Mali Koh Kradan

Mali Kradan was very helpful in arranging the transfer from Trang Airport to the resort, having the taxi and a taxi long boat waiting for us, dropping us off right at the beach in front of the reception. Even though we arrived at 11am, our Beachfront Standard Suite was ready for us. The location and view of the suite was amazing as all of their units face the beach from the beautiful kept gardens, with Mali being the biggest resort at the entire beach. They clean the beach, gardens, and pathways every day. On the first impression, the room looked lovely and welcoming. However, the Beachfront Standard Suites are definitely dated, the furniture mismatched with an office desk too big, a Chinese cabinet where the drawer fell out, and an odd shelf unit that looked like it was from Ikea. There are no hooks, bars, or shelving spaces in the bathroom which is a little inconvenient. If you want to make hot water, you have to move the electric kettle to the office desk because there's no additional outlet at the fridge. While you get instant coffee and Ovaltine, you do not get tea bags. You do though get free bottled water in glass bottles every day and lots of fresh towels. There's no hair conditioner or liquid soap but hair shampoo and a strangely smelling body lotion. The bathroom shower door did not close, leaving the bathroom floor wet after each shower. When we mentioned it, the maintenance person explained that they ordered the part. Another reviewer had gotten the same answer a year ago. The walls are thin and you hear the neighbors talking, coughing, or snoring. Worst was that the suite had a horrible sewage smell upon arrival. We aired it out and it seemed okay for a day but then we definitely had a sewage problem that many others have mentioned for the Beachfront Standard Suites which at times could resulted in a bad smell on the porch. The staff was responsive and somehow flushed the pipes and sprayed some air freshener, which somewhat helped a little but did not fully resolve it. Despite this, we loved how friendly, considerate, and attentive the staff was (outside of the White manager who had the typical expatriate arrogance). The included breakfast buffet was really good compared to other Island resorts (eggs, pan cakes, muesli, corn flakes, toast, fresh fruit, rice soup, pad seeyew, fried rice, juice, etc), as long as you got there on the earlier side. The dinner service was so-so and inconsistent: one day it seemed that the cook did not know Thai food and used the wrong ingredients for dishes. The kitchen was very slow, once they forgot the order but comped us the drinks, which was a nice touch. It's island cuisine - not the quality of Bangkok street food, more expensive, and cooked for White tourists. But it is a resort catering to an older, calm, maybe more affluent crowd and families. Above all, it's not overcrowded, really chill, and very quiet, hearing the ocean, the waves, and the nature life. During low tide the water retreats so that you cannot swim but walk out on a long sand bed but during high tide, you can snorkel, grab a free kayak, or paddle board. Above all, it's not overcrowded, really chill, and very quiet, hearing the ocean, the waves, and the nature life. We loved the island and the comfort of Mali resort. If we return, we most likely would spend some more and rent one of the newer bungalows which are nicely appointed and don't share walls.