "I booked this hotel for 4 of my Czech friends who came to my wedding in Kandaburi.This is great place which might be one of the best for young people. Close to everywhere, breakfast and food excellent for reasonable cost. Rooms ok.The bar and live music are also good and cool. Definitely they will come back.Not suitable for family with kids but they can stay in Baan Chaweng Beach Resort & Spa."

Duncan stayed at Ark Bar Garden - Beach Resort on 2007-04-12 and said, "I was in an upstairs room which was nice and had a good little balcony. Best of the accomodation I stayed at in Koh Samui / Koh Pangan.Only issues was the drainage in the bathroom (ie. flooding) and the internal door into another room meant EVERY noise could be heard.Also if you weren t going to bed late, you may be kept up by people making noise outside.Good restaurant and beach location though. Right in the heart of the action on Chaweng Beach"

guy stayed at Ark Bar Garden - Beach Resort on 2007-03-30 and said, "We stayed at the hotel for 8 nights.Great rooms with minibar and AC.The bed was quite hard but it was ok.Very good location and the food in the resturant i excellent.The only problem was that no one told us that breakfast was included."

Tami stayed at Ark Bar Garden - Beach Resort on 2007-02-18 and said, "It s a wonderful place to be, if you re a young spirit.The Israeli breakfast was great, the staff was friendly, the rooms were OK, but the best part is the location of the place - the hurt of the GOOD time, sun and bar.Definitely - I ll be back to this place."

Wendy stayed at Ark Bar Garden - Beach Resort on 2007-01-20 and said, "Our four kids stayed here ages 18 to 22 while we stayed a bit further down the beach at another quieter resort. Defintely adequate and great for YOUNG adult travellers WITHOUT kids. Location is awesome on the beach and on the street to other bars etc. Staff and owners make it fun in the bar and restaurant and it has a home away from home feel to it as staff remember your names etc. Having said that the rooms are bare bones basic and not cleaned throughly every day unless requested, the pool is however not very enticing and could stand a paint job or refurbish. The owners could work at getting rid of the child vendors that frequent the beach restaurant as they are very rude for Thais people and actual can spoil your evening meal which would otherwise be perfect. Young families and 50 plus need not apply."

Megan stayed at Ark Bar Garden - Beach Resort on 2007-01-19 and said, "Nice clean place - quite busy bar day and night. Don t lose your breakfast coupons though or they ll try to jib you of breakfast!"

David stayed at Ark Bar Garden - Beach Resort on 2006-12-29 and said, "Ark is in a great position slap bang in the middle of Chewang. The beach is on your door step and the town is to. If your young it s ideal with a great beach bar. I would stay again. The room was a bit small but not to much. 7 out of 10"

Mike stayed at Ark Bar Garden - Beach Resort on 2006-08-13 and said, "Outstanding hotel! The rooms were great, and staff exceptional, the meals were the best I had during three weeks in Thailand, great bar, and a fantastic location near the centre of Chaweng beach. The garden rooms are very comfortable and well worth the extra cost."

Sam stayed at Ark Bar Garden - Beach Resort on 2006-08-07 and said, "Only stayed 1 night as was a bit of a party place with people up and about till 3am and then diffrent people up at 8am. Pool looks nice and the free breakfast was good would say its a nice place if you are looking to party! Also they were supposed to pick us up from the airport but never showed..they did say sorry though so can t complain really..."

trent stayed at Ark Bar Garden - Beach Resort on 2006-08-05 and said, "excellent, clean and very friendly - big thank you to Fai and Pat for making my home away from home so memorable - ill be back - the bar rocks !!!"

Suzi stayed at Ark Bar Garden - Beach Resort on 2006-08-04 and said, "I stayed for 3 nights, staffs were just alright. They seemed speechless, smileless..I booked the garden room which is the most expensive room at the resort. It was right next to pool, but the room was so tiny, sooo noisy at night time from a bar playing loud mosic till 2 or 3am.. couldnt sleep..Beach was alright but all the other resort only allowed thier guests to use beach chairs and stuff..but ark bar staffs don t care whether they are guests or just strangers..Iwouldn t want to recommend the ark bar for this price..Unless you want a small room with shitty breakfast."

