The new luxury facilities are aimed at attracting a more medium- to high-level clientele, compared with the backpacker-type tourists that the island is popular with now. Moreover, it will create a greater variety of room services on the island.

The 40-villa Paradee Resort at the southern tip of Koh Samet will be fully operational by November 1 and is already running at 50-per-cent occupancy.

Room rates start at Bt13,500, rising to Bt22,500 for beachfront cottages with private pools and Bt72,000 for the 200-square-metre beachside Paradee Suite being created by Abacus Design, a leading interior designer in the Asian hospitality sector. The Paradee also boasts a four-room spa centre featuring Pevonia body treatments.

The four-star Le Vimarn Resort on Koh Samet, featuring an open-air, two-storey spa centre with a beach view, has just finished upgrades to four honeymoon cottages, which are already popular with South Korean newlyweds.

Cottage rates start at Bt7,800, rising to Bt22,800 for the 126-square-metre Spa Villa Suite.

On the same beach, the four-star Ao Phrao Resort, which features a two-bedroom hilltop suite overlooking the beach, will be refurbished next year. Rates currently range from Bt4,800 to Bt13,200.

The three-star Sai Kaew Resort in the northeast of Koh Samet built an additional 30 cottages and a swimming pool in its garden area last year and will open its located La Luna Italian beachside restaurant this month. Room rates range from Bt3,400 to Bt11,600.

At the northern end of the island, Mooban Talay Resort also offers international-class accommodation.

"New resort facilities on Koh Samet now offer a much wider range of options for the middle to upper range of the market that weren't there a few years ago," said Chanchai Doungjit, director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand's Rayong and Chanthaburi office, which is responsible for marketing this part of Thailand's Eastern Seaboard.