Ban's Diving Resort

6/10

Pleasant

28 Feb 2026

Rachel

There was construction outside our window and our only view. The bed was very uncomfortable.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

31 Jan 2026

Brenna

I did enjoy staying here but just a few things to know if you’re booking with them! A: if you get a Mountain View room, it’s actually on top of a GIGANTIC hill and up a ton of stairs. They do provide golf cart service to get up and down but it’s not super reliable so be willing to exercise! Lol. Also, the AC did not work super well in my room so be aware that it might be hot. Also, this is a jungle type environment so there’s lots of ants everywhere! They didn’t bother me too much but I wouldn’t keep any food in the room. Other than that it was an enjoyable stay and I did enjoy the diving lessons as well. Get to breakfast early if you don’t want it to be packed. Enjoy your trip!

Leisure Partner

4/10

Poor

26 Jan 2026

Stefan

I’m not that fussy but it’s

10/10

Exceptional

08 Jan 2026

Lee

Everything was well organized, cleans and the staff were great

Leisure Family

8/10

Excellent

21 Oct 2025

Janet

Beautiful resort, excellent breakfast, great accommodations in a deluxe room. The major drawback is that rooms close to the beach suffer from noise from the beach including loud music and crowds talking loudly until 2:30 am every night. Try to book a room away from the beach. There is a steep hill but the resort will drive you up and down the hill in their golf carts. The resort is truly beautiful with crystal clear pools and is nicely located in that it is close to great restaurants. The resort restaurant is right on the beach and sunsets are spectacular every evening.

Friends_and_family Family

8/10

Excellent

21 Aug 2025

Craig

I liked it, the room was very nice and comfortable, and the garden & grounds were nice. I paid a LOT - $400/n for the room though and I don’t think it was worth it. Deluxe garden rooms are right next to a night club with drum & bass blaring until 2am - so keep that in mind. Next time I think I’ll stay in Ban’s hotel which has a very nice pool away from nightclub. Breakfast is crazy between 9-10, go early if you want to relax.

Leisure Self

10/10

Exceptional

04 Aug 2025

Kirsten

We love Ban's. We always stay here when on Tao. Great rooms, pools, staff and service

Leisure Family

8/10

Excellent

08 Jul 2025

Natalie

The pools are amazing. Large upper pool for swimming laps. Views and the convenience was great for first few days in Koh Tao. The Factory restaurant next door great for healthy and some gluten free food.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

05 Jul 2025

Carys

You can get a free transfer to and from the pier which is super helpful. The hotel is massive and the restaurant breakfast/ food was really nice. It is in a great Location and there is lots to do round it. The hotel restaurant also has entertainment in the evening and the bands were really great. The views are in incredible from the pool near the gym. No pressure if you don’t want to do the diving.

2/10

Poor

07 May 2025

Anna

I have never felt more unsafe in a hotel. We booked this hotel for 1 night(thank god) and when we arrived they told us we have booked a jungle resort room which is furthest away from the beach which was fine as they ran a shuttle. We then got in the shuttle which took us over 1km away from the beach and all the facilities in the jungle above all the workers houses. We constantly smelt cooking etc. and there was bags of rubbish just on the paths all over the resort. The bit behind the entrance to our room also had loads of piles of rubbish everywhere. The room was extremely dated and wasn't clean, the shower had marks all over it and their was a drying rack box that was all dirty with random plates and cutlery that has been washed and forgotten to put away. We messaged Expedia to complain about the dirt of the resort and the 1km distance to the beach that we weren't informed of when booking and they phoned the hotel to ask them to sort it. A women arrived at our door banging it down shouting \"it's me\". When we opened the door she was angry and shouted \"what's the problem\" we explained about the dirt etc, and she rolled her eyes and said well if you want near the beach then you can go to reception and pay 60-80£ to upgrade. Then started shouting at us saying what do you want us to do? We said it's fine then as it's only 1 night and we are not willing to pay. After this about 20 minutes we heard more banging on our door and shouting and opened it and it was 3 young children.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

28 Apr 2025

Merle

Well the grounds are really exceptional. What a view from our hilltop room! Watch out for the mosquitoes. Lots of food options. We had some good dives, especially Sail Rock. I recommend a scooter rental if you stay up on the hill. We had a hard time Rea hing the operator and the folf art shuttle at times

Leisure Friends

8/10

Excellent

27 Feb 2025

Robert

Pretty basic but met our needs. Thank you x

Leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

21 Feb 2025

Julie

Sommes-nous toujours au pays du sourire?

C’est dommage, sur un séjour de 40 jours en Thaïlande, c’est le seul hôtel où les employés semblent tellement désabusés… on ne réussit pas à avoir un sourire… voir même ils nous ignorent quand on les salut.

