The Dewa Koh Chang
Honestly, this is one of my more interesting reviews. This hotel is a bit all over the place, not necessarily in a bad way, but not in a great way either. It’s one of the better hotels on Koh Chang, and probably the best combination of location and value, but the hotel itself had a few…interesting elements, for lack of a better word. Here’s what I thought.
Location: A-
Typically, the Dewa Koh Chang is located on one of the better beaches on the island, but unfortunately it was quite stormy during our stay, so the water was not attractive and the beach was dirty thanks to the wind. But normally, this isn’t much of an issue. On the island, the hotel is basically in the middle of all the action, which is great. You are never more than a 20 minute bike ride from any of the main attractions of Koh Chang. Its even possible to walk 20 minutes or so to some nearby restaurants and bars. When it comes to Koh Chang hotels, I think the location of the Dewa is one of the best, especially if you want to explore the island.
Rooms: C+
They’re just bizarre. We stayed in a standard deluxe room on the ground floor. The room was too small, and the use of concrete and dark materials further add to the cramped feeling. I mean, there were curtains covering an entire concrete wall. What’s up with that? The bed is in the center of the room, and we did not have a good night sleep either of the nights. The bathroom is too long and inefficiently designed, with too-small doors and annoying little steps. Also, the TV is tiny. For a top-of-the-line hotel on Koh Chang, the rooms definitely missed the mark.
Food: B
The breakfast buffet is all we ate at the hotel, and it was solid. No complaints, but nothing to rave about either. The made-to-order egg station was the highlight of the spread for sure, but there were enough options to satisfy all.
Amenities: A-
The pool here is wonderful, although I wish it was located next to the beach. Nevertheless, the dark color scheme was very aesthetic, and somewhat fit more with the surrounding landscaping. There was a small swim-up bar (closed for COVID of course), wading areas for kids, water fountains, and in-water lounging areas.
The spa has some of the better deals you’ll find at a 5-star hotel. We did a couple’s massage for an hour for 800 baht, which was wonderful.
There’s a beach restaurant, cute cafe, planned activities and water sports on site as well. There’s no gym on the property, which is a bummer, but oh well.
Service: B+
Okay so the service is great, but in a sort of unconventional way. The staff were all surprisingly funny and young. The more interactions we had with the staff, the more entertaining we found them to be. They definitely were not exceptional, and if it was my dad staying here for example, he would probably be a bit confused by the sort of casual nature of the staff, but we got a kick out of it for the most part.
Scene
Look, it’s a wonderful little boutique property. The rooms? Could use some work. The service? A little non-professional, but unquestionably entertaining. The architecture? I loved it. Extensive landscaping engulfing concrete buildings created a stark juxtaposition that was striking on the eye and I appreciated that. It definitely doesn’t look like your typical hotel, which is something I value. And in terms of the people staying there, it was surprisingly mostly families I would say, although there were a few other couples as well. The property sufficiently can cater to both families and couples in my opinion.