Chateau Beach Resort

I am a bit shocked this is rated a 5-star hotel in Taiwan. We stayed at the DoubleTree Resort by Hilton in Penang, Malaysia, which is only a 4-star hotel, and it was far superior to Chateau Beach Resort. This hotel is honestly an example of why tourism is dying in Kenting, and while there are some good things about the hotel, there is so much room for improvement. This hotel is maaaaaybe a 4-star hotel, if that, but for the prices they charge, they should be doing a lot more. The Rooms: as you will see in almost every other review, the rooms are tiny and outdated. There is hardly any space for you to put anything, and almost nowhere to hang wet clothes and towels (at a BEACH resort). The beds are also super hard. The mini fridge with complimentary beverages is a plus, and housekeeping comes daily and does a very good job with the cleaning. The Amenities: the pool is lovely, but lacking. There are no beachside loungers like you will find at every other beach resorts; there are hard, wooden lounge chair tucked away near picnic tables, but they don't have any pads and are so uncomfortable after a bit of sitting. There also aren't that many in the pool area, though the beach does have more of the hard wooden loungers with umbrellas. What I also found odd is that the beach lounger area doesn't have tables, so there is nowhere to place your drinks or items except in the sand. Really odd. I also really wish that the "adult pool" would be for adults. There are literally 5 other pools for kids to enjoy, but the "adult pool" is still full of kids splashing and being rowdy. If there are so many other places for kids to swim, why can't there be one space for adults to rest and relax quietly? My other big issue was with the gym: it opens at 8:30 am. Most other 5-star resort has 24-hour gyms, or at least, gyms that open around 5:30 or 6, because people who want to work out tend to wake up early and get their workout done before starting the day. The gym is also old and outdated, with dirty windows and an unfinished ceiling; a bit surprising for a "5-star resort." The beach bar is pretty nice, and has basic snacks like dumplings or hot dogs and burgers. I appreciated having access to food and drink, but most other resorts have poolside service where they bring you your order, so this is another thing that is not on par with international 5-star standards. The Restaurants: the food is meh, and almost all the restaurants are buffet style. If you want to just order a simple meal, not pay 800NT for buffet, there is only the Ocean View Cafe. They did have a nice buy-one-get-one drink special when we were there and their staff was helpful and kind, but the food menu is limited. The food itself is very average, and so most nights we ventured into town to the night market area to eat. The Staff: a mixed bag here. The staff working at the Pool Desk were awesome; they really tried to help us, even with limited English, and the instructors who do activities were really awesome. We did archery with YC and SUP with Brian and Louis and they were so kind and encouraging and even made such an effort to communicate in English. I think they were the best staff we encountered. Most of the front desk were helpful, but there was one time I called the front desk to inquire about the gym hours and they just hung up on me (probably due to lack of English). The Beach: absolutely beautiful private beach, but not super swimmable (like most of Kenting). You need to sign a waver if you want to go into the ocean without a life vest (which I do understand because the undertow is quite strong). I would say this hotel has a lot of potential, but they need to invest in bringing it up to higher standards and modernizing it a bit. It is not worth the price unless you are getting a good deal on Agoda or Booking (that's what I did, but I saw on the hotel website the rooms are like 16,000NT a night).

Perfect weather? Expect outdoor fun? Outdoor pool is open. Everything else is closed bc it’s not safe. Seriously. We think no one wants to work. Bad weather. Nothing to do but a play room (nice). That’s nice but not enough to pay *** dollars a night. Good taste terrible bc of the strange Philippine spices in Chinese cooking.

good location

Quite ok. Near to the main walking street. Too many group tourists and noisy.