Le resto déjeuner, délicieux, vue magnifiques mais ambiance gâchée par l’attitude du personnel, on semble les déranger et on n’a pas été habitué à ce genre d’accueil froid en Thailande.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

04 Feb 2025

Shreyas

Ban’s is centrally located in Koh Tao. I liked everything about the experience staying there. Primarily as divers, we loved the convenience of getting on speed boats right in front of the property.

Leisure Friends

10/10

Exceptional

23 Jan 2025

Evan

We upgraded our room easily and really enjoyed our stay.

10/10

Exceptional

17 Jan 2025

Nicole

Great location and breakfast!

We booked the hilltop view and it was an amazing view of the ocean with a balcony! It was a little bit of a walk up hill every night but it was a great price for the location, view and size of the room. Breakfast was amazing as well. Right on the water with good views and lots of food options. Very central on Sairee Beach.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

25 Dec 2024

Aaron

Highly recommend

Beautifully kept property. Beautiful pool. Great room, clean and decorated great. Bed was comfy and linings felt very quality . Highly recommend.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

21 Oct 2024

Brett

Overall, I was satisfied with my stay. The people in the reservations room that they direct you towards right away were a little rude and then hid behind a language barrier when asked for clarification.
Front desk staff refused to honor a discount on room cost becaus when I signed up for 3 diving certifications “because I booked through Expedia” and then proceeded to charge me full price directly.
Giving four stars overall because my diving instructor shout out to Hampus was phenomenal.
Giving four stars overall because my diving instructor - shout out to Hampus - was phenomenal; however, if I were to return, I wouldn’t stay here again because there are other potentially more modern options around.

Leisure

8/10

Excellent

27 Jul 2024

Semynov

Holiday at Ko Tao, Ban’s Diving Resort

We had a good stay at Ban’s Resort, the service was excellent and we would definitely come back.

Friends_and_family Family

10/10

Exceptional

23 Jul 2024

Michael

While we didn’t have hot water for showers a few times, we loved everything else.

Leisure Friends

10/10

Exceptional

18 May 2024

Joseph

Great location!

10/10

Exceptional

17 Apr 2024

Kari Nyboe

Wonderful staff. Lovely hotel.

Leisure Self

10/10

Exceptional

17 Apr 2024

Tony

Great hotel

6/10

Pleasant

22 Mar 2024

Leanne

Nice room but rude staff

The jungle house room was very clean, spacious had a balcony and the shower pressure was very good.

This was our last night in Koh Tao and we returned the scooter that we had rented for five days. Our jungle house room was so far from the reception and they were extremely rude when they had to give you a lift in a golf cart to the other end to reach your room. People at reception were extremely rude and dismissive which is a shame because the hotel is a very nice hotel however too big especially if your room is far away and the only way down is by moped or golf cart.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

19 Mar 2024

Matthew

I went for a long weekend and ended up staying a month.

Business_and_leisure Self

10/10

Exceptional

05 Mar 2024

Jameel

Amazing room and staff. Throughly enjoyed my stay and would highly recommended to anyone looking to stay in koh Tao

Leisure Self

8/10

Excellent

29 Feb 2024

Verified traveler

Bans Diving Resort

We had a room up high on the other side of the road. We had a beautiful view and the gardens were beautiful. We were far away from the crowds and parties. Quite a walk up and the guys with the golf carts seemed to be very inconvenienced if you asked for a ride up. The breakfast was good except the coffee it was instant. If you are not going there to learn to dive or dive I wouldn’t stay.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

26 Feb 2024

Matthew

Excellent value.
Centrally located on the main area of the island, Sairee Beach

Leisure Self

10/10

Exceptional

13 Feb 2024

Tyrone

Lovely place and a lovely team of people looking after the place. Thoroughly enjoyed breakfasts and it being right next to fishbowl was highly convenient

10/10

Exceptional

30 Jan 2024

Marie

Lovely place, great diving team, restaurant is good, bar/beach on site

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

16 Jan 2024

Emma

Amazing Experience

The hotel is so nice! A great reception area and the hotel restaurant right on the beach. The room was very clean, comfortable and relaxing. The complimentary breakfast buffet with the room was very tasty with good selection. The beach in front of the hotel and the multiple pool areas are great! I would love to stay at Ban’s again!

Self

10/10

Exceptional

03 Jan 2024

Anastasia

Perfect for divers, newbies and beach dwellers

Great resort for newbies and experienced divers. Everything is thought through, the resort is very well equipped for dive training and they offer all sorts of courses. The rooms are simple but stylish, with all the amenities you could ask for. You're close to the beach and all the bats and restaurants (can get a bit loud in the evening, but didn't bother us too much). Everyone was super friendly and helpful, the dive guides / instructora were very knowledgeable, professional, friendly and fun. Highly recommend staying at Ban's if coming to KO Tao.

