Paradise Pearl Bungalow

Good points: If you want beautiful, crystal clear water, tropical fish swimming alongside you, white soft sand and quiet evenings, this resort on Long Beach is ideal. It has a lovely chilled beachfront restaurant that serves nice western and Thai food. The bungalows are spacious and are Thai style (cool and darkened with wood furnishings). The beds are comfy and soft, comfy and large. There's a small shop at the bungalows that sells soft and alcoholic drinks, food and other items and its opened until 10 pm. The staff are really nice and they will help you with everything inc. your luggage around and helping you onto boats. The hotel offers trips from its shore (inc snorkelling); they also offer kayaks (You need to leave a deposit for the kayaks. I saw a rather rude guest argue about leaving a deposit but please do not argue. Kayaks are expensive, so if you decide to leave yours on a far off beach or get it smashed by another boat, you rightly lose the deposit). Don't be rude to the staff because they are there to help you and enable you to have a good time. Housekeeping here is very good and very fast. I moved from one room to another effortlessly with the rooms being available early, each time. Every time the room was clean and comfy (they do however need a few small adjustments with respect to sliding doors and door locks). Paradise Pearl is right on the end of the beach with easy access to the walking path that leads to Viking Resort and Tonsai village. You can also easily swim or snorkel around the rocks if you fancy checking out the Viking resort. You see plenty of tropical fish, large and small. There are downsides to staying here: 1. The beach gets busy in the afternoon with tourists from Tonsai. If you really want to enjoy the beach properly, go early, grab a spot and enjoy it before all the tourists turn up. It starts to get busy between 1 and 2 pm, but you have the whole morning before it gets busy. 2. You probably need a boat to get to Tonsai at night because the path is dark. Cost of a boat will be around 150 baht and you'll be getting your feet and legs very wet. Don't bother with frilly dresses, they'll be full of sea water and sand. Boats can be tricky to climb into if you're not used to ladders and slippery steps. 3. The noise from the long tail boats annoys some people. It did not annoy me and I slept very well, but some people were getting agitated with it. Long tails are used as taxis and for excursions, so they arrive and leave a lot. Overall, I had a lovely few days here and the manager came out to say goodbye when we left. I felt a lump in my throat when we left. My mum died this year and so travelling Thailand alone has helped me get space and feel better about the world, but I still get upset very easily, and leaving Paradise Pearl really brought tears to my eyes. Thank you to everyone at the bungalows for such a lovely stay

My husband and I stayed 4 nights here last week. What an absolute gem! We read some terrible reviews about this place and I am so glad we ignored them. A short long boat ride ( about 10 mins) from Tonsai pier. We were met by someone from the hotel who lifted our heavy baggage onto the boat and sailed us to the resort. The beach is stunning! White powdery sand and clear blue water. The reception was very helpful and staff kindly carried our bags up to our gorgeous bungalow. The room was spacious, with traditional style furniture. Very clean and comfortable. We had a partial view of the sea. The room was cleaned daily. We ate at the restaurant every day. Food and cocktails were fantastic. The staff were always very polite. Some of the staff did not speak English and those that did only limited, which is absolutely fine. I wonder if this is where some people had issues with staff attitude though? We made an effort to talk to the staff and show an interest in them. We found staff responded well to our interest in them and would smile. Absolutely no complaints about staff at all! We booked onward speedboat journey and taxi from airport at the reception. The receptionist was extremely helpful. There are a few things to note before booking this hotel. The only way to and from this hotel is by long boat. The journey is free on arrival and departure and 100-150 Thai baht (£3) at other times. The boats run until midnight. I would say you would have to be a fairly fit able bodied person to manage the boats. They would not be suitable for elderly / disabled people. The restaurant/ bar closed at 10pm, last food orders at 9.30pm. This was not an issue for us but if you want a lively hotel where you can party until the early hours this is not for you. Loved this place and would highly recommend.

Unfriendly staff that charges for everything little thing. The owner of this resort is the same one that owns the Paradise Resort two doors down. The vibe is the same. Unfriendly staff that seems to dislike tourists. I ordered breakfast at their resort restaurant. It’s 10 USD which is a lot for Thailand. I asked for a refill of the tiny mug of coffee and the waitress takes out her calculator to tell me it’s extra. Before I even finish, another waiter comes by with the receipt and stands there waiting for me to pay and he says cash only. You have to pay for every overpriced meal when you eat it. AT THE RESORT RESTAURANT. The petty cash grab continues to using the communal bathroom, snorkeling gear, etc. But it’s staff’s unfriendliness that ruins the vibe. It really is a shame that such a beautiful beach and natural environment is ruined by these people. They don’t deserve to be working there. What a horrible mismatch between natural beauty and human discontent.