---
type: "Article"
title: "Thailand tour part 1 – Koh Samui and the W Retreat Hotel"
description: "We started our two-week round trip in an Airbus A340 with Thai Airways, from Zurich to Koh Samui via Koh Phangan to Bangkok, and back again. Check out what stylish hotels our tour operator had up his sleeves!"
resource: "https://travelmemo.com/thailand/thailand-tour-koh-samui-w-retreat-hotel"
author: "Michael Bachmann"
publisher: "Travelmemo"
photo_count: 9
tags: ["Landscape", "Relax", "Sea", "Spa-Wellness", "W Hotel", "Thailand"]
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generated: { by: "human:https://travelmemo.com/author/mbachmann", at: 2026-07-05T18:06:42+00:00 }
sources:
  - id: photos
    resource: thailand-tour-koh-samui-w-retreat-hotel.md#photos
    title: "Original photography by Michael Bachmann"
    author: "human:https://travelmemo.com/author/mbachmann"
    last_modified: 2013-05-07
timestamp: 2026-07-05T18:06:42+00:00
---

# Thailand tour part 1 – Koh Samui and the W Retreat Hotel

> Koh Samui is a Thai island destination known for its lively beaches and upscale resorts, exemplified by the stylish W Retreat Hotel with its urban-hipster design and views of Koh Phangan.

## Destination
Koh Samui, Thailand

## Getting there
Fly Thai Airways to Bangkok, then connect to Koh Samui via Bangkok Airways (ATR 72-500). The Koh Samui airport has an open, tropical-garden style with golf-cart minibuses to terminals.

## What to see
- **W Retreat Hotel** — Stylish urban-design hotel with water lounges, DJ evenings, private pools, and views of Koh Phangan.
- **Chaweng Beach** — World-famous, lively and touristy beach with Thai massage salons, market stalls, and a distinctly Thai atmosphere.
- **Whisky bottle gas stations** — A quirky island quirk — recycled whisky bottles filled with petrol sold roadside for small single-litre fill-ups.

## What to do
- **Relax at the W Retreat pool and beach bar** — Beer served in dedicated coolers, free chilled drinks and ice cream around the clock at 'sweet spots'.
- **Evening DJ sessions at the W lounge** — Resident DJs play electro sets in the Kawasaki-green water lounges; passion fruit caipirinha recommended.
- **Thai massage on Chaweng Beach** — Numerous massage salons line the beach strip among the tourist shops.

## Good to know
On the Bangkok–Zurich Thai Airways flight, seats 31E and F offer extra legroom directly behind business class and earlier food service. The W Retreat suits design-conscious travellers but can feel impersonal; the attentive staff compensates.

## Photos

```yaml
photos:
  - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Wolfsbarsch-Filet-Palafitte-Hotel.jpg"
    caption: "Sea bass on freshly pressed potato stock"
  - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Expo02-Palafitte-Hotel.jpg"
    caption: "Green plastic rods from Expo.02"
  - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Reiterstatue-altes-Schloss-Stuttgart-1024x682.jpg"
    caption: "Duke Christoph memorial in Stuttgart’s Old Palace"
  - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Mercedes-Benz-Stern-Bahnhof-1024x582.jpg"
    caption: "Stuttgart’s train station tower with the Mercedes-Benz star"
  - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Georgios-Engonidis-Atelier-Gastwerk-Designhotel-Hamburg.jpg"
    caption: "Georgios Engonidis in his hotel studio"
  - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Hotel-Beau-Rivage-Neuenburg-Koch-Eric-Mazeas.jpg"
    caption: "Vollständiger Reisebericht online unter http://bit.ly/13OjAR0"
    keywords: ["Gastronomie", "Hotel Beau Rivage", "Kulinarik", "Neuenburg", "Relais & Chateaux", "Romandie"]
    captured: 2013-05-07
    geo: {latitude: 46.9891, longitude: 6.9288}
    credit: "Walter Schärer"
```