Friends_and_family Friends

8/10

Excellent

18 Dec 2023

Verified traveler

My experience with Ban's diving resort was great. I lived in the jungle house so it was a bit of a walk to get out of the hotel but everything was great.

Self

10/10

Exceptional

14 Sep 2023

karen

Band diving resort is an amazing property with great service and facilities and awesome dive shop. The resort is enormous and some areas are so far away you need to get golf carts to get around. They basically have people driving these carts back and forth picking up and dropping off people. Like I had booked the jungle house room.. one cannot just walk there you need to request transport. I stayed in the building overlooking pool 3 right under where the gym is. These rooms can be a bit noisy with the meatheads dropping weights. It was very quiet and pleasant once the gym closed.

I really enjoyed my stay there. AmazIng property

Leisure Self

8/10

Excellent

30 Aug 2023

Shona

Really Nice hotel, clean rooms with fabulous rooms and decent breakfast. Only downside was bad smell from showers after use. Very steep walk to some of the rooms and the resort is huge and not very well labeled with directions to rooms!

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

25 Jan 2023

Kyle

Couldn’t be more impressed. Clean property with fantastic, friendly staff. Also has a beachside restaurant which serves awesome food and turns into a great beach club at night. 10/10 would recommend. We stayed for the open water scuba diving course which was world class.

Leisure Friends

8/10

Excellent

29 Feb 2020

Amy

Me and my boyfriend stayed here for 3 nights. We had a fabulous time. The pools are gorgeous. We stayed in the jungle house so was quite far from the main hotel. However, the staff were very accommodating. They gave us a number to text through WhatsApp anytime we wanted to go to the main hotel or to the beach and someone would come and pick us up by golf buggy. I thought this was a fabulous touch. Staff can’t do enough for you. However the rooms are a little dated but the stunning infinity pools made up for it.

Leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

19 Feb 2020

Beatrice

View was great. Except the roof in front of me blocked a good portion of the view. But was lovely. A lot of stairs to climb. No warning of this, and no lifts. I injured my leg on this trip and it was difficult to get up and down to my room on crutches. The instructor and dive master were great pat and peter. They were awesome. at was able to get me crutches and I really appreciated that. Overall a great time and stay

Leisure Self

10/10

Exceptional

29 Nov 2019

Verified traveler

Best diving resort on the island HANDS DOWN. They also have five pools that you and your family can hang around. Their restaurant also serves up great food. 10/10 experience for me. No complaints at all!

Leisure Family

6/10

Pleasant

27 Nov 2019

Verified traveler

Good Location, but wouldn’t book again.

Good location, interesting layout though pools are quite a hike if you aren’t by the main road. Felt a little like a machine in terms of how it was run, not so personalized compared to other stays here in koh Tao. Not happy with room left early. Felt like a dark dorm room. A/C wasn’t great and WiFi kept quitting on me for my work. Accommodating to cancel my second night which I am thankful for.

Self

10/10

Exceptional

22 Jun 2019

Carolyn

Ban's is great

Very happy with my stay at Ban's. The room was very nice and clean. A/C works great and shower temp/pressure was always good. Staff is helpful and friendly organizing excursions and transportation. Grant and Claudia were very nice! We ate almost every meal at the resort which has a great menu and the food is fresh. I also apppreciate their attempts to be eco-friendly (reusable straws, minimize plastic use). The only small complaint I have is the bed was too hard and I often woke up sore. But that seems to be the norm around Thailand.

Partner

2/10

Poor

11 Feb 2019

Verified traveler

Deception

Very deceptively advertised. It only has a restaurant on the beach area and the hotel itself has no beach and no chairs and nothing by the beach. If you book the regular rooms, you are about 20 mins walking to the reception area and it is a completely different hotel. Pools are always occupied with diving instructions. I wouldn't recommend staying here for the hotel and it's awful amenities.

Partner

4/10

Poor

08 Jan 2019

Verified traveler

looks good but services BAD

The correspondence of the hotel staff was bad from the time of check-in.
The room given at the time of check-in was mountain side but the air conditioner seems to be broken and it was not cool at all.
When asking for correspondence, there is no correspondence for more than 1H
The worst was the breakfast restaurant.
Not only do not only come to listen to orders at all, or touch it from time to time to respond to it.
Sometimes I have forgotten to clean the room, and I had to call from here to come to the cleaning.

Friends

10/10

Exceptional

01 Dec 2018

Verified traveler

AMAZING RESORT! You HAVE to stay here if you are in Koh Tao. Our favourite resort in all of Thailand!

