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IF YOUR idea of an exotic Asian holiday is having yourself photographed with baby elephants, screeching jungle birds, and iridescent lizards that will perch comfortably on your shoulder cocking bulbous eyes enquiringly at the camera, call David Attenborough. But if you want the whole ensemble, this time with a transvestite thrown in, draped in little more than a pink feather boa and perhaps a snazzy, if fake, Dior clutch bag, head to Phuket, Thailand.
Patong, the neon-emblazoned nightlife strip and budget paradise, is alive with feral promise, chatty t-shirt vendors, burnished bodies, and that ultimate barometer of commercial health, fake DVDs. Take your pick of cut-price knock-offs, from Harry Potter to the intriguing Shaving Private Ryan. It’s all here. Without further ado, our guide to Phuket spa resorts, luxury hotels and small villa hideaways to suit all budgets and tastes, with a beach sampler to find the whitest sand around. Stretching geography a wee bit we look as far afield as Khao Lak before moving on through the island of Phuket, thrumming now with construction and resort projects by the mile.
Khao Lak resorts are burgeoning by the day with several good spa hideaways and family-friendly options. In north Phuket beyond the airport, a new crop of luxury resorts have arrived, creating a welcome counter-magnet to the overcrowded development in central and southern Phuket.
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| Le Meridien Khao Lak/ photo: hotel |
For the purposes of sanity this Phuket resort review will run in a straight line north to south, tracing the western coastline from Mai Khao Beach in the north beyond the airport to Promthep Cape in the south where romantics huddle to watch the sunset beneath lazily spinning wind turbines. But first, an hour or two north of Phuket to Khao Lak, where the resort damage from the Boxing Day tsunami was particularly extreme. Khao Lak is back in full swing and resorts, shops and vendors are busily in evidence. With international resorts providing a much-needed nucleus and greenback-waving tourists, commerce, like water, has found its own level. If anything, Khao Lak is now better developed, planned and organised than before with newer resorts keeping a keen eye on their green eco-friendly credentials. Khao Lak also has its very own elephant camp and monkey show so it has certainly come of age in the Thai scheme of things. Still, ubiquitous signs caution, "Entering Tsunami Hazard Zone" with a stylised image of a monstrous wave. The area is an hour's drive from Phuket, about a 100km run. Remember to fill up on petrol. There are several petrol pumps around Kokloi a small town en route.
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Khao Lak Resort and Hotel Guide
The latest Khao Lak resort to throw open its doors, is the Thai-style Takolaburi "cultural, spa & sport resort" that pretty much occupies all bases. This is on the turnoff leading to the Apsaras resort and sits just off a small road running along the beach. There is not much traffic on this deadend street so kids should be okay crossing to the sand.
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| Takolaburi room/ photo: hotel |
The wooden villas feature Thai murals on the walls and tasteful decor. Expect satellite TV, DVD player on request, mini-bar, and Broadband Internet. There are several swimming pools including one for kids, and a spa. Takolaburi is a smart, if laid back, option for families looking for style without wallet-pounding rates. The villas are set amidst water pools and rustic, rambling gardens. At the end of the road is the Apsaras Beach Resort & Spa (with direct access to the beach) and along the same strip is the lowrise and simple, but neat, South Sea Grand Phang Nga resort with a large pool and a spa. As with Takolaburi, South Sea Grand is across the street from the beach.
Two Khao Lak resorts that should be on any traveller's short list are the boutique Sarojin and the larger 243-room Le Meridien. Farthest up the azure coast, the Le Meridien Khao Lak Beach & Spa Resort offers rooms featuring 42-inch plasma flat-screen televisions and an array of goodies including Wireless Broadband, beefed up conference facilities, yoga for New Agers, Playstation contests for kids, the rejuvenating Le Spa (with eight spacious spa treatment villas) and, of course, a splendid beach. In addition to rooms, the hotel offers a selection of plush Thai-style villas, some with private pools. The Ocean Front Pool Villas perched at the edge of the sand have their own small garden and a 25sq m pool. Villas have wooden parquet floors, plump beds with silk runners, flat-screen TVs with DVD player, and larger ones come with outdoor showers with an indoor tub and twin vanities so there's no argle-bargle between Him and Her.
Never a dull moment at the Le Meridien Khao Lak – choose from kayaking, snorkelling, trekking, fishing, mountain biking and elephant safaris. This is a breezy open complex with plenty of garden. It is a child friendly Khao Lak resort with a separate lagoon-style pool for kids complete with sand and a range of activities. The free-form swimming pool is large and fronts the ocean.
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| Sarojin sun loungers/ photo: hotel |
The hotel fronts an excellent beach with long views around the arcing bay. Spread out over several acres the resort offers ample stretch space for walkers and joggers. (The Le Meridien Khao Lak Beach & Spa Resort is showcased in our exclusive Top Asian Hotels Collection, featuring the best Asian hotels, resorts and spas in a printable A4 page with stunning visuals.)
