Mercure Koh Chang Hideaway

Koh Chang has been a Gulf of Thailand favourite for years with its steep twisting roads, treks through the jungle to find waterfalls, beach and party vibes to suit most tastes. Being lovers of luxury, peace and quiet and good vegan food we headed to Mercure Koh Chang Hideaway for our Koh Chang experience. We certainly didn’t regret it.

Breezy open areas, calming pools and a relaxed atmosphere

As soon as you arrive at Mercure Koh Change Hideaway you can get a sense of the relaxed atmosphere. The open walkways with ornamental pools on either side, neutral colour tones, the combination of stone pillars, lush plants and natural wood all produce a sense of well being that gets you in the mood to relax straight away.

A peaceful beach getaway with an awesome pool too

Koh Chang is a huge island and each beach area has its own distinct character. Bailan Beach in the South of the island is known for its laid back vibes and Mercure Koh Chang Hideaway occupies the prime position in this beautiful quiet bay. You won’t find noisy beach parties here, just a few restaurants, shops and lots of peace and quiet.

Laze on the beach on one of the complementary sun loungers, swim in the sea or take a dip in the huge freeform pool that is a central feature of the resort. Either way, this is a great place to clock up some serious beach and pool time underneath the blazing Thai sunshine.

Ocean views, comfortable rooms at Mercure Koh Chang Hideaway

We loved our Deluxe Ocean View Room which, as the name suggests, had stunning views of the Gulf of Thailand. The room was spacious with an oriental style low platform bed; we had all the amenities we might need during our stay including hairdryer, safe, extra towels for the beach and a good sized flat screen TV with numerous international channels. There was also a walk in shower and a giant heart shaped bath tub just to add a little more luxury.

The Vegan Food

We have nothing but positive things to say about the vegan food at Mercure Koh Chang Hideaway and it was absolutely one of the highlights of our stay. The restaurant staff were very helpful and discussed various options with us to make sure we had delicious Thai food for breakfast which is served buffet style but our vegan options were prepared freshly for us each day.

Vegan Thai food at its best

We sampled a selection of Thai favourites, all cooked to perfection, showing off the wonderful flavours of Thai cuisine. Wide flat rice noodles wok fried with greens, vegetables and firm tofu, seasoned with liberal amounts of garlic and soy, known as ‘pad see ew’, were simply delicious.

And of course there were curries. Brimming with vegetables and tofu, the aromatic and spicy curries we ate stole our hearts with their exquisitely flavoured, rich, soupy base. It was refreshing to have them made with a significant level of spice (although it should be noted that food can be prepared without so much chilli if needed) which balanced out the sweetness perfectly.

Red curry, green curry, massaman curry… they were all fabulous and we still dream of them now. We did venture away from the curries to sample the sweet and sour tofu and vegetables and this dish was equally as good. Whoever was cooking the vegan food during our stay certainly knew how to make us happy.

More excellent vegan Thai food for dinner

At dinner time we ventured out to a nearby restaurant but also decided to eat in the resort because the quality of the food was just so good. The price of the vegan dishes on the menu was also exceptionally good value and there was a really good range of dishes to choose from.

We had vegetable packed crispy spring rolls served with a sweet plum sauce, fresh green broccoli florets in a garlic and mushroom rich gravy and melt in the mouth soft tofu which had been deep fried in a light batter before being drenched in the most delectable soy based sauce.

Oh, and there was more green curry too because we just couldn’t resist it.

All in all we were as impressed with dinner as we were with breakfast and highly recommend the food at Mercure Koh Chang Hideaway.

The Vegan Essentials

There were already vegan friendly non-feather pillows on the our bed so no changes were necessary.

The hotel amenities were the Mercure’s own brand and we weren’t able to identify them as suitable for vegans. We just used our own.

The resort has an on-site spa offering a range of massages and treatments. Traditional Thai massage is always vegan (as no products are used) but they also have organic coconut oil for their oil massages which was good to see.

The Vegan Food Quest Verdict

Check in to Mercure Koh Chang Hideaway for a relaxing, vegan friendly stay on this popular Thai island. Eat excellent quality Thai vegan food, especially the range of curries on offer, and rest safe in the knowledge that the staff will leave the animal ingredients out.

We were guests of Mercure Koh Chang Hideaway but please rest assured that their generosity in hosting us didn’t influence our views

Mercure Koh Chang Hideaway
Koh Chang
Trat
Thailand

Telephone: (+66) 39 619111
Email: rsvn@mercurekohchang.com
Cost From: £50 / $62.50 per night (March 2017)