The Dearly Koh Tao Hostel

I really enjoyed my stay here for several reasons:
- really good & social vibe
- lots of activities to meet people
- breakfast with fruit & pancakes included
- rooftop with amazing view
- nice & big pool
- good location for hiking & beaches
- clean rooms with modern design

Compared to other hostels, there were a few downsides as well though:
- location is far from the main town (25 min.walk)
- some things were broken & no one cared to fix them
- trying to make money with extras (normally free in other places)
- roosters will start waking you up at 4 am
- no kitchen to prepare food, just a (quite dirty) fridge

The location is fantastic. All beaches where there is really something to do regarding snorkeling, swimming and relaxing are all within walking distance, 1 minute by scooter. The hostel is great for solo travelers as well as couples or travelers traveling together who want a private room. The diving is so well organized (in house diving school), never before seen in all 95 previous dives. Breakfast is also well organised, lots of choice. There are also tours every day from the hostel that you can participate in (sometimes paid, sometimes free) and there is a free sunset shuttle every day to a cool place.

Some were bothered by the roosters of the local people who live next to the hotel. If you have earplugs just in case, no problem.

Great hostel. A little far from the center (around 30 minutes walk). They organize shuttles to different beaches every day.
The staff takes great care.
They also have a diving center and the instructors are really very, very competent.

We stayed 4 nights in a private room in this hotel (with balcony!). We loved our entire stay, free activities/shuttles are offered every day, the pool is large, and the free breakfast is much appreciated. The room was cleaned every day and the shared bathrooms are clean.
We also took diving lessons during the 3 days, we were very well taken care of by lovely people.
There is no laundry service but the store opposite the hotel does it so it's not a problem. We didn't try the restaurant either since there are plenty of them on the street.

We felt really comfortable in the hostel. Different free things were offered every day, such as a shuttle to the beaches and sunset bars or a BBQ evening (150-200 Baht) and a movie night. You can order food directly on site, but the restaurants nearby are also very good. The hostel is not very centrally located, but that didn't bother us. The many roosters in the neighborhood are actually a bit noisy in the morning. We also got our Open Water Diver diving license at the hostel and were very satisfied. The hostel is a bit quieter but the activities and diving mean you can quickly come into contact with other travelers. The staff is very friendly and you can book a shuttle to/from the port.

So… I had only seen (or almost) positive things about this hotel/hostel but unfortunately it was not up to par. The hotel is located next to a chicken farm. Roosters make noise constantly. In the morning it is almost impossible to sleep. When we arrived, the staff was very curt and even unfriendly. We were also not told anything about the island or the activities, nor the shuttle services offered by the hostel. We stayed 5 nights, neither the sheets nor the towels were replaced. The floor was never swept despite the fact that you are on an island and inevitably when you go to the beach, you have sand in your room… Our room (private therefore not in a dormitory) was located between the dormitories and the rooms bathrooms, constant traffic and guaranteed noise. The breakfast is very poor, a buffet consisting of a stove with a savory dish, 1 piece of fruit and pancakes. In short, we do not recommend it for people looking for comfort at a good price, our mistake was to consider that a hostel could also satisfy a couple but it is clear that it is only aimed at solotravellers/groups young people who attach very little importance to comfort and cleanliness.

Eines der besten Hostels in Thailand! Sehr schöne Gemeinschaftszimmer und sauberes Bad. Der Pool ist auch sehr schön und groß zum Entspannen und alle vom Personal sind super lieb. Wir hatten einen richtig schönen Aufenthalt hier und beim nächsten Mal Koh Tao, komme ich hier hin zurück

This was by far my favorite hostel that I stayed at while traveling in Southeast Asia. The private rooms are well air conditioned, impeccably clean, and incredibly spacious. The room I stayed in had a daybed as well as a balcony with an excellent view. There's a waterfall shower as well, that is very nice.

Outside of this, the staff at the hostel were incredibly kind and helpful, especially with booking rides to and from activities.

There's a complimentary breakfast buffet every morning which was quite delicious and included fruit, toast, coffee, and usually a warm breakfast dish.

