The Best Resort Bungalow on Koh Chang Island Thailand: Review

Are you planning a trip to the beautiful Island of Koh Chang, Thailand? If so, you are probably searching for places to stay while visiting that tropical island paradise. You have many choices for accommodations on the island, from high end resorts to small huts without electricity!

During my 3 day visit to Koh Chang last December, I stayed at Penny's Bungalow Resort, a family owned resort, located on the quiet and serene Hat Kai Mook Bay. The resort offers outstanding views from every spot on the premises. Penny's in my opinion is middle ground for accommodations but has very good rates for the amenities you receive. I paid 1000 baht per night of my stay which is the equivalent of $28 U.S. dollars at the time of writing.

Keep in mind that Thailand does have high and low travel seasons and Christmas time as well as Thai Holidays are considered "super high seasons", so the prices adjust accordingly. Here is a link to a Thai baht- US dollar conversion calculator.

The two main Koh Chang beaches, White Sands beach to the north and Klong Prao beach to the south are easily accessible because Penny's is conveniently located smack in the middle. They offer motorbike rentals for 300 baht ($10) a day so you can ride to your favorite beach or if you are uncomfortable driving your own motorbike you may hire a Songthaew (public pick up truck taxi) to take you to your destination.

The amenities are bountiful at Penny's Bungalow Resort. Every bungalow has air-conditioning, cable T.V., refrigerator, free wi-fi, and a western style bathroom with hot showers! There is an outdoor restaurant with glorious views of the bay, gardens, and swimming pool.

The restaurant serves Thai and western dishes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. An American style breakfast is included in the room rate. My recommendation is scrambled eggs, the fried eggs were very runny and made my daughter's stomach upset. We ate a Thai dinner the first night upon arrival and would rate it fair. The convenience of a restaurant on location is nice, but there are better restaurants on the island.

The swimming pool was clean and very refreshing. It is set in the center of the resort and allows stunning views of the bay and the gardens. Plenty of lounge chairs are provided for relaxing and sunbathing. A very unusual and cool feature was the outdoor shower shaped as an elephant. The shower head came out of his trunk! We enjoyed sitting poolside, reading, sunbathing, visiting with friends, while the kids splashed and played in the water.

An honest evaluation has to provide the negative aspects of a product or service to be truly helpful to the reader. So here is my negative review of Penny's Bungalow Resort....

Penny's offers excursions and treks with other companies on the island, elephant treks and fishing trips for example. Our group was considering a squid fishing trip and asked the front desk about the price of such a trip. They said they would need to call the company to find out the rate. My friend who speaks fluent Thai heard one price quoted over the phone and a different price quoted directly to us. Of course our price was more. It wasn't a lot, about $20 U.S. but it still needs mentioning. We decided not to book a squid fishing trip at that time and found out later from another fishing company that they would not even bother to take us out because the squid weren't even biting and it would be a big waste of time. My advice is to book Koh Chang excursions separate from Penny's Bungalow Resort. This one negative aspect should not detour you from staying at Penny's. They have a lot to offer for a super fair price, clean rooms, beachfront bungalows, quiet setting and spectacular views. I enjoyed my stay at Penny's Bungalow Resort and would stay there again!