Not the Usual Suspects
Zany cocktails abound at The Privilege Hotel Ezra Beach Club.
Beach clubs these days are all the rage, and over the past few years, more have opened here on Samui. They offer their guests a lot of fun, along with all the delights of being close to the sea. In Bangrak, the latest addition, The Privilege Hotel Ezra Beach Club, combines hotel accommodation with a beach club atmosphere. With friendly staff and the promise of good times with friends, it’s definitely a great place to unwind. Relaxation is high on most guests’ agendas, and the beach club’s 40-metre swimming pool is the focal point for chilling out.
Drinking cocktails for many of us is all part and parcel of a time spent around the pool, but no matter how swirly cocktail colours can get, they’re all too rarely eye-catching. Not so at The Privilege Hotel. Here the take on cocktails is definitely quirky. Order one and heads will turn when it’s brought to you. They’re different, original and always striking.
They’re the brainchild of Guido Campigotto, the affable general manager here. He’s a restaurateur in his own right, and ran notable restaurants on his home turf in London. As such he knows a few things about beverages. But for The Privilege Hotel he wanted a range of signature cocktails that were utterly different. He rose to the challenge in a way that people might have thought was off-kilter – until they actually started drinking the cocktails he created.
Try them out at the beach club. Known as ‘new signature cocktails’, each one is a unique experience. Here are just a few examples – there are a dozen altogether. ‘With Strings Attached’ arrives in a shoe and channels the strange ritual of formula one champion Daniel Ricciardo who celebrated by drinking out of a shoe. His own! Guido’s version is, needless to say, a lot tastier and more sanitary. You don’t actually drink from the shoe itself but a container hidden within it. Fairly eye-popping for onlookers, however. The cocktail itself, by the way, is a delicious mix of Burnett Gin, Crème de Mûre Massenez, lemon juice, kaffir lime and pineapple juice.
Order ‘Almost on Fire’ and your cocktail arrives in a miniature replica of a fire extinguisher. It will, yes, fire you up as it’s a combo of two of the most lethal drinks known to humankind: absinthe and tequila.
Other drinks recall seaside days as a child. Think small brightly coloured buckets, but this time the accompanying spades and toys have been replaced by containers holding the ingredients for inventive cocktails: ‘Cry Baby’ for example is a mix of Broken Shed vodka infused with hot basil and strawberry syrup, strawberry juice, coconut milk and lime. There’s also a non-alcoholic version, appropriately called, ‘Don’t Cry Baby’. The selection carries on with ‘CheMichael’ a drink that comes with a skull and crossbones label and is presented to you in a bottle with a spray nozzle. Its tasty and seemingly innocent ingredients are Giffard Liqueur de Melon, Mahiki Coconut Liquor, pineapple juice, lime and coriander seeds. ‘Taking the Mickey’ and its non-alcoholic counterpart, ‘Not Taking the Mickey’, ‘Fruity Day’ and ‘The Columbian’ hold a few secrets of their own – but all are brilliantly appealing.
Needless to say, you don’t have to drink any of these particular cocktails; there’s a wide range of more traditional ones, along with every other kind of beverage, such as fruit juices and shakes, smoothies, beers and wines. The beach club has you covered for both food and drink – and staff do their utmost to make sure your time here is as enjoyable as possible.
Many guests book ahead so that they can stay here on the premises. The accommodation is excellent and combines style and luxury, with a total of 37 guest rooms, suites and villas. Multiple configurations make it easy for not just couples to stay, but also groups from small to large. The accommodation is all built with conviviality in mind; it’s easy here to get to know others and enjoy a friendly atmosphere.
Guido has also arranged for some extra perks for staying guests. In return for a small daily charge you can reap various benefits. There’s free early check-in with upgrades wherever possible; a free cocktail per person per day; a personal concierge; free parking service and last but not least a shuttle bus to Central Festival in Chaweng, which runs four times daily.
Whether you’re staying in the hotel or spending the day by the pool, The Privilege Hotel Ezra Beach Club offers its guests many great experiences. And it’s an outstanding spot to indulge in some of Thailand’s most unusual cocktails!
Dimitri Waring