M stayed at Ark Bar Garden - Beach Resort on 2006-08-04 and said, "Good rooms, food, right on the beach. No complaints."

Mikkel stayed at Ark Bar Garden - Beach Resort on 2006-08-02 and said, "Very nice staff and good clean rooms.Restaurant serves good food and the bar is a happening place at night.Would not recoment for children and people that do not like loud musik on the beach from apro 1000AM-0200PM"

Robert stayed at Ark Bar Garden - Beach Resort on 2006-04-13 and said, "Clean room with good aircon. Excellent English cooked breakfast included. Enjoyed stay."

Frank stayed at Ark Bar Garden - Beach Resort on 2005-12-27 and said, "Was a bit apprehensive about this place before we checked in and as we walked up to it from the roadside entrance. However, was quite pleased with the basic but clean and fairly confortable room. For the price, you can not fault this place. Decent air-con, TV and mini bar. It has a nice little pool which is something you don t get at some more expensive places along the beach. The Beach Bar, as advertised, is one of the liveliest on the Beach, especially at night and we had some good nights down there. If you like luxury and creature comforts then pay more and stay in one of the more expensive plush spa resorts nearby. If you are looking to keep costs down and stay somewhere lively with plenty of other young party animals around then this is the place and I would recommend."

Britta stayed at Ark Bar Garden - Beach Resort on 2005-12-19 and said, "The hotel was clean, had good hard beds,meals ok, but this place was extremely overpriced. Also all theese drunk english people everywhere are really not nice. For the price we paid would I not recommend this hotel!"

N stayed at Ark Bar Garden - Beach Resort on 2005-12-18 and said, "2nd choice as we booked late and where we stayed before was booked out.True to comments on website but would not stay here again.VERY noisy and bar/restaurant area PACKED from afternoons until well into the night. Breakfasts poor and we rarely used free vouchers, preferring to pay elsewhere. In fact we ended up generally eating and drinking in other places and only used the Ark Bar for sleeping, tho that was hard enough as revellers from the bar would often come up between the chalets at 3 and 4a.m being very noisy.That said, the staff were generally friendly and helpful so if you want a Thai Ibiza this might be the place to stay."

Vincent stayed at Ark Bar Garden - Beach Resort on 2005-12-13 and said, "Nice garden, very good location next to the beach and chaweng center; restaurant has see view; service fast and efficient; will go there again next time; recommended"

Zvi stayed at Ark Bar Garden - Beach Resort on 2005-12-05 and said, "pick up from Samui airport was good.(at 10:00 pm). The place is very noisy at night up to early in the morning. couldn t sleep all night.the room are smelly ,very basic. breakfast OK."

Iain stayed at Ark Bar Garden - Beach Resort on 2005-08-18 and said, "The Ark Bar is very well situated in the centre of Chaweng, near the main nightlife but set far enough off the main road not to be disturbed by it. It has a small but well managed pool and a very lively bar which is one of the louder and more lively spots along the crowded beach front.The room was well equipped, with a TV, a good range of channels and efficient air conditioning.This is not an idyllic resting place for a family holiday - but is an excellent venue for those young or young at heart and keen to find a good value, good quality place to stay.We would go there again."

Halie stayed at Ark Bar Garden - Beach Resort on 2005-08-18 and said, "Ark Bar was a nice, moderate budget option on Samui--a bit costlier than other backpacker options, but it made up for the extra expense by offering a pool (although, it was only open one of the four days we stayed), great food, and a great location near nighlife in Central Chaweng. However, if you re looking for a swimming beach, you have to walk a bit further south past two noisy jet ski lanes to Charlie s Hut or the resorts of Chaweng Noi where the water is a shallow, luxurious, lapping pool. Ark Bar has comfortable clean rooms, the best grilled tuna (evenings only) and snapper at a great price, and friendly staff. The downside, other than the dead and exposed coral reef beachside, is the rowdy and drunk crowd that may frequent the place. The staff tolerates a drunken atmosphere which may put some visitors off. In all, it s a great deal on Samui."