6/10

Pleasant

01 Nov 2018

Miguel

Very far away of the beach over a hill forced to walk up and down more than 50 meters three times per day and with the lugagges is creasy.

4/10

Poor

30 Sep 2018

Verified traveler

Too big to care

The overall feeling is that they control the island (diving, shops, bars, supermarket etc..) and they just don't care about you anymore since they don't need you.
The manager has a grampy face and even when I came to recommend on a diving instructor that we dove with, she didn't care.

This is also the FIRST PLACE IN THE WORLD I got refused to know where I'm going to dive. No one was willing to tell me where it's planned to go, and what happened is that they toke us to a place that only after 18m you can see something, and I can dive only up to 18m!!! In the reception they told us \"on the boat they decide, talk to them\", on the boat they said \"the reception decides don't blame us talk to them\". Very bad experience!
The diving instructors are great, but they are contractors and not related to the hotel.

Last thing, I made sure 3 months ahead that the room is NOT uphill (since I read reviews), and I booked the garden view for that. Upon arrival it seems that on the bottom there is only 2 beds and not single bed. EVEN THAT I CHECKED BEFORE!
We spent the entire time climbing the hill to our room.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

31 Mar 2018

Verified traveler

Learning to dive

Great place to stay and learn to dive.

Partner

4/10

Poor

28 Mar 2018

LUZ

I booked a room with a specificcprice. When we were at the hotel they gave is a room in a far away building To stay close to the beach ee had to pay 15 dollars more a day.

Family

6/10

Pleasant

12 Mar 2018

Verified traveler

Decent hotel, very busy, great location

Great location, decent accommodations, free breakfast.

Bed was super hard! We asked for more pillows, which helped, but still could be more comfy. Beach very close. Lots of shops and restaurants.

Showers were a bit strange to us as there is no separation from the toilet. Not a deal breaker, just different.

There are 3 pools. One was said to be set aside for scuba classes. However, when we went to use the other pools, there were scuba classes going on in those as well. It was a little awkward and we ended up just wading in the hot tub.

Overall a great stay, but it is a 3 Star hotel. Don't expect it to be fancy.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

08 Mar 2018

Verified traveler

Depending which room you booked, you might be staying at the top of the mountain, they have golf cart to bring you there. Usually it's always available, but sometimes around 9 pm, the service stops, and i had to walk back but the place is a maze, it was a mission to get back after dinner to our room. Some of the staffs are not very friendly when you ask them if you can get a golf cart ride.

Family

6/10

Pleasant

03 Jan 2018

SY

Room is not the same as shown in Photos

Bit disappointed as the room given is not what have been shown in the [photos. The room is bit run down and need renovation.

Family

6/10

Pleasant

02 Jan 2018

Verified traveler

Stayed a week.

Loud music from the bar/dining area blared until 2;00 am. It’s located in a very congested part of town. Hotel is all about their diving program and offers little else.
Would not go back.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

01 Jan 2018

sam

pleasant stay

stayed here 3 nights in Hill view room. a strenoous climb to the room but golf cart made it comfortable. fishbowl bar was the best place in the evening. spent all tree evenings listening to the live band and lovely music.

8/10

Excellent

29 Oct 2017

Steven

The bungalow was very nice and a good value. Nice view and patio. Very private. However it was a long walk up the hill. This might be ok for some or if you have a motor bike. I moved to a different place at the bottom of the hill after 3 days. No traffic noise at all, no dogs barking or chickens crowing.

8/10

Excellent

27 Sep 2017

Tish

Great stay, perfect for diving, affordable, helpful staff, great location

10/10

Exceptional

24 Jul 2017

Jonny

Must visit!

We had The best time here with great service from the boat to the boat. When we arrived we got picked up, and great service everyone we met. A little struggle with English some of them but they smile so it's okay! They Are happy so we are happy! Great help with diving her at Bans resort, so Nice people that works here, and you get some discount for staying at the resort. Beautiful place, the best food on the strip and a must visit place!

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

23 Jul 2017

Agnes

Terrible sleeping conditions, amazing instructors

Stayed with my 13 year old in the second building away from the restaurant, in room 72 for 5 nights. We got almost no sleep due to the nightly live entertainment and parting that takes place every evening from 10pm to 2am. Even with the earplugs in we still heared the music! Additionally, the windows in the bedrooms are not soundproof and the washroom window is made of wood and always stays open. Wanted to change the room 4 days in the row, however I was told there was no room available in my price range (?) only one room available on the top of the hill. Went to check the room and found that was located in a very far distance from the main complex and all the way up the hill. By choice we did not take it.
Diving with Andrew and Patrick was exceptional!!! Andrew is a very knowledgeable and fun fella. There were 6 people in our group and as such we received enough attention.
When I come back next year to continue my diving courses, I will definately request Andrew, however I will look for accomodations someplace else. Furthermore, the restaurant's staff is very rude and uninterested in serving clients i.e. when you make an eye contact with them in order to get their attention they look away and way away . So, go only if you REALLY have to. In summary, as many reviewers have already pointed out this place is excellent for learning to divie only and nothing else. The course we took was called Open Water Diver and it took 4 days to complete. The meet times are at 7am.

