Tembo Beach Club & Resort, Koh Samui, Thailand: New boutique resort is all about attention to detail

With affordability and care for the environment high-priority concerns for many Australians, a new resort on Koh Samui's Bangrak Beach offers a stay that addresses the agenda items.

A truly boutique stay with just nine double bungalows (seven king size beds and two twin-bed rooms) Tembo Beach Club & Resort has the orthodox Thailand relaxation vibe, with a low-key plantation-style aesthetic and resort life revolving around a spacious pool area with a beachfront aspect offering single and double day beds and bites and drinks on demand.

Co-founder, British hospitality PR professional Susan Field has a love affair with Koh Samui: having first visited with her mother in 1986 she bought land for her own holiday house in 2000 before founding The Palms Retreat in 2015 (now closed).

Combining local familiarity with her knowledge born of working with some of the world's biggest hotel brands, her approach to creating Tembo has been all about attention to detail.

Along with emphasising great service, there's been no compromise on comfort. All rooms have balconies or terraces, high thread-count bedding and premium mattresses, internet-ready flat screen TVs, international sockets with USB ports, tea and coffee making facilities, and jasmine-scented amenities.

The carved, whitewashed furniture in rooms is locally sourced, custom created by artisans in Northern Thailand, reflecting Field's ethos of contributing locally.

Guests can rest easier knowing standard eco practices include using environmentally friendly cleaning and pest control products throughout the property, supplying sustainably sourced, all-natural amenities, purchasing produce from local growers and organic providores and supporting beach clean-ups as well as contributing to local animal welfare and social enterprise charities.

The property includes Tembo Restaurant serving a Mediterranean and Asian-inspired menu with specialty tapas and Tembo Style, a carefully curated boutique. In beach club style, the bar and restaurant are open to non-hotel guests.

Soon to come is a spa and later this year, a deli and specialty restaurant.

Tourism numbers in Thailand generally are still well down on pre-pandemic figures, despite the country being one of the first to re-open. Some figures suggest forward bookings are currently at around 25 per cent of those before COVID struck, making it a crowd-free time to visit.

From around $165 a night, including breakfast. See tembo-samui.com