Ciara stayed at Ark Bar Garden - Beach Resort on 2005-07-25 and said, "Ark Bar is a fab place to stay! Great rooms, great staff and brilliant location! Food is gorgeous too, especially the breakfast. Came back the 1st week in August for 5 nights and was there last year also! Would definitely recommend!"

Graham stayed at Ark Bar Garden - Beach Resort on 2005-07-15 and said, "This hotel was pretty nice. The rooms were exceptionally clean and spacious! The balcony was fantastic and the atmosphere at the hotel was very small and gardenlike. The service was fantastic too, with answering any questions and problems very quickly. All of course with a fantastic price. The restaurant and beach were also supurb by giving great good with a great view! The average age I say staying there were people in their 20 s or 30 s which is great! But, with that comes a lot of noise through the night so be prepared for that if you stay there. Its nice but can get roudy through the night. Unless of course YOUR the routy one....Nonetheless, this hotel would be a lot more expensive to stay in in many other countries...Overall a 4/5 star Hotel."

Mattias stayed at Ark Bar Garden - Beach Resort on 2005-07-08 and said, "The Ark Bar hotel has been a very nice place to stay in. We have only positive things to say about the friendliness of the staff. The room we stayed in, which I assume to be middle-range , was relatively ok. Clean and modestly furnished, it was as expected, given what we paid (1800 baht / night). The bathroom was a bit in need of renovation, though no insects or similar could get in. For those who do not bring their children or can stand a bit of difference in housing quality compared to Europe, this is a good choice! It s located right in the center of Chaweng Beach but still quiet in the evenings. The restaurant on the beach was also great, since not only was the mood fantastic, but the fish courses this place s specialty."

James stayed at Ark Bar Garden - Beach Resort on 2005-04-25 and said, ""

Joanna stayed at Ark Bar Garden - Beach Resort on 2005-04-21 and said, "This was a great place - the room was basic but clean with television, bar fridge, air con etc. GREAT location in the centre, staff friendly and helpful, food v good. Always lots of music playing - v popular with 20-35 crowd of all nationalities but kid friendly also. Only criticism would be slight bad drain smell in bathroom(only sometimes), also there may be better value for money nearby."

Dale stayed at Ark Bar Garden - Beach Resort on 2005-04-02 and said, "I only stayed one night. And that was the problem! Ark Bar is a great place to meet people, have loads of fun (albeit it slightly debauched!) or simply enjoy a quiet getaway... The rooms were adequately equipped and clean. More than what I expected from an establishment of its rating. The staff were friendly and rather helpful. Ark Bar is definitely a place to have fun. There are loads of people in their 20’s and early 30-somethings out on the lag and on the pull. Later in the evening the bar and entire beach area of central Chaweng can get quite cruisy for the straight, and not-so-straight, alike. Let s just say; it ain’t no Disneyland!The food in the restaurant is great too. I would shy away from the Steak Sandwich though (was that steak of goat?!), but everything else I ate there was of a very high standard. Next time I will stay there again. I will stay longer. I will have so much more fun!"

Gordon stayed at Ark Bar Garden - Beach Resort on 2005-04-02 and said, "Ark Bar Garden is a fun place for the young or young at heart. Very friendly staff and the guests are always up for a party.Rooms are neat and clean but small. But at the price one cannot complain.Pool area is a bit small but then there is a wonderful beach to lie on. The bar is great and the food is good.It certainly is the life and soul of Central Chaweng Beach at sundowner time.There is a slight drain stench along the path down to the bar and beach (as mentioned in other reviews). If you are looking for a simple clean room, a crowd of fun people, good tunes and good food then Ark Bar is the place."