8/10

Excellent

02 Jul 2017

Gerhard

Great stay at Ban's

Ban's Dive resort is a central location at Sairee beach, however depending where the room is it might be long hill climb around 600m. Service was ok and the food quality is good. We had some good few days spend in the resort. They have large dive operation, which is good and bad. It feels like a dive factory, however service, rental material is good. As well as the service from the dive masters provide. Overall we had a great experience in the resort, however next time I would go for a smaller resort and smaller diver center.,

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

02 Jun 2017

Dominic

nice and friendly

We had a nice place in the jungle (in the backpart of the resort). little bungalo with shower/parkinglots for rental bikes and a big livingroom with 2 beds.
Very fast and friendly checkin.

we had a great stay!

Family

8/10

Excellent

31 May 2017

Verified traveler

The room was far from the bans resort-location but the staff wasn't helpful with helping me getting to the room and back. The staff was really rude when I told them about the problem.
If they were more helpfull and ready to explain me the way, this problem was really minor.

8/10

Excellent

15 May 2017

Michael

Great place

Amazing. For this price you will not be disappointed. Great location, big clean rooms and a nice pool. If there was anything to critique it would be the distance to the Jungle House rooms. They have a golf cart to take people to and from but there is often nobody there to drive it. It's about a 5-10 minute walk to the beach from the Jungle House rooms.

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

09 Mar 2017

Verified traveler

The staff were exceptionally friendly and helpful. On arrival because we couldn't book what we wanted they upgraded us. Would recommend to anybody.

Partner

2/10

Poor

03 Feb 2017

amy

DO NOT BOOK JUNGLE HOUSE

Got a free shuttle from the port which was very handy and saved a 25 minute walk in the heat and 300 baht taxi fair (ripoffs on the island this journey is 4 mins by car)

Checking in is chaotic it seems there are a very busy hotel that do bit of everything and we was not told anything about where the pool was or anything like that, we booked the jungle house which in brackets said (furthest from the beach) by this we assume it was the when at the top or the end of the resort, but it was actually infact across the road then a 15 minute walk past other hotels and a village of sorts, which was also had hills, there was a cart that would take you there in the day, but not walking back down to the beach nor past dark so you have to walk in the dark and it was hard to find where to go and we got lost, also on checkout we was waiting downstairs with our luggage because there was noway we was going to be walking down the hill and the 15 minute walk with luggage and bags, I had to ring them and someone came up and got us, there was no phone in the room

I would only reccomend this is you don't mind being near anything, (have scooter for a few day but even then for the money there is places on the beach)

no communication or help atall the room was okay nothing to complain about it was fairly new I assume

Partner

2/10

Poor

23 Jan 2017

Verified traveler

Wouldnt recommend to anyone!!!!!

The hotel staff are extremely rude. When confronting them about the fact they stuffed up our island transfer they just laughed at us. Didnt compensate us for the next transfer (which was cheaper) until we asked for it (basically was going to pocket our money). When we advised them we had just lost money from not getting to our next island on time due to there stuff up they had no remorse and did not compensate us in anyway. Didnt even offer for us to stay in our room as we had to wait another 14 hours for our next transfer and it was basically a storm on the island that day. Our room wasnt serviced for over 2 days therefore dirty towels and sheets for majority of the stay. No handsoap was supplied in the bathroom. No complimentary water for 2 days. No telephone in the room to be able to contact reception when we had a giant spider the size of my hand in our room - had to walk to 1.5km to reception to ask them to have someone remove it. All in all the worst hotel experience i had whilst i was in Thailand for 2.5 weeks. Wouldnt recommend this hotel to anyone!!!

2/10

Poor

21 Jan 2017

Verified traveler

Worst hotel staff

Room was not serviced daily, no fresh towels or water. Door could not completly close so had every bug and spider in our room. Had arranged for transfer to Phi Phi island with reception staff who forgot to organise our 5.20am pick up which resulted in us missing our ferry and accommodation in Phi Phi, when confronting the staff about this they just laughed at us. I would not recommend this hotel to anyone and I would like a full refund for this hotel!

