Quiet, but great value”

I stayed at this hotel for a week. Cholaklum is NOT for those seeking the typical "Full Moon Party" atmosphere of Koh Phangan. It's a quiet village, with an emphasis on Diving to Sail Rock (between Phangan and Koh Tao) and services a small, but growing Ex-Pat community. But surprisingly, there are some wonderful dining opportunities within walking distance. Cafe Della Moca has some wonderful Italian food (they open at 5pm) and I found myself gravitating there night after night to taste Jeni (the chef) wonderful traditional Italian cooking. And right next door is the "The Lost Dog", owned by a very interesting American and his wonderful Thai Girlfriend. So Viva is ideally located for those who want to enjoy a quiet beach stay. I did try a few dishes at the hotel's restaurant and I found them to be well prepared. My only real negative comments about Viva were the lack of stable internet. But this is not uncommon in this area of Koh Phangan. They should also install a network extender so that the coverage reaches their beachside restaurant area with more strength. This will attract customers, IMO. One other minor negative was that there seemed to be a smell that accumulated in the bathroom (methane?).. And I believe I discovered the cause. The sink drain pipe did not have a "trap" in it. It extended straight down, thereby permitting gases to seep back up into the room.. Once I closed the sink stopper, the smell no longer was noticed. Also, there are only 4 channels on the TV, all of which were news channels. There should be a bit more variety for those days (and there were a few) when it rained and going out was not an option. For those travelers with larger groups, they do seem to have some very large rooms available. Final note, the AC was adequate, but for some of the larger rooms it may be a struggle to stay cool.

Good european style hotel. Recommended”

Pros: it's a good european standard hotel. Clean, new, pleasant, not damp or smelly. I really don't understand those complaining. Location is very good in the middle of Chaloklum. The beach where it locates is not for swimming but all the nice beaches like Malibu beach, Haad Khom, Haad Salad are within 5 minutes on motorbike and a 7/11 within 2 minutes walk. So if you dont know the area or if you are planning to party every night than it's not the place for you, don't book it and then complain. And it is quiet all the time even the full moon party night which we appreciated. Cons: it was quite hot to sleep, usually I hardly ever use the fan but here it was hot at night and the fan turns on only together with the light. Probably the owners can do something to fix it. And you might want to opt for an AC room. And don't expect a service with a smile from the italian host who apparently is the boss.

Lovely secluded bay - good value for money”

we booked at viva for 3 days over the full moon party new years countdown 2011-2012. the rooms are spacious and have everything you may want. chaloklom is a much quieter side of the island and offered a great place to relax if you don't want to be in the middle of the full moon madness. staff were very helpful and organised taxis and hiring of moterbikes. the taxi down to haad rin cost us 200 baht per person - which is well worth it considering we were completely away from the madness and in a much more beautiful bay. there are rocks directly in front of the hotel, however, take a 2 minute walk and you are on a beautiful, quiet beach.

Very good basic hotel in a wonderful island”

If you're looking for a 5 stars resort, The Viva beach is not your hotel, but i you're looking for a place where to stay in order to have an excellent quality/price ratio, stop here. Anyway you can find more than an helpful staff (you have just to ask for something and relax, they will provide all the info you need) and don't forgot to enjoy the excellent bbq seafood of the chef,just in front the sea, it's amazing. If you come here, you will find good people, helpful staff, good food and a lot of relax.

Sea views don't get better than this”

Booked the best suite in the house because nothing else was available on a Full Moon Party weekend. Surprisingly affordable in spite of this. You can't really get a better sea view than Viva's ocean front suite, this hotel is literally right on the beach, any closer and it'd fall into the water. The proprietor is an eccentric friendly Italian guy, have noticed other reviewers didn't get along with him but he was nothing but nice to me, handed me a Singha on the house five minutes after I walked through the door.

Great location and quality staff”

the hotel is located right on the quiet beach of chalaklum. there are a few fishing boats but the sea and beach are still lovely. the room itself was modern and very spacious. the staff were always on hand and very helpful. the manager was a true perfectionist and this showed throughout the whole hotel. unfortunately my partner was ill for some of the trip (not to do with the hotel) and the manager kindly allowed us a late check out.

Beautiful location but inflexible management.”

I reserved the beach front suite and also a simple fan room at Viva for the Full Moon Party. When I made my reservation, I booked the suite for 2 people and the fan room for 1. However, another friend decided to join us after the booking and when we arrived to the hotel, they demanded an extra service charge for an extra person even though there were no extra services provided (bed, towels, etc). I spoke with the manager on duty and he was completely unwilling to compromise and could not explain to me what the extra service charge was for other than "please respect our policy". In summary, the rooms were nice, the bay was gorgeous, but make sure you specify exactly the number of people staying in the room or you will face problems with the hotel.

