Bamboo Bay Resort

Mixed blessing

Ko Lanta: We first stayed at the Andaman Lanta Resort at the end of July and it's a lovely place. Very quiet island, few tourists. The 2nd part we went to the far south of the island to the Bamboo Bay Resort after a lengthy drive by their driver who made several detour stops for other things he needed to do. They offer very affordable accommodations if you want, which we opted for at 750 Baht per night. Be prepared for less than clean, though. The ceiling fan was clinging with dirt, the toilet had a leak, broken handle; you'll have to ask for toilet paper. With the monsoon season starting up the power was out more than on, which is part of the experience, but when your bungalow is 50 steps up the cliffside and there are no candles in the room it's a treacherous descent. Be prepared for the Thai owner to do a sales pitch about buying into further development schemes. Because of the terrible road getting into the place (you have to travel to 4wheel drive) I felt trapped there. The food was fine. We decided to travel by minibus back to Trang and had the worst ride of our lives with their minibus driver, which I believe was named Jilada. Ridiculously dangerous!

Unique Quality: While run down the setting is nice - the beach is rocky though beautiful and a climb up the hill will bring you to another wonderful beach. But for us, never again!