8/10

Excellent

26 Nov 2016

Verified traveler

Nice hotel close to the beach and main center

Very good exprience especially because we got an upgrade to our room which was very nice.
Wifi connection though not one of the best I had got disconnected all the time and very slow.

10/10

Exceptional

26 Nov 2016

Aluma

Nice and cozzy.

Good place to stay at! Little bit rough going up the hill for the supreme room all the time.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

20 Oct 2016

Lior

We stayed in tge uphill villa. The room itself was OK, nothing to write home about.

In order to get to the room you have to climb a really steep hill. I mean, really steep as in \"sweat yourself to death\" steep.

Also, the room seems a bit old and less equipped. our friends stayed in the garden room and it looked like their room was better.

6/10

Pleasant

31 Jul 2016

Maggie

Close to the beach

Wonderful location but need to pay up to have rooms that are closer to the beach. The resort has two sections and the cheaper rooms are up a hill which takes away from be location. We ended up paying more when we arrived to move to rooms closer to the beach and main road. The breakfast was great but hotel service is certainly not what you get at a lot of other hotels of similar price in the region.

Family

8/10

Excellent

25 Jun 2016

Nick

Great place to get a diving certification!

Bans diving resort was excellent over all. The staff was beyond courteous and very quick to any responses. My gf got sick and they were immediate to give us even more towels and bottles of water. Could not speak higher of their team.

It is really geared towards diving which for us this trip unfortunately was a bit of a negative just because the pools are completely taken up by divers. The only other downside was the brunch, very upsetting that it was the worst I've experienced. Flys literally everywhere, and the food was far below par. Take my word and don't pay extra for it. 4 days in a row, it was the same exact thing.

Other than those two items, if you want a diving certification this is def the place to go, I will be back soon to do so!!!

Partner

4/10

Poor

16 Jun 2016

Taylor

Nice area and location, but the room was horrible.

Stay here if you want to get bitten by bed bugs. Dirty room all around.

10/10

Exceptional

22 May 2016

Mario

Relaxed and fun

Great!

Family

8/10

Excellent

08 Apr 2016

talmor

Very good

Partner

2/10

Poor

07 Feb 2016

Alex

Dont stay here....Bans tourist rort

Bans, they only care about taking cash from tourists. They continually push divers who are not competant to do more advanced courses so the dive instructors and the centre earn more cash. Be careful if youre not a competant diver. They will certify and charge you.

On top of this their food and bev service is terrible. Quality great but table service from surly waiters who cant be bothered.

Also, there is a motor bike rental located on the premises who ripped me off when i asked for a refund of three days fare i had prepaid. She screamed and yelled r*ape, help me, to try get me in trouble with the locals. (Ko Toa is a former penal colony for Thailand and three local gangs run the island with corrupt police) when i informed Bans the surly head of 'customer service' said it wasnt her problem they werent part of the dive centre, although located in the middle of their resort...

All in all i wouldnt recomment Bans, looks great but looks can be deceiving...and no i am not a precious western traveller, i have lived in Asia over three coutries for the past 5 years. Couldn't wait to leave Ko Tao, beautiful though it is

Partner

8/10

Excellent

01 Feb 2016

Verified traveler

Nice stay

Stayed in a superior room wich was really nice. A lot of space, big shower, balconies and the bed was soft and the blanket was thick and cosy. The swimmingpool is really nice and the view from it is beautiful.
Our room was far away from the main office, had to walk up a steep hill which was no problem for us but might be a problem for someone else ;)'

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

26 Jan 2016

Mark

Definitely not 4 star!

There should be a warning about how steep the climb up the hill to the rooms is.
There should be more control of the noisy guests. Being woken up by drunk neighbours coming home at 5am isn't funny, when it happens every morning.
It was bad enough that both pools are used by divers all day, so we sat in the hot tub only to have one of the dive instructors dog join us!
The staff at breakfast were sweet enough, when they weren't playing on their mobile phones but they had no idea about food hygiene. There were no chilled cabinets for chilled food. The hot food was luke warm. The breakfast area was full of mosquitos.
Room was spacious but basic.

8/10

Excellent

25 Jan 2016

Verified traveler

Jungle huts...

Overall the hotel is really good and I would recommend it. We stayed in a jungle hut which we understood would have been away from the resort but we wasn't aware of how steep the walk was and remote. You have to walk through a building site to get to your room which at night in the pitch black is not ideal. I wouldn't recommend the jungle huts for anyone who has trouble walking or for someone who does not like to be at the centre of the action. It is a good ten min walk from the resort.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

15 Jan 2016

Verified traveler

overall - good stay

a nice place to stay if your looking for somewhere that isn't in the heart of it - meaning not too noisy.
wifi wasn't always good but I'm not going to rate my holiday on wifi!
the restaurant attached to the hotel - Darawan is very nice - nice food, nice service and i love the fact you felt like you feel like you are in the hills (nice decor)

the only downfall the staff didn't have good communication - we didn't know they do a free transfer from the ferry and back if you purchase your ferry ticket with them so id rate them lower for that!

