Ko Samui, Thailand (May, 2013)

We stayed at the famed Conrad Koh Samui for 2 nights.  We used 2 Hilton free weekend night certificates that we got for applying for a Citi Hilton Reserve Credit card and spending $2,500 on the card within 4 months.  The rooms normally go for over $1,000 per night.  The credit card also gave us Gold status with Hilton, which enabled us to have free breakfast in the restaurant and saved us some  money.  The property was incredible; the hotel was built into the side of a cliff and each room was its own villa and was constructed on stilts.  The rooms were spacious and immaculate; the highlight of the room being the balcony which had an infinity plunge pool.  The pool was actually a decent size - big enough to swim laps.  Being on the balcony was so relaxing...it was like you were in the sky looking out over the beautiful Thai sunset.  Leaving the room to go anywhere in the hotel was a downgrade, the hotel was pretty awesome, but you really didn't need to leave the villa.  The pathways are incredibly steep between the rooms in the hotel.  You have to call the front desk and you get driven around in golf carts anytime you want to leave the room.  We didn't venture too far from the room the first day, only to the spa for a head and shoulder massage.

The next morning we got up, had breakfast, and headed out to ride elephants up to a beautiful waterfall in the jungle.  It was a pretty cool experience, the guide jumped off and let us ride on the elephant's back rather than just sitting in the seat that was mounted to its back.  I never knew elephants were so nimble.  We were walking up tiny steep, rocky trails and coming down similar ones.  We walked around in the creek and the elephant even filled its trunk with water and blew it out.  We headed back to the hotel and had some dinner in the restaurant, watched the sun set, and ordered a movie on pay per view.

This place was amazing...very relaxing.  Definitely our favorite hotel that we had ever been to.  Hopefully we will have the opportunity to return someday.  We were off to our next destination (Singapore) early the next morning.