The 56-room boutique property The Sarojin Khao Lak, also offers the Pathways spa within its 10 landscaped acres, a pristine beach, lotus ponds, tranquil walks and bicycle paths for those who prefer pedal power. Designed in a contemporary Asian style with modern looking "residences", this hideaway Khao Lak resort is arrayed around a large garden area that leads on to the sea. There is a lot of space but the central lawns still need to develop a bit to make things a wee bit cosier. It can be sizzling hot crossing this broad expanse in summer. Sarojin has Broadband Internet if you absolutely must stay in touch, but the emphasis is clearly on relaxation. The resort is aimed at an older set and honeymooners who might enjoy a round of croquet when not looking deep into each other's eyes. Children under 12 years are now not permitted at the Sarojin. The Sarojin Guest Residences feature private gardens, spoiling baths, sundeck, waterfall showers and DVD (upon request). A CD-player, in-room safe and TV are provided.
Not far from here (opened December 2008) is the "new" Rixos Premium Khao Lak, a 298-room luxury resort, also fronting the beach on the site of the former Sofitel Khao Lak that was wiped out in the tsunami. Turkish-managed Rixos is an all-inclusive hotel where the room package covers meals, minibar, alcohol and a midnight buffet. Expect an array of water sports and one of the largest lagoon pools in Thailand at this new Khao Lak spa resort. While luxury touches abound, kids are well catered for with babysitting services and the Rixy Club for children from four to twelve years old. Rixos also plans to become a major force among Khao Lak conference hotels bidding for corporate meetings in a relaxed yet upscale environment.
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| La Flora pool/ photo: hotel |
La Flora Resort & Spa, is neat, compact, bright and welcoming, if a tad predictable. It has neat lines, trim lawns and fronts the beach. Not too much walking here. The pool is right on the the beach and is a good spot for sunsets. Dive into the two lap pools. Or unwind in the Jacuzzi while the kids wade in the children's pool. Deluxe rooms and Sea View Villas feature modern Thai design interpretations and for long, lazy afternoon's there's the Spa La Flora with herbal steam baths, yoga and meditation. This is one of the safer choices among Khao Lak resorts.
The Ramada Resort Khao Lak is surprisingly attractive with its clean lines and lowrise layout. Several rooms have good ocean views. Find a large swimming pool, a spa, 84 rooms, extensive gardens, and meeting facilities. The modern Khao Lak Resort, Phang Nga, is just off the main drag in town close by shops, supermarkets and restaurants. It occupies 12 acres of landscaped grounds and fronts a 2km beach. The hotel is clean, and smart and sports a laundered white-washed appearance with red-tile roof that is welcoming and bright. Expect a large beachfront pool, a spa, and games to keep all ages occupied. This among the hotels closest to Phuket airport, with the secluded Le Meridien, the farthest.
Closer to Phuket, the Khaolak Merlin Resort is an unassuming hotel-style lowrise occupying a hillside leading to a 190m stretch of sand. The property covers 15 sloping acres with 209 rooms and a few villas with their own private pool. Families and larger groups will enjoy the three swimming pools, a children’s pool, kids’ club, tennis court, tailor shop and health club. All rooms have satellite TV, a mini-bar and coffee and tea-making facilities. When the giant tsunami waves swept through the area, the Merlin was pretty much the last man standing.
Mai Khao, Nai Yang, Nai Thon, Thalang, Northeast, North of Phuket Island
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| JW Marriott Phuket/ photo: hotel |
Driving south down towards Phuket from Khao Lak, about a 20-minute drive from the airport, is the Aleenta Phuket on Natai Beach. Accommodation is in Pool Villas, Pool Suites or Pool Residences. The resort is well finished and stylish with rooms offering an iPod dock, large LCD TV, soft cotton linen, spoiling toiletries and plunge pool. On Phuket Island, perched along the secluded - and as yet undeveloped - northeast of the island, is the Chandara Resort & Spa. Expect a two-deck swimming pool, watersports galore and thatch-roof Pool Villas and Jacuzzi Studios set in manicured gardens overlooking a broad stretch of beach on Po Bay. Also taking shape in this general area is the top-drawer The Yamu, with a private marina and spa, with a hip clean-line design by Philippe Starck. The property will be managed by Singapore-based GHM.
Crossing the Sarasin Bridge heading down into the island of Phuket, the first resort, still well north of the airport along a secluded stretch of Mai Khao Beach, is the sprawling JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa. As yet unmarred by the frenzied development that has turned vast swathes of Phuket into higgledy-piggledy concrete, the area is a quiet enclave. It is so discreet you might easily miss the turn off. The Marriott is huge, not so much high as vast. Its three-floor structure (with 265 rooms) radiates out in two wings amidst lush gardens and engaging water features. There are now three swimming pools and with room enough to swing several elephants by the tail, recreation options are practically unlimited from horse-riding and mountain biking to diving, snorkelling, sailing, tennis and jogging. Rent a bicycle (Bt250 for two hours) and work off excess calories. The hotel will equip you with a helmet, a map, a bottle of water, and a mobile phone which, alas, you'll have to return.
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| Aleenta pool villa/ photo: hotel |
The Children’s Pavilion offers tiny tyke distractions in the form of toys, computers, big-screen TV, a pool table, Sony PlayStation and Internet. Escape to the health club for a spot of "muay Thai" (Thai kick-boxing), then dine Italian, Japanese or Thai. The new Wellness Sala offers meditation, yoga and pilates lessons if you need a good stretch. The bright and attractive rooms at the JW Marriott Resort and Spa have nice residential touches including a steