Reviews of Soleil D'asie Residence

We're very sorry that you were disappointed with your stay and could not give us the usual high rating of most guests. We do think there are some important details to mention that may not be clear to readers of your review. You had booked 2 different apartment types, a penthouse 2-bedroom apartment and a 2-bedroom townhouse apartment, for an 8 night stay, and your review mentions concerns related to different apartments. Upon arrival you were quite unhappy to find that one of the units you booked was on the top floor, despite booking a unit called Penthouse Apartment on the Booking website, which must clearly be on the top floor. We explained we could not change your room type to be side by side as you wanted because of upcoming bookings that overlapped with your stay. The baby cot fee and the electric fee are both shown on the listing page, and on the booking submission page. You did not request a baby cot for your stay so that we could have confirmed the cost in advance, and we even provided a 50% discount on the cot fee upon arrival when you said you didn't expect the fee, yet this seems to not have been enough to satisfy you. To keep our rates as low as possible, we charge guests for their actual electric usage rather than raise the rates for all guests due to the extreme variance in electricity usage by different guests due to individual A/C temperature and use preferences in our hot tropical climate. We feel this is a chance for guests to save by choosing to conserve energy, or pay for the actual usage when they choose to use more energy, but it seems you did not read the information shown on the Booking website about the electric fee or the baby cot fee that is clearly explained prior to booking.  Your review says both air cons were broken, which is misleading as it implies your penthouse apartment did not have any working A/Cs, when there are actually 3 A/Cs- one for each bedroom and one for the living room/dining area, and we are very sorry that one bedroom A/C failed to cool on only the first night of your stay. We immediately called a repairman who came the next day and fixed it. For that night, we offered to let you stay in the townhouse apartment directly next to your other family members, without even needing to move your things from the penthouse apartment, but despite the apartment we offered being the one you had tried so hard to have us let you stay in instead of the penthouse, you decided not to use the offered townhouse. We appreciate your understanding that air cons can break unexpectedly, even though we inspect all of them between guests. All of our apartments have been almost fully occupied for months and the guest just 1 day before you had no problems with the A/Cs during their stay so this is not something that could have been predicted. The bedroom A/C was fixed after 1 night, but your review misleadingly sounds like you were forced to sleep in the living room for your full stay. We feel that we did what any property is expected to do, which is to move you to another available unit while the issue is fixed. Regarding the separate issue of the living room A/C, the swing flap got stuck in the downwards position and you had complained that the room was not getting cold. Our staff then pushed the flap upward so that the air would blow outward more, and your review notes that this made it very cold, which of course can be fixed by raising the temperature setting on the A/C. The A/C is under warranty, and Gree is already replacing the flap but the part must come from Bangkok and did not arrive before your checkout. We're sorry for the inconvenience of the swing function not working on this A/C during your stay, but wish to note that the A/C itself was working, and the flap could be manually moved by pushing it to the position desired. Regarding the underwear that you informed us was mysteriously found under one bathroom sink on Day 6 of your stay, we're unfortunately at a loss how this could have ended up there, as our housekeeping team checks all bathroom cabinets between guest stays. We are very sorry, and have told our housekeeping team about this issue to ensure they always check all areas between guest stays.  We are unable to find the loose tap you mentioned in either apartment, and it was not mentioned to us during your stay so we could have checked then. These are inspected before all guest stays, but we'll give them extra hard pushes to test them when the current guests in both apartments you stayed in check out. Neither current guest has mentioned any issue with the taps. On Day 7 of your stay, you mentioned that guests in one apartment were out by the pool the night before making excessive noise talking. We reviewed security camera footage to identify which guests were making the noise and talked to them immediately about this issue. Our Residence has posted quiet hours in the house rules, and we are sorry that one group of guests disturbed you on that night, but appreciate your kind understanding that like any hotel or holiday residence, we cannot predict the behaviour of our usually quiet and respectful guests in advance, and can only take steps to enforce our rules to prevent disturbances. We do want to make it clear you only complained about this noise on one night, as your review might make someone think this was a continuing issue throughout your stay. We are completely full for all 12 units, and no other guests who stayed during the same nights had mentioned any noise problem, but we appreciate that you informed us of the issue with one group of guests. Our review of the CCTV footage doesn't show that the guests were shouting, only talking at normal daytime socialising volume, which of course was still not appropriate late at night. We've checked for the mould you claimed, as this is a serious allegation. We found some discolored grout from age, but this is not mould. We've now scheduled to have the grout refinished to avoid any confusion that this might be mould, and appreciate your feedback. The bins you mentioned having a smell are rubbish bins for the property in the car park area. These are emptied every night, and there may have been a temporary time during a day when there might have been smelly rubbish inside, but as they are emptied and cleaned each night, the smell should not have lasted more than one day. We've noted your feedback about the main door of the complex having the potential to slam from people entering the main courtyard and not closing the door behind them, and we will add a door closer mechanism to solve this concern. We appreciate the feedback, as we always value suggestions for improvement. Like all properties, we charge breakage and damage fees when necessary, and as part of our full disclosure to guests at check-in, we show them our list of the fees for various breakage and damage items, so that guests can feel confident that we are not going to make up a high fee amount only after something is damaged. We're sorry that this caused you anxiety, but we feel it increases trust that we are upfront about exactly how much would be charged for various damages or breakages. You were not charged any breakage or damage fees, so we're not sure how we can be considered strict about such fees. We're sorry for the long reply but felt it was important to address all your concerns and to give readers an accurate portrayal of the items you mentioned.  Unfortunately, it seems you were quite unhappy with your stay even before arrival, as you complained about the deposit charge that is clearly shown on the Booking website, accusing us of taking your money before time, then were very unhappy at the location of the specific units you booked, unhappy that you were unaware of the baby cot fee and the electric fee, and within hours of arrival, accused us of having the electric meters fixed to charge as much as possible (a very serious fraud allegation) even though the meters were installed by the government and we don't have any access to the meter mechanisms per government policy. Guests always have access to read the meters themselves during their stay, and you left the A/Cs on when you went to a restaurant and were not in the apartment, then was surprised when you returned that the meters showed a higher increase than you expected, even though since it was your first day and the A/Cs had to cool the apartment from about 35 Celsius to about 20 Celsius, which always causes high initial energy usage. Rather than allow us to explain what caused your energy usage to be high, you accused us of fraud. Sometimes when a guest arrives already unhappy, there is nothing we can do to make things right despite our best attempts. It is our goal to ensure all guests have a wonderful stay, and fortunately, most guests do tell us how much they loved their stays, and specifically compliment the upkeep of the property. We did provide a large discount off your calculated electricity usage fee to apologise for the A/C issue and the ways you were let down, and we are sorry that this did not help you feel that we made our best efforts to satisfy you throughout your stay. We wish you well and a happier week than it seems you had during your stay with us.

