The island of Koh Chang has been on my "to-do" list for a long time. Thailand’s second largest island is east of Bangkok, near the Cambodian border, and is being developed rapidly – some say too rapidly. So, when I read that Thailand’s Dusit hotel group had opened a new property on the island, and was offering some fantastic deals, I decided it was time to take a look. A discount fare on Bangkok Airways sealed the deal.

My Friday afternoon flight was about two-thirds full, confirming that the low season has definitely arrived. It seemed we were about to set down in a pineapple plantation when the runway finally came into view. Trat airport is another one of the ’boutique’ airline Bangkok Airways’ boutique airports. From the airport, you catch a van which will take you to the ferry, and then on to the hotel.

The Dusit Princess Resort, which just officially opened on 17 March 2008, is near the south end of the west coast, and the end of a long string of beaches with names like “White Sand” and “Lonely”. The resort occupies most of the small stretch of beach at “Bai Lan”. The resort is laid out with an open air lobby surrounded by buildings housing many different kinds of guest rooms. I went for the “pool villa” which featured its own small pool and outdoor jacuzzi. The room was large and airy, with high ceilings, a king size bed, and flat screen television with DVD player. The bathroom has a large walk-in shower and two sinks, as well as a door to the outdoor bathing area.

I really liked the room, even though there were a few build quality issues, most of which are natural in a new hotel. The things that are likely to cause a problem for some guests are the air conditioning, which struggled to cool the room in the heat of the afternoon, and the lighting, which is soft and subtle. The bed lamps are inadequate for reading, and there is no room light at all.

Outside the room are two pools, a coffee shop and bar. The beach-side pool is free-form and the wooden deck surrounding it has several small jacuzzi built into it. The beach here is far from Koh Chang’s best. The sand becomes rough stone just at the low tide level. The water is quite calm, as there is almost no surf.

There is almost no commercial development along the beach road around the hotel, although that will probably change soon. To see more of the island, I took a songtaew up to White Sand beach. As the name implies, White Sand beach is indeed a long, wide stretch of white sand, lined with hotels, resorts and bungalows. The main road along the coast is lined with the usual mix of cheap clothing shops and restaurants that is all too common to the haphazard development of Thai beaches. There are obvious signs of more building everywhere, even though much of what has been built is only half utilized. The town seems very sleepy, Koh Chang is one of the few places where some places close in the low season.

The Princess is a good place to stay if you want to be well away from the crowds in the high season. Even without the special promotion, the pool villa is still a good value at the regular rate you can get on most of the discount sites. You can view its price and availability here.

More photos of the resort can be seen in our photo gallery.

Posted by michael under First Impressions

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