Partner

8/10

Excellent

31 Oct 2015

Ming Ying

Centrally located with rooms suitable for all

Stayed at the L Building overlooking the new pools. Room is simple but spacious. All rooms have a small balcony where you can dry your wet clothes after a day at the beach or diving. The breakfast is enormous in a very nice setting. Not much of closet space for long term stay but it's good enough. I enjoyed my stay there. If you are diving with the resort, you get discount from it too.

8/10

Excellent

22 Sep 2015

Verified traveler

Nice stay. Good location.

A young hotel. Mainly for diving courses.
In the middle of ban mah beach
Nice pool if you take a room in the upper part, 5 min from the beach.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

07 Sep 2015

Paul

Great diving, stay in hilltop if you want some pea

We had a great time at bans with as a group of couples. Diving was good and great value. We stayed in a hilltop bungalow away from the main section, though it's a steep walk up the Hill it was worth it to get away from the noise of the main resort. The room was very comfortable and cleaned well energy day. I would deffinately come back here to do some diving.

Family

6/10

Pleasant

23 Aug 2015

Verified traveler

Bans diving resort

Hotel was lovely we're had a lovely view from room to the pool. Rooms were clean. The staff could have been more friendly.

10/10

Exceptional

17 Aug 2015

Nicola

Stayed in deluxe hillside view room. Lovely room with great views. Really liked the hillside restaurant, gardens and pool. Highly recommended.

Family

8/10

Excellent

17 Aug 2015

Claire

Great stay. Fantastic diving courses if you want them-really good instruction. Felt very safe throughout our diving experience.

10/10

Exceptional

19 Jul 2015

Verified traveler

Great if you stay in the expensive side of the res

We stayed here for 2 nights. The resort is massive and starts from the beach, through beautiful gardens, and then across the main road and up a very steep hill. The resort is made out of 3 areas with 3 different pools. I think the bottom area which is in the gardens close to the beach is only used for diving as there were divers in the pool the whole time. Across the main Rd and up the hill are Areas 2 and 3. To the left is area 2, a newly developed hotel style building with many rooms surrounding a pool. At first we got a room there. It was ok but it stank of cigarettes really bad, and there was a really loud rock radio station playing the whole time by the pool. Rooms are not very private as you can see and hear the neighborhing rooms. There are no nice views and no shade for the pool. We actually requested a non smoking, quiet room as I am pregnant and we luckily got upgraded to a beautiful room in area 3 (or that's how I call it). This area is fabulous. Up in the hills, quiet, amazing views, among beautiful groomed gardens and matured trees. The downsides: the pool of this beautiful area (called the middle pool) was also full of divers. The room's doors didn't close properly (had a massive gap) and we got mosquitos and a frog inside! You also need a scooter to get around the resort as it's massive and on such a steep hill. The cat at breakfast was a pain as well, constantly jumping on the table. Otherwise very happy with the room, I would definitely go there again.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

13 Jul 2015

TODD

Good location

Prime location in sairee beach, worth the price, they offered free pickup and drop off service to the pier

Partner

8/10

Excellent

15 Jun 2015

Hazel

Room was amazing & views were gorgeous from the hill! Partner enjoyed the scuba diving offered which was the cheapest on the island. Pity both pools are taken over by scuba dive training

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

06 Jun 2015

Verified traveler

Hill climbing nightmare

Its a trap! I booked a hillside deluxe, looking forward to the spectacular sea view from there. True the view is good, because I was almost at the peak of the hill!

Koh Tao is a small island, and almost all shops,and all hotels are concentrated at the shore side. From the breach looking inward the island, theres some hill in the middle. And the hillside deluxe is right situated there, at the mid-level of those hills. You can imagine how far it is from our room. Since it is at mid level, I basically have to climb up, which is the worst part of all. No escalator, no lifts. Stairs are steep and no street light at night. I tripped and fell at night once. Dont forget you have to carry luggage upstairs and downstairs

Insects days amd nights, expected. But far from the main area of island, and have to work out whenever leave the room and back to the room, no no.