We're very sorry that you were disappointed with your stay and could not give us the usual high rating of most guests. We do think there are some important details to mention that may not be clear to readers of your review. You had book… Show more

We were expecting this poor review, as you threatened to leave a bad review several times during your stay in repeated attempts to get a discount, as shown in the message history between you and our manager. At checkout, you tried to not pay any electricity, demanding that we give it to you for free, claiming that the electricity fee was miscounted, even though our staff records the beginning and ending electric meter readings with you in person together. Your actual electric meter reading was 15817 - 15639 = 178 kWh x 7.5 THB/kWh = 1335 THB total cost for a 31 night stay (42.94 THB a day, which comes to 1.22 Euro/$1.27 USD a day) which is extremely reasonable considering the typical high energy usage for multiple air conditioners in a large apartment trying to maintain a cool temperature in our hot, humid tropical climate. You continued to insist to our staff that this was not counted correctly even though the math is quite clear, and despite the low cost, and just kept demanding to get the electricity for free even though you couldn't explain what was wrong in the calculation. Regarding the toilet smell, you never mentioned this to our staff during your month-long stay. We have checked your message history and despite many messages between you and our staff, this was never mentioned. We would certainly look into this right away if we were made aware of this concern, as it was likely just the drain odor stopper that needed replacement, but right now, we are not able to replicate the issue in your unit. Regarding the holes in the toilet, the only incident we are aware of is that you mentioned near the beginning of your stay to our manager that you saw some mosquitoes in the toilet that were not in the rest of the apartment, and you had a theory that they might have been coming in from the edges of the service hatch from the toilet, even though we've never had a guest mention any issue. You specifically requested that we use tape to seal the hatch, and our staff did it right away, and you never raised any further concern about this issue for the remainder of your stay. Our dedicated staff always try their best to immediately assist guests with any concerns. We are sorry that you were disappointed in your stay, and hope that the explanation from us is helpful to understand our perspective on the issues you mentioned.

