Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui ranks #20 on our 2026 list of the best family hotels in the world. The case below explains why — the kids’ programme, the suite layout, the pool depths, and the alternatives we measured it against.
“On Laem Yai Beach — 60 villas with full beach access, Four Seasons' polished Samui property.”
The hotel itself
On Laem Yai Beach — 60 villas with full beach access, Four Seasons' polished Samui property.
Why it works for a family
A beach-resort family trip succeeds when the hotel takes the kids off the parents' hands without making the kids feel banished. The properties that earn family-list inclusion in beach destinations have the kids' club staffed by professionals (not interns), the pool depths zoned for toddlers and adults, and the in-villa or in-suite dining that handles a 6pm kids' dinner and a 9pm parents' dinner without negotiation. The Maldives, Caribbean, and Hawaiian flagships have spent decades refining this.
Four Seasons Resorts are the family-luxury workhorse of the industry. Founded in Toronto in 1961 by Isadore Sharp and now controlled by Bill Gates and Saudi Arabia's PIF, the brand has refined the resort kids programme into something close to a science. The Kids For All Seasons programme is consistent across the portfolio — same standard at Maui, Maldives, Orlando, Jackson Hole. The connecting suite categories have actual configurations, not afterthoughts. The dining programmes have parent restaurants and kids restaurants in the same compound. For a family that wants the trip to work without thinking, Four Seasons Resorts are the floor.
Where it ranks against rivals
For a 2026 family trip at this level, the most direct comparisons are Aman New York in New York (#19 on this list), Four Seasons Resort Mauritius at Anahita in Mauritius (#21 on this list), Cheval Blanc Randheli in Maldives (#18 on this list). Four Seasons Resort Koh Samui earns the higher rank for one or two specific reasons covered in the verdict above — usually a combination of kids’ programme depth, suite configuration, and the parent restaurant that holds when the meeting goes long. The other properties are not lesser hotels — in some cases the answer for your particular trip is the runner-up.
Practical: getting in
Address: Koh Samui. Family-suited categories — the connecting suites, the multi-bedroom villas, the rooms with sofa beds plus a separate king — book six to twelve months ahead in school holiday peaks (Christmas, Easter, summer). The full review at the hotel page has current rates, the room categories worth paying up for, and the kids’ programme details. Use the family occasion page for the broader context, or the Koh Samui city guide for what else to do while you’re there.