Charm Churee Villa Reviews by Mark

Not Private, Not Peaceful, 2* Value at 5* Rates
by Mark, Australia - Feb 2, 2009

If you are looking for a holiday more peaceful than Charm Churee Villa, consider booking yourself into a Chinese child-care centre situated somewhere between a lawnmower workshop and a Harley-Davidson dealer. Add a car radio centre to this combination and you almost have the correct picture. We booked a Premier Beach Villa for a special holiday - we were attracted by the idea of being in one of just a few private villas on Koh Tao's most secluded and peaceful beaches - just as the photographs and website suggested. Disappointment hit us the instant we arrived at Jansom Bay when we found that the owners of Charm Churee Villa have exploited this tiny cove at the SW tip of Koh Tao into a large resort where every corner and crevice of the once beautiful cove has either single, double or even triple deck bamboo units built into it. They are still expanding it up the hillside. On our first night we endured booming loudspeakers until 3am - thankfully this was the only night that happened. But on a daily basis, unsilenced motorboats ferry tourists back and forth past the beach almost nonstop all day starting as early as 5:30am through to midnight or later. The walls in our 'premier villa' were a single layer of woven bamboo - we could hear our neighbours grunting as they used their toilet. The sun rarely makes it onto Jansom Bay being in the shade of palm trees by day and sets behind the hill shortly after 3pm. Breakfast was average to poor, the hot selection was barely lukewarm as was the service of the staff. We were saved from this being a perfect hell by the relatively low occupancy of the area; in high season this would have been truly unbearable for a couple like us seeking a peaceful escape. To her credit the manager transferred us to a superior bungalow after our complaints about the above - this offered greater privacy and was almost worth the money we paid.