Quiet, nice beach, lovely restaurants nearby”

Our stay at Viva was ok. Nothing amazing but did what it needed to. Had a great location on the beach right next to the sea. The food in the restaurant is good too but a bit price compared to other places across the road (try nongnook). The wifi would not work properly consistently and kept going on and off. There was no safety deposit box in the room as stated and if your expecting a decent gym then you wont find one here! A bit of a let down with the old equipment on offer. The rooms are huge with high ceilings and the bathroom was also big alog with a tv that only really has the news in English though.

Great Hotel and Staff”

the hotel is really nice and is on north of the beach were the nicest beaches are. it´s a bit far from the full moon party beach, but is a 10 minutes tuk tuk ride. the staff is great, and the restaurant food awesome. the manager did everything to help us and all the staff were always smilling.

Private and peaceful places ”

This hotel was nice services and location. Who would like to relax based on hang out and private vocation, this hotel can response your needs. Moreover, this site was nearby the beach you can walk and relax with boat tour services around there. But the transportation was quite far from downtown. You have to rent a motorcycle or use taxi service that these was available on services of hotel.

Realxing, peaceful time”

The hotel is right by the water so very peaceful falling asleep to the sound of the waves. It isn't a swimming beach but a nice area to stay in if you are looking for a relaxing getaway in a beautiful area. Some nice restaurants nearby such as a great barbecue place and a gluten-free friendly cafe which has some great breakfast/lunch options!

Great service and location”

Very pleasant, hotel staff was caring and talkative, beach is located literally 10 steps away from the hotel. One negative is that it is a bit far from everywhere else on the island. Hotel owner will arrange trips and things for you to do.

An Italian Villa in the middle of the sea”

I gotta say, this place has a lot of character. The owner is from southern italy, and practically emulated the design of his hotel probably based the floorplans of his Naples apartment. The rooms itself are pretty good. I wouldn't say this was a fantastic accommodation, but it is fair to hold you up for your night of boozing and partying in Ko Phangan. Only thing is the location is the other side of the islands. But to be honest, I preferred it that way, as you there is plenty of transport to and from Haadrin bay back to your accommodation.

Disappointed with WIFI,but location good”

Great position on the beach, and good clean beach for swimming. disappointed with the very poor intermittent WIFI, the location on the beach will bring us back next year. But the 100 yards of approach road was terrible, like wading thru tomato soup, difficult to get to and from the Main Street . Also the lack of the most basic English from the reception was unlike the normal hotels. Requested to see other up-grade rooms but the receptionist was unable to understand ( we needed to book for our friends arrival in two weeks ). It didn't happen. However the location and great room will probably get us back.

Good locate on Chaloklum beach”

Very good place to rest although perhaps too romantic for a lone traveller. Good attentive service, however the beach required more attention from staff. The views and setting are spectacular.The beach was certainly a highlight of the resort. This is a perfect affordable hotel for relaxation.

Lovely staff and great beach”

Spent two nights on this hotel..had a really big and nice room. Cleaned enough with all comforts. Lovely staff and nice Italian coffee! Just on a great beach..I definitely recommend it!

Adequate housing for the notoriously overbooked KP”

Not a bad alternative to staying in other areas of Koh Phangan but most of all for value rather than amenities. Well stocked room with kitchen, small minibar, and fridge plus closet.

Great location and great place”

Totally recommend this one. For the price, an amazing place. The manager, Fabio, provided excellent service. I will definetly come back to stay here.

Clean. Very quiet location.”

Very quiet area, so if you're looking for that, this is your place. Not many people staying there. Beach is a little rocky but the water is very clear. Hardly anyone on the beach. The location can make you feel a bit isolated, which could be good or bad depending on what you're looking for.

Great location but indifferent personnel ”

The boiler in my room didn't work. It took me a whole day to get a key to a new room. I was left with no shower for quite a while. There's no one at the reception and the ladies from pizzeria take care of the hotel. Well, not all of them can help. There's no one morning or evening. Kinda disappointed. They tried to help but didn't really care, e.g. one of them was laughing that we keep missing each other with the one who has the key. That was the 2nd day without the shower for me and it wasn't really funny. The new room had a broken fan. Luckily, I was brought a new one. Super location next to the beach. Oldish building. Not very hospitable especially compared with Thailand average.