Lindsey stayed at Ark Bar Garden - Beach Resort on 2005-03-30 and said, "A very nice hotel, with good clean rooms. The cleaning service everyday was very throughly and the minibar was stocked regularly. The hotel itself is an excellent place to stay if you want to be in the heart of everything. Lots of other visitors regularly visited our hotel just to have a drink and listen to the good music played all day. The wednesday beach party is excellent and the staff are all very friendly. The only complaint that we had was that there was some construction going on next door and everyday without fail we were woken up at 8am by drilling and banging. However apparently this was not heard in all rooms, so ask to move if you get this. Overall we were very happy with our stay and had an excellent holiday."

David stayed at Ark Bar Garden - Beach Resort on 2005-03-29 and said, "I actually stayed here twice. It is a nice place with good clean rooms. 5 star chef? Ha ha ha. The restaurant is no better then a street vendor with a little BBQ. I beleive that this is one of their selling points and it shouldn t be. It is right on the beach however. I think you probably could find similar digs for a better price. The swimming pool looks big on the internet site but is very small. The staff were friendly but the main office closes overnight."

Tu stayed at Ark Bar Garden - Beach Resort on 2005-03-24 and said, "The best thing about this resort is the bar and beach scenes. It s always happening. It does nt matter if it is in the day or the evening. If you are young and you like excitement and meeting new people, then this is the place for you."

Lisa stayed at Ark Bar Garden - Beach Resort on 2005-03-23 and said, "The rooms at the Ark Bar are in poor condition and there were toilet back-ups and sewer smells in each of the 3 rooms we booked. If you want a true bungalow experience, stay at Charlie s Huts on the Beach. Definitely stop by the Ark Bar restaurant for good food, drinks and music on the beach since it is a lively place- especially good if you are with teenagers or a young crowd. I also need to recommend the internet cafe and travel service on the beach next to Ark Bar. They had an excellent spa package at The Four Seasons ( fabulous spa )and also assisted us with transportation to airport, Full Moon Party, etc."

Lars stayed at Ark Bar Garden - Beach Resort on 2005-03-15 and said, "I can only recommand this place to everyone. The personel were very freindly and helpfull and the room good (everything were cleaned and changed every day). But you live right in the middel of Chewang and there is some noice from the plans from the airport and loud music and fairework from the beach. But about 2 am it is quiert. I had a good time."

Na stayed at Ark Bar Garden - Beach Resort on 2005-03-01 and said, "The place was ok. No frills. Doesn t really look much like the pictures. On the beach and in a good location but not many ammenities. Scheduled a pickup from the airport but no one picked us up."

Elizabeth stayed at Ark Bar Garden - Beach Resort on 2005-02-14 and said, "Found Ark bar ok.We had a garden room which was very overpriced for what it was.The bar is in a good location on the centre of Chaweng beach but we were very disappointed in the room.Next door there is alot of construction going on which they never mentioned when we booked nor made any apologies for,the noise started at 8am everyday so no chance of a peaceful sleep in the mornings.Food is good at the bar itself though and it is close to all the nightlife. If you want very basic accomadation this is fine but there is nicer places along the beach which are cheaper and friendlier.Also, watch out for the bar manager Simon, he is exremely rude. Suggest the owner of the resort sends him on some sort of customer services course.Acts like he owns the place and freely throws insults at customers.Have stayed in alot of places in Thailand and on other islands without any problems but unfortunately wouldn t stay here again. Good bar to visit at night for drinks and to party but could nt recommend a pleasant stay there.Also we requested to be picked up on arrival.They never showed up and we wasted an hour at the airport waiting for them."

Joyce stayed at Ark Bar Garden - Beach Resort on 2005-02-13 and said, "Cheap little cosy place. Staff were extremely friendly and polite (altho some could improve alittle on their english...) Lovely bar, great food! Will definitely go back there again. Back and already missing the hospitality and heat and delicious food after 1 day!!!"