The best luxury family resorts in Koh Samui

Compact Koh Samui is the perfect sunshine destination with kids. Here's our guide to the best luxury family resorts on the island

Anantara Bophut (featured in The White Lotus Series 3)

Located in a coconut grove by the sea, Anantara Bophut is one of the best luxury family resorts on Koh Samui

This luxury resort on the island’s north coast has unveiled a US$2 million refresh of its guest rooms as well as brand new facilities.

The property is one of Koh Samui’s most established resorts. As part of the refurbishment project, a brand new kids’ and teens club as well as a state of the art ‘technogym’ will be introduced later this year.

Slated to open in the second quarter of this year, The Treehouse Kids' Club is set be one of the island's leading kids and teens experiences, embracing the resort's story of monkeys and nature and featuring indoor and outdoor playgrounds, wall nooks for hiding and Montissori-inspired play spaces.

In a separate space next door, The Lounge teens' club will offer arcade games, a reading corner and a relaxed hangout area. Both spaces will be paried with an array of child and teen-friendly cultural experienes, including the Samui Way of Life programme which uses meditation, a palm leaf fish treasure hunt on the beach and a visit to a local spirit house to teach children about Koh Samui culture and history.  

The resort’s lush gardens, set within a coconut plantation, are designed by renowned hotel architect Bill Bensley. The new-look rooms embrace space and light with upgrades including vaulted ceilings in third-floor rooms, larger balcony doors, modern flooring and an earthy colour palette. 

Santiburi Koh Samui

Santiburi Koh Samui is designed with kids in mind

The expansive Santiburi resort, also on the north coast of the island, is a short, 20-minute drive from the airport. The resort is set in meticulously landscaped gardens that spill onto a palm-fringed beach with views of the neighbouring island of Koh Pha Ngan.

This well-established resort was built in 1992 and takes its design cues from the summer palace of King Rama IV. Much of the resort architecture channels an elegant Thai style, while a recently opened Grand Reserve houses luxury pool villas in a more contemporary style.

The resort pool is one of the largest on the island and the 30m private beach offers equally good swimming. There’s plenty to keep kids entertained on the sand with a watersports centre and containers of kids’ beach toys dotted along the sand. The Beach House keeps rumbling tums at bay with plentiful coffees, snacks, drinks, wood-fired pizzas, seafood, burgers and salads.

The kids club is also one of the largest on the island with a huge outdoor adventure playground; there are also plenty of sports on offer including football, tennis and Thai boxing classes.

Read our full review of Santiburi Koh Samui here.

Outrigger Koh Samui Beach Resort

Flying high at Outrigger Koh Samui Beach Resort

Outrigger Koh Samui Beach Resort is the brand’s fifth regional launch. Just 25-minutes from the airport on the island’s west coast, Outrigger Koh Samui Beach Resort is surrounded by lush tropical gardens and right on Lamai beach. 

The 146-room property is designed with families in mind and offers no fewer than 32 interconnecting rooms. There’s also a kids’ club and games room, pools with a water slide and a range of organised activities.

Premium suites sleep up to three children, which is a game changer for many families. The rooms feature separate living areas and marble bathrooms with separate showers and tubs. Guests staying in premium rooms also have access to the club lounge with daily breakfast, afternoon tea and evening cocktails. 

The resort’s Edgewater Beach Club offers beachside dining as well as non-motorised water sports and the opportunity to doze off with a relaxing massage by the beach.

Read our full review of Outrigger Koh Samui Beach Resort here.

Hyatt Regency Koh Samui

Pools for days at Hyatt Regency Koh Samui

Hyatt Regency Koh Samui opened in 2021 on eight acres of private coastline near to Chaweng, one of Koh Samui’s most renowned beaches.

This is Hyatt’s debut property on Samui and offers 140 rooms just 15 minutes from the island’s international airport.

Rooms at this family friendly resort boast ocean views. Suites, villas and beachfront pool villas are also available and guests of selected room types can enjoy club access. 

Fun facilities include a huge pool zone with a series of pools that cascade down the mountainside resort to the beach, from the main pool on the upper deck and taking in a lap pool, plunge pool, family pool with whirlpool and a kids’ pool with waterslide. 

Kids can enjoy Camp Hyatt with supervised play, activities and movie nights. Meanwhile, parents can slope off to the five-treatment room spa with couples’ suites with private decks and outdoor tubs.

Kimpton Kitalay Samui

The resort opens onto idyllic Cheong Mon beach (image courtesy Kimpton Kitalay Samui on Instagram)

This family friendly resort on the island’s north western tip opens onto Choeng Mon beach and is conveniently located close to Samui’s international airport.

The resort’s one-of-a-kind Kids Club at JUNIO takes its design cues from a busy seaside port and is filled with fun (and non-tech) games and activities and a weekly changing activity programme. The split-level space welcomes children from four to 12 years. 

The resort offers rooms, suites and villas; all come with private terraces with daybeds and rooms with direct pool access have child safety gates. One bedroom suites can connect with studios to offer more space and the one-bedroom can connect to multiple units through their private patios for larger groups. Villas come in garden or oceanfront configurations with private patios, gardens and pools. 

The resort is minutes away from Koh Samui’s famous Fisherman’s Village with street food, market stalls and entertainment.

Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui (featured in The White Lotus Series 3)

Laze your days away overlooking the Gulf of Thailand at Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui

While away a sunshine break on the tip of the island’s northwest coast at the stunning Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui. Rumoured to be the film location for the third season of HBO hit The White Lotus, the resort is the last word in luxe. Suite villas perched on the mountainside feature infinity pools and spacious terraces, while Private Residences are ideal for family groups with kitchenettes and personal residential assistants to take care of your every need.

Children are welcomed at the Tree House where the Four Seasons’ complimentary Kids For All Seasons programme is available, including games and activities managed by the Kids Club team. Youngsters aged from four to 12 years are welcome and under fours must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Further activities include beach sports like volleyball, coconut petanque and table tennis, family cooking classes, the Beach House with air hockey and pool table and a sparkling infinity resort pool. Board games and a library are available to young guests and children under five dine for free in resort restaurants when accompanied by a parent.

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