This resort is incredible. Amazing people, gorgeous private beach, fairly simple to get to as they have their own water taxi...fantastic. When we first arrived, we were a bit bummed at the restaurant choices and their cost. We had gotten used to Thai prices by then and the Western prices were a bit of a shock. Here's the tip... ...there is a small village just behind the resort that has 3 restaurants, two small convenience stores and a killer massage place. They are priced a bit higher than the mainland, but much cheaper and more authentic than the resort. It's fun back there and only those of us who seemed to explore found it. The rest stay on the resort in a more shelter experience. It made the trip so much better to meet and visit with real Thai locals and support their small businesses. This really was an amazing experience. One more thing, the hotel is supposed to change owners from a private Thai family to Outrigger in September of 2011. Not sure how this might change things.

We stayed for 5 days at Erawan Palms and had a perfectly nice time. The service was nice and the food was excellent. The room was clean and comfortable. HOWEVER, from day two we had no hot water and our toilet only flushed once an hour. This was reported to the desk on three separate occasions and nothing was ever done. I suppose we should've made a bigger stink about the issue or demanded a new room... Overall its worth the money if what you want is to COMPLETELY get away from modern civilisation without losing the 4-star comforts.... The resort is a bit of a trek from the port, but if you want utter isolation and peace, this place will due. You might need to get a bit demanding with the staff if things go awry though.