We were expecting this poor review, as you threatened to leave a bad review several times during your stay in repeated attempts to get a discount, as shown in the message history between you and our manager. At checkout, you tried to not … Show more

We're very sorry to see that you have left such a low rating. This is not the experience we want our guests to have, and is not typical of our normal reviews. Out of hundreds of guests, only you and 1 other guest has left a rating of 3 or lower in the past 3 years. We'd like to address the concerns you mentioned. The only one of these issues that you informed our staff about during your stay was the smell coming from the toilet pipe, which we determined was caused by a drain odor stopper that had come loose, and it was fixed as soon as you let us know. The guest after you mentioned that the electric stove was taking a while to heat up, and we immediately replaced it with a new unit. It is unfortunate that you did not mention this to us during your stay so that we could have replaced it for you. As you might expect, something like a stove is not tested by housekeeping as they don't cook in the units, but if a guest informs us of an issue, we keep spares for replacement purposes. The kitchen in all units includes a full-size refrigerator, microwave, stovetop, toaster, kettle, and full range of cookware, glassware and utensils, but we always welcome feedback if a guest feels there is anything missing that could be added. We're confused about your comment about poor wall insulation, as the one-bedroom apartments are all completely segregated from each other with no shared walls with any other unit, so we're not sure if you were referring to noise or other insulation issue. We've checked the ceiling fan in the unit and it doesn't seem abnormally loud. Our listing specifically mentions that electricity is not included and informs you of the electric charge. We have this policy because guests have such huge variation in their electric use mostly depending on how they use the air conditioners, and in order to keep our prices so low, we feel it is more fair for guests who use less electricity to be able to pay less than guests who use excessive electricity. Otherwise, our room rates would need to be much higher to account for the possibility of guests who use a lot of electricity. This policy is common for many villas in Koh Samui, as all villas face the same issue of energy usage. By having this policy, guests are more aware to conserve electricity and not leave air conditioners on all day when they are not in the apartment, or leave them on with balcony doors or windows open. Your actual electricity charge came to about $2.00 USD per day, so it was not a substantial amount, and we're surprised that you said this was unexpected when it was disclosed in the listing, then at the time of booking on the booking page on the Booking website, then you are reminded about this fee on our welcome message providing arrival information to you. You didn't mention any concern in-person about the electricity fee for our staff to explain this to you. We're sorry you weren't able to leave a higher rating, but hope that our reply is helpful for you and other readers of this review.

We're very sorry to see that you have left such a low rating. This is not the experience we want our guests to have, and is not typical of our normal reviews. Out of hundreds of guests, only you and 1 other guest has left a rating of 3 … Show more

Thank you for staying with us. We're glad that you had positive feedback about the apartment and the property itself and the facilities we offer. Unfortunately, we see that you left a far lower rating than most guests, and this seems to be due to our location. It seems that the decision to stay with us was chosen by a different family member who booked for your family trip, and so you were not familiar with the location they had chosen. Your family member left a much higher rating for the review of their own booking, so it seems they were aware of, and pleased with the location. We are located just a 5 minute walk to the island's main road, which has many resorts and restaurants. We reach out to all guests with information about the property pre-stay, but you did not reply to any of our many messages asking for information to coordinate your arrival and to answer any questions that could make your stay better. May we kindly suggest that you please be sure to look for messages sent through the booking website from the property between the time of booking and your stay, to ensure smooth communication, as we are unable to help if we do not get replies to our attempts to communicate with you. Thank you.

Thank you for staying with us. We're glad that you had positive feedback about the apartment and the property itself and the facilities we offer. Unfortunately, we see that you left a far lower rating than most guests, and this seems to… Show more

Thank you very much for taking the time to write a such a detailed review. We appreciate the time you took to provide so much information to other guests who may read your review. We do want to let you know that the property will be undergoing some renovations and upgrades this summer, including new mattresses and changes to some furniture, as we always strive to enhance our guest experience. We hope to have the chance to welcome you back in the future!

Thank you very much for taking the time to write a such a detailed review. We appreciate the time you took to provide so much information to other guests who may read your review. We do want to let you know that the property will be undergo… Show more

We're glad to read that you had a comfortable stay, and that you liked the apartment. We subscribe to the island's fastest fiber-optic internet plan, which is 1000 mbps (1 gbps) upload and download speed, but of course, actual internet speed will vary at any moment. There are separate wifi extenders/access points in each apartment to ensure the best possible internet. We're sorry you didn't like our location, which is 300 meters (5 minutes walk) from the island's main road. We're glad you rented a motorbike from next door and were able to explore the island.

We're glad to read that you had a comfortable stay, and that you liked the apartment. We subscribe to the island's fastest fiber-optic internet plan, which is 1000 mbps (1 gbps) upload and download speed, but of course, actual inter… Show more

We're sorry to read your concern. We pride ourselves on maintaining high standards for cleanliness. Our manager and housekeeping staff have said that you never raised any concern during your stay or at checkout, so we are not sure of any specific way we have let you down. Most guests leave reviews that they find the property very clean and well-kept, so we would love to get more information about any specific concerns you have. Please feel free to email us directly with any more information about your reason for the low rating. Thank you.

We're sorry to read your concern. We pride ourselves on maintaining high standards for cleanliness. Our manager and housekeeping staff have said that you never raised any concern during your stay or at checkout, so we are not sure of an… Show more