There's a covered seating area as well as an outdoor seating area. The hostel also has a beautiful pool, a rooftop lounge, and a pool table. There's ample parking for motorbikes just outside.

There is also a SCUBA diving training facility directly on the property, which I did not use, but looks very nice.

The location is not directly on the beach, but it is only a 10 minute walk to the main beach, as well as the main shopping area. There are multiple delicious local restaurants just outside the hostel.

There are tons of cute geckos on the walls outside the hostel and even a few adorable and friendly dogs that frequent the area. Overall, it was an incredible experience staying at the Dearly Koh Tao, and I will definitely return if I visit the island again.

Excellent! Super friendly staff, they go extra miles to service you. You can see that they genuinely care about your stay. Lovely room, very clean. Clean shower room and toilet. Swimming pool is so cute. There are couple cute cats living there as well, for a cat person like me, you will be in love.

Great hostel, beautiful building and rooms. We stayed here for almost a week, just kept extending because we loved Koh Tao and the Dearly so much. Breakie is great, the staff are super friendly and make you feel at home (shout out to Aaron, the nicest dive instructor in Koh Tao), it’s in a great place if you want to be close to action but not right in the thick of it. Rosters next door where a bit annoying but guess they can’t help that, and the pool could maybe do with a little clean (as soon as we got those masks on we could see a whole lot more). All in all would highly recommend, no where is perfect but this place is pretty close.

Clean, great atmosphere! Beds were uncomfortable, but washrooms and showers were clean, love the pool and roof top. Breakfast was always 10/10

Highly recommend. Spent a week at this amazing hostel. Staff is very friendly and helpful. Warm people that really care about your stay. Also it was very easy to meet nice and mixed people at this hostel.

Terrible staff!
The guy from the reception charged us an extra night for leaving the dorm 15 minutes late and called the POLICE, to force us to pay for it. Shame on you!
Not recommended at all.

The Dearly was an amazing place to stay, great facilities and staff, but the real highlight was the open water dive course with Luke Mee. Shes an amazing teacher and the passion she has for her job illuminates any room. I would fly back here just to come dive with her again

Definitely one of the best hostels I've stayed at in Thailand. Extremely clean, modern, great facilities and an amazing breakfast. Location is a tad away from the chaos of Sairee but in a good way. Beach is still a 5min walk/1min scooter. Not heaps social but you could defintely meet people here easily Would stay again!

The rooms are top equipped. The location of the hostel is rather poor, so it is worth renting a motorcycle. The breakfast was okay. In my opinion, the price is set too high for 15$ per night in a dorm. But all in all I was satisfied.

The hostel is located far from the town, it needs a taxi to get there if you want to go to the social area including restaurants and bars (around 600 bay/18 USD every time you go and come back).
The rooftop is empty without any chill area, there is a strong smell of sewage in the common stairs.
Attached to the hostel there are abandoned buildings used as landfill.
I had a bed experience with one of the man at the reception:
Despite I informed the receptionist one day before that I was leaving the day after,
Despite I spent over 6000 bat (about 180 USD) of bill for my 5 days there in food and accommodation,
The day of the checkout I got a weird surprise: the guy at the reception wanted to charge me another full daily rate for having left my bag into the room with some delay.
I did not agreed and the guy called the police.
When the police man asked me to explain the situation the guy was trying to interrupt my explanation, eventually, in front of the police, the guy started saying he could keep the deposit instead of charging the full daily rate. This was hilarious but being on holiday I had to accept and I left the hostel.
I have been traveling all around South East Asia and I never had anything comparable to this uncomfortable situation.
This place could be nice but needs improvements and the guy managing the reception is totally unprofessional.
Not recommended!

We had a great time at the dearly hostel.we stayed in a private room.the food, room, cleanliness, people, vibe, location everything is just fantastic.will come back soon for sure

We had a phenomenal time here. The staff are all so lovely, the rooms are so clean/spacious, and the diving was incredible! Thank you:)

Number one! Hostel on the island recommend to everyone in the world who want to come to koh tao island i like staff i love food very meal meal. Everyone can wake up and greet sey hi each other very friendly and have quiet zone too. It's a very nice place to stay ต๊าซซซ ปังปูริเย ️