After an all-too-brief one-night stay back in 2018, it was a certainty that I’d select Mali Resort Pattaya Beach again, several years later, for our trip to Koh Lipe.

Nestled along Pattaya Beach, a 5-minute walk along the shore from the ferry to Langkawi and to the Koh Lipe ‘Walking Street’, it’s both convenient and relatively private – located towards the end of the beach away from the hustle and bustle.

Upon arrival in Koh Lipe, the island certainly looks to have gotten busier and less ‘unheard of’ than perhaps those few years ago; not that it’s by any means crammed, but the immigration point is now more akin to a large holding area than the casual ‘wait on the beach’ of a few years back.

An attendant from the hotel was already waiting to collect any incoming guests’ luggage and ferry it down to the hotel – our luggage in fact was quickly scooped up and waiting in our room when we got to it. If you don’t know the way to the hotel, the attendant would more than happily walk you down; but in our case, we were left to our own devices having said we’d been before.

What I love about Koh Lipe, to date, has been that for all its beauty and unspoiled beaches and landscape, the ability to retain its ‘unpretentiousness’ – hotels are upscale without being overly formal or tight, everything and everyone seems to work to the beat of the ferry schedules, and it hasn’t become crass mass tourism – yet, at least.

Reception, unlike my last visit, now has its own dedicated cabana and check-in formalities were handled swiftly – payment having been taken online shortly in advance, and no deposit required on the spot. Despite the early hour of arrival, we were quickly shown to our bungalow – a Balinese Luxury Ocean View.

Inside the bungalow, it was much as I had remembered – spacious, elegant, clean and bright. There really can be nothing much better than waking up in bed and facing out to the beach in the distance.

A long sitting area runs down one side of the bungalow in case you fancy chilling out with a book while enjoying some of the air conditioning – or, in my particular case, chilling out with a glass of wine before we headed out for dinner.

The bathroom, as with the other bungalows, is really quite a special feature – it’s located outside in the back, behind the bungalow.

Once you get over the initial fear of encountering a snake during a late night visit to the bathroom, you’ll find everything you need is here – the shower (with hot water), toilet and double sinks. Just make sure to splash some cold water on the tiles in the middle of the day before walking on them, as they become searingly hot.

Koh Lipe is likely not a place where you’ll spend much time at your hotel anyway – there’s no pool, but with the whole beach right in front of you, that’s likely where you’ll end up, or catching something to eat along the Walking Street, or having a drink by the hotel watching the world go by. Or at least, that’s what we did.

In the evenings we frequently found ourselves repairing back to the sunchairs after dinner and sharing a glass of wine or two – the sunset and night-time skies look beautiful out across the sea.

It’s well worth walking from end of the Walking Street right through to the other, where you’ll end up on the far side of the island – which, surprise surprise, is also home to another beautiful beach worth stopping at and relaxing for a while.

Breakfast is served daily at tables right by the beachfront at the Mali Resort; we only made it one of the days, but menu cards are available from the beach bar (coffee/tea/juice is ‘help yourself’) with a range of options – and of course you can, like we did, order more than one course per person.

Once again, it was wonderful to be back at the Mali Resort Pattaya Beach and I have no complaints, only compliments about the stay generally – though I would say, compared to a few years ago, if you’re thinking of a trip to Koh Lipe, now may be the time to do it before it gets much busier; I definitely felt like tourism was massively on the up generally across the island.