Partner

4/10

Poor

03 Jun 2015

S

Dissapointing stay

We really did not enjoy our stay here from the very beginning, it was our least favourite place on our whole trip through thailand. To be honest the rooms and overall facilities were OK.. Our main issue was the staff! They weren't very friendly or interested in guests, we appeared to be more of a bother. We stayed in the 'jungle room' which believe me is a heck of a walk to the main resort and beach. Also you have to walk through a building site and the workers housing area and late at night the walk is not lit well at all- which may be important for people especially if travelling on your own. We had to swap rooms immediately as the first room had a trail of ants crawling all over the bed, also the room wasn't too clean generally- tea towel in kitchen area was covered in dead bugs and also old mentos packaging under pillow? Was a simple swap to our new room but no apology from staff. Our new room was nicer but still had a couple of issues, eg no hot water for 2/3 days. Lastly we had booked a ferry transfer for half 5 and taxi pick up from main reception, we had asked for a shuttle to pick us up from our room as it was quite a way to lug our cases especially that early in the morning in the dark, they agreed stating that's fine we will be there at 5.20...but of course no one shows and we ended up walking the whole way down, when the member of staff arrived there again was no apology!!

6/10

Pleasant

22 May 2015

Hei Che

Suitable for divers.

Mainly divers' residence which provides diving courses. Don't ask for any resort-type service, but reasonable room rate. Good location, close to Sairee Village.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

25 Mar 2015

Patsy

Beautiful Steep Hillside Bungalow

We stayed 3 nights in the hillside bungalow. Reception is friendly and helpful. 2 porters in a golf cart drive us up to our bungalow - the 3 hills are very steep! Our room was very spacious with many windows and a beautiful view to the water! Modern furniture and we also had a patio with a view. It's less than a 10 min walk to Ban's restaurant. Breakfast was included in our stay. Food was delicious (you get to choose from 4 breakfast sets). The staff at breakfast was very dis interested and seemed annoyed they had to be there. Walking up to our hillside bungalow from Ban's Restaurant is a challenge - be ready to sweat! (We are both fit and hike often at home).

Family

8/10

Excellent

19 Mar 2015

Nick

Great location

Great value and staff were helpful with out lost luggage. The hilltop view apartments are at the top of VERY step hills quite away from the beach so you'll need to hire a scotter (£5/day) if you want to avoid arriving at you apartment sweating like a pig everyday.

8/10

Excellent

08 Mar 2015

Verified traveler

Great location, poor service and room conditions

Great location, great common areas, but the service is terrible. Was told to show up at 8 in the morning for a diving trip, only for them to realize there wasn't space anyway.

Partner

6/10

Pleasant

25 Jan 2015

Nicole

Good location but terrible facilities

I booked a superior room and I had to upgrade to a deluxe room because The conditions of the room were aweful. The room was full of fungus on the roof.
I wouldn't stay again in This hotel.

4/10

Poor

29 Dec 2014

sporty

Not again!

Unfriendly stuff
No first aid kit at the reception
No Ligth on the walk way to the rooms
To expensive for this what you get.

Diving is really good :)

6/10

Pleasant

23 Aug 2014

Maswinbourne

Lovely room but that's about it.

Check in staff lovely and efficient, sorted a minor issue with booking quickly. We had a hillside room over the road, room was lovely with great views but you have to walk up 2 hills and 3sets of very steep steps, very tiring. Breakfast was included but was an absolute joke, watered down juice, toast and a bit if fruit. Pools always used for diving so you feel like you are intruding (or on the middle of a lesson) they also were in poor repair and always looked/felt dirty. Went to their 'fine dining' restaurant which was a joke. Food mediocre and staff had no idea. Went to use loo and saw 1 member of staff laid on floor and the other sat on floor picking her feet, nice! Ban's seem to be trying to tap into the flash packer market but are no where near ready to compete.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

25 May 2014

Juwa

nice hotel close to the beach

we've had very good experience, clean room and friendly staff but strongly recommend to book without breakfast as we were not very pleased with the quality of served food and after few attempts we were eating outside of the resort. overall i would recommend for people who are into diving as there is loads to choose from with multi lingual staff so you can even have training in your own language.

8/10

Excellent

28 Apr 2014

Adeline

Nice hotel with great staff service

great room with living room and balcony, near to hotel restaurant, excellent breakfast, lunch and dinner can order delivery or self pickup from hotel restaurant, walking distance to main beach. greatly recommended !

10/10

Exceptional

12 Mar 2014

Eduardo Gutekunst

Great location and great diving

No complaints. Staff was great, diving was great, food by the sea was quite good. If I have any minor complaint it is that it took a long time to have our room made up.

Family

8/10

Excellent

04 Mar 2014

Les

Good For Divers

Famous place, apparently it trains the most divemasters in the world. Both pools are filled with divers most of the time and there is 3 boat trips a day to the dive sites. Location is brilliant, restaurant is nice. Our room was very nice.

Partner