Golden Buddha Beach

"Pros
Staying in BABA Ecolodge is an amazing EXPERIENCE.
Every house is unique, we had a pleasure to stay in the „Sea Blue 1” for 5 days - together with my fiancée. The hut was truly beautiful. Very comfortable bed, a lot of space in wardrobes, bathroom outside in the open air and the balcony with the best sea view that you can imagine!
The whole resort is basically in the jungle and you can admire the beauty of nature on every step.
Restaurant is in the stylish colognal building and the breakfast served is truly exceptional.
The beach is very long with a golden sand, you can see a few kilometers of it with literally no people for the most of the time.
There’s also a bay with a beach bar, beach loungers, water equipment and calmer water with smaller waves.
There’s an option to take a kayak and have a trip into a mangrove canal for about 30 min one way, which was very nice as we love kayaking and the surroundings was really exotic.
All the staff in the resort is really nice and helpful. The manager Theresa was very kind and responsive prior to our arrival, during the check-in she gave us a long explanation about the resort and the welcome tour to show everything. Also, you can find a very comprehensive guide in your apartment, with a lot of useful information and describing the mission of the resort.
There’s a small library that you can use and borrow a book - several languages available.
Last but not least, I took 90 min Thai massage (1,400 THB), that was probably the best massage that I’ve ever had, not only during this 3-weeks trip, but in my entire life (and I had probably something like 100+ of them). After the 1st one I immediately booked another for two days later.

„Cons”
Disclaimer: those wasn’t issues for us, but I listed a few things to consider when booking such an experience.
This is an exotic island, so there are some things related to it, obviously:
- you can encounter animals; not only beautiful birds, curious monkeys or a resorts’ cats and dogs, but also bats, lizards and we had in the room 3-4 times cockroaches (they are totally harmless and not present because of filth, but just because you are in the jungle);
- there are some mosquitoes and sand flies, but for 5 days we were bitten just a few times, it was no bother for us at all;
- there’s no AC in the room, but fans, which were definitely enough;
- the wifi (good one) is available in the reception only, not in rooms and there’s almost no reception on the island (also not a big deal).
Basically the only option to get to the island is to take a long boat transport arranged by the resort, which is 2,100 THB one way. Personally I would prefer to pay a little bit more for the booking and get the boat transport included than book not so cheap hotel and then realize that there’s additional 4,200 THB that I need to reserve for the transfer.
The food in restaurant is very delicious but a bit more expensive that average in Thailand. On the other hand everything is prepared from the local and organic ingredients so it’s understandable.
The outdoor bathroom was great, only downside was the shower height - it had about 170 cm and no regulation so it was a bit uncomfortable for use.

Summary
I highly recommend this resort, it’s unforgettable experience on an exotic island and you can feel like in paradise!"

Łukasz Traczyk

"If you love Thailand but you hate tourists (other than yourself! lol), this is the place to be. It felt like we rented out the whole island and we were right in the middle of the high season in January. What an amazing beach. We took the full boarding option, and the food was very good and the service was amazing. Massage is a kinda meh given the price though. I would definitely come back!"

Joon P

"Perfect again. No bling, just a truly exceptional location, completely off most people’s radars, magnificent staff; whole days spent swimming sleeping walking, yoga and massage, reading, watching hornbills and macaques, choosing where to eat each evening— don’t worry if the tide is high, just hitch up your clothes and wade through the creek. Safe as houses! Well done everyone, especially Theresa and her amazing colleagues. Still unbeatable
Thank you"

tim finney