I arrived to stay at Secret Garden on May 25 of this year, planning to stay for a couple of nights while I found a longer term spot to stay in Koh Samui for my vacation. I ended up staying all 6 weeks in Secret Garden and can't wait to get back! Note: I'm a seasoned traveler who has been coming to Koh Samui for more than a decade at this point. So I know a few things about the island. I've stayed at resorts that were 3-4x the price of Secret Garden around Bophut, Chaweng, and Lamai, as well as some of the highest end places on the island (Four Seasons and W). Obviously the 20-30k baht per night places are better, but I genuinely think Secret Garden beats all of the 2-5k/night beach resorts around the island for a few reasons. First, the bar/restaurant. As many other reviews have noted, the staff at this resort are all amazing. I'll restate that here. The kitchen staff make some of the best Thai food on the island (all the western dishes were good too, especially the pizzas, but when in Thailand I prefer the local cuisine). I occassinaly eat vegan meals, and they were super accomdating at making vegan pad thai, fried rice, curries, etc. The bar mixes up great cocktails and has a nice selection all around with things like ciders, wine, sangria, etc. Second, it's a relatively small, quiet, and cozy resort (there are only like 10-15 rooms) but it feels a lot bigger. They do live music 3 nights a week with a good mix of local bands and draw a pretty big crowd (probably around 100 people on average) - a mix of locals/expats and people from other resorts in Bang Rak. It's the place to be right now. Over the years of coming here, Bang Rak was never much of a spot to visit. It was a sleep stretch of beach with a few resorts and not much else. That's not the case anymore. There are a lot of great places on the beach to get food/drinks within a short walk (down the beach if you want) of Secret Garden: Chi, Tembo, B. House, The Deck (just opened, can't walk to it from the beach, but it's 5 minutes by bike, just a little ways past B. House). And there are plenty of nice little watering hole bars along the road (not on the beach side). M&M bar is right across the street). And finally, it's a 10 minute motorbike ride into Chaweng, or Choeng Mon, or Fisherman's Village. So it's a nice central area for the main places to go right now on the north side of the island. Third, the rooms are great. I've read some reviews that complain about traffic noise, but I didn't notice it at all. With the A/C and the ceiling fan on, which is a must, the outside noise isn't noticeable, even during the day time when there are people out and about. The bed is incredibly comfortable, way more so than you normally find in Thailand. The bedding is high end and soft, and the room is spacious and nice with a smooth, concrete floor throughout. The overall aesthetic inside the rooms reminded me of some of the high end resorts I've stayed at in Mexico in the past. The rooms also work great with the restaurant as the staff are happy to bring meals/drinks to your room. Fourth, I'd just note the overall atmosphere. It's not a "party resort" by any stretch of the imagination. It's nothing like Ark Bar, for instance. For a few hours, a few nights per week, there is live music, and a decent sized crowd in the restaurant/bar, but it's easy enough to ignore if you don't want to partake. The rest of the time, the resort is quiet/sleepy. Occassionally, a group of the guests will get together and have drinks by the pool, or on someone's porch at the resort, but that's part of the appeal. It's a great resort to meet new friends at and has a very diverse/cool crowd. Throughout my stay I had drinks with an older couple from Scotland, a newlywed couple from Pakistan, and older English gent, a group of Australians, some people my age from Hong Kong, and so on. There were a mix of families, couples, and solo travelers at the resort. Essentially, all people on vacation, in good moods, happy to socialize and make friends. It seems kind of obvious, it being a tourist island and all, but not a lot of resorts really do a good job of being a great social venue, a great restaurant, and a nice relaxing/quiet place to sleep/get things done at. Secret Garden does all this and more, and I can't wait to go back! A big thanks to all of the staff and the managers/owners (John and Johan, both of whom are great guys that have been in Koh Samui a long time, so they have tons of helpful information when it comes to arranging things like boats, jet skis, excursions, restaurants, etc.) I almost forgot to mention, THE BEACH. It's perfect. Soft sand, clear water, gentle waves. it's perfect for swimming (many of the beaches on the island aren't) and laying out, and it's never busy or crowded. Have fun.…