Looking to get away from the general air of malaise in Bangkok? The new Hyatt Regency Koh Samui might have exactly what you need.

 

Opening July 5, the resort boasts 140 guestrooms filled out with island-appropriate pops of turquoise and sand. Counted among these rooms are 24 suites, ranging from 70sqm to 386sqm in size, with private balconies or decks with plunge pools. Set above a private stretch of shoreline just north of Chaweng Beach, most offer enviable, east-facing views of the Gulf of Thailand, too.

 

The resort also advertises what it describes as “the largest pool area on the island,” with five free-form pools flowing down to the beach, and four indoor and outdoor dining venues.

 

Three prominent design companies teamed up to bring the space to life: The Office of Bangkok Architects, which counts V Villas Phuket and Vala Hua Hin among the more noteworthy projects in its portfolio; August Design, the interior design firm behind venues like Saneh Jaan and the So Bangkok hotel; and P Landscape, which oversaw the landscape design at 137 Pillars House Chiang Mai, the Ritz-Carlton Reserve’s Phulay Bay in Krabi, and Sindhorn Village, among other projects.

 

The Hyatt Regency Koh Samui is set to open shortly before the island embarks on a so-called sandbox tourism initiative on July 15.

 

Like the Phuket sandbox, Koh Samui’s plan promises quarantine-free travel around the island, plus the freedom to take “sealed” routes to Koh Phangan and Koh Tao. Visitors arriving from overseas will have to spend 14 days on the islands before they can travel elsewhere in Thailand.

 

Battered by travel restrictions since early 2020, Koh Samui is hedging its recovery on this plan, with the hope that its success will allow Thailand to open to quarantine-free tourism in October.