Review of Sai Naam Lanta Residence Apartments on Koh Lanta

We’ve spent many months on the Thai island Koh Lanta over the years, and one of our favourite places to stay is the apartments at Sai Naam Lanta Residence on Long Beach. 

The apartments are modern and comfortable and surround a huge pool—we especially love the units with direct access to the pool from their terraces. 

Sai Naam is part of the Malee Beach complex (previously called Malee Seaview) which includes 45 villas as well as the apartments.

If you are looking for a bigger property see our reviews of the beachfront villa A2 (our favourite), the ultra modern pool villa F5, and we review the two-bedroom C12 villa below.  

Read about the best things to do in Koh Lanta and learn all our tips for this gorgeous Thai island. 

Contents

• Sai Naam Lanta Residence Apartments
  • Review
  • Video Tour
  • Summary
  • Highs
  • Lows
  • Cost
• Lanta Hideaways Villa C12
  • Review
  • Summary
  • Highs
  • Lows
  • Cost
• Long Beach Area

Sai Naam Lanta Residence Apartments

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Review

Sai Naam Residence is a complex of 19 apartments set around a huge, beautiful pool, just a one minute walk from Long Beach. The ground floor apartments have steps from their balconies leading directly to the pool—a feature we loved.

On our latest visit we stayed in G106, a three-bedroom apartment with pool access. It was spacious and stylish with slate tiled floors and modern art. There is A/C and WiFi throughout.

The large living room has a big corner couch, flatscreen TV and DVD player (no cable, but you can borrow DVDs), and leads into the bright kitchen/dining area with glass doors on to the balcony.

The balcony is a great place to relax with a couple of sunbeds and a big dining table, and of course you can jump straight into the pool any time you feel like it.

The bathrooms and kitchen are modern and very clean. While the kitchen isn’t huge, it comes with a hob, microwave, large fridge/freezer, toaster, plates, pans, and water cooler. If you don’t feel like cooking there is a restaurant onsite that offers home delivery.

The master bedroom has similar décor and the same comfortable bed as the other two bedrooms but has an ensuite, is very bright, and has an impressive view of the pool.

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Video Tour

Take a video tour of our apartment at Sai Naam:

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Summary

The apartments at Sai Naam Lanta Residence are great value—for the price of a hotel room you get much more space and a kitchen. The highlight is the gorgeous, massive pool.

In our Koh Lanta hotels guide we recommend Sai Naam as one of the best places to stay on Koh Lanta. 

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Highs

• Big, beautiful pool (and direct access from the balcony)
• Easy access to the beach
• Modern, stylish décor
• Comfortable beds
• Kitchen
• Great area (see more Long Beach tips below)

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Lows

• WiFi can be variable (but this may have improved since our stay). 

Recommended for: Families or couples who’d like more space and amenities than a hotel room but don’t need a full villa.

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Cost

Prices vary depending on the size of the apartment, length of stay and time of year. 

Click here to check the latest prices at Sai Naam. 

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Lanta Hideaways Villa C12

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Review

We also spent a week at Villa C12, rented out by Lanta Hideaways who manage a number of villas at Malee Beach.

It’s set a little further back from the beach than some of the other villas, but all Malee Beach villas are on the beach side of Long Beach road, so it’s only a two-minute walk through the leafy grounds to get to the beach.

It is one of the smaller villas, but for us it was plenty of space.

The two-bedroom villa comes with a semi-private pool (shared with the villa next door) in the big garden, well-equipped kitchen, dining room, living room, an outside/inside room with tables and chairs, and a bathroom. There is A/C and fans throughout.

Our favourite room was the spacious upstairs loft-style living room with high ceilings, lots of light, a comfy corner couch, flat screen TV and DVD player, desk, and an extra double bed so it could work as a third bedroom.

Double doors lead from the living room to a terrace where you can enjoy meals overlooking the pool.

Another highlight was the kitchen with modern décor, a breakfast bar, and everything we needed—washing machine, dishwasher, microwave, coffee maker, toaster, good knives, lots of dishes and pans, a water cooler, and best of all—an oven.

These are hard to find in Thailand and it was the first time in nine months that we’d had one. The first thing we did was bake cookies and roast potatoes—yum!

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Summary

We felt at home in the villa—a comfy couch and a well-equipped kitchen has that effect on us and the owner helped with her friendly welcome and gift of a tropical fruit basket and insect repellant.

The quiet location, pool, and easy access to the beach were bonuses.

C12 is not as luxurious as the other Malee Beach villas A2 and F5 we’ve stayed in, but this is reflected in the price. 

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Highs

• Location a few minutes from the beach
• Semi-private pool
• Bright and spacious living room
• Well-equipped kitchen

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Lows

• Bathroom is a little small for a family
• Beds were quite firm

Recommended for: Families.

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Cost

The two bedroom villa C12 sleeps up to seven people (using sofa beds) and costs 24,000 baht ($780) a week in low season (1 April – 15 November) and 40,000 baht ($1300) a week in the high season.

Water and electricity is extra. There are discounts for longer stays. Minimum stay is 5 nights. 

For more information and to book visit Lanta Hideaways. 

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Long Beach Area

We love the location of Malee Beach right on Long Beach (or Pra Ae). There are plenty of shops and restaurants nearby, but it’s all quite spread out so doesn’t feel overdeveloped.

This end of the beach is very quiet so you’ll easily find a stretch to yourself, and the sunsets here are spectacular.

Within a few minutes walk we recommend Fruit Tree Coffee Shop for coffee and cakes, Faim de Loup bakery for bread, and Red Snapper for tasty fusion tapas. 

There are plenty of things to do on Koh Lanta including hiring a moped to explore quiet beaches, hikes, waterfalls, snorkelling trips, and scuba diving.

You can get to Koh Lanta from Krabi by ferry or minivan. If you are staying at one of the Lanta Hideways villas then they can arrange for a private minivan transfer for you.

Thanks to Mia, Anna and the lovely staff at Sai Naam who provided our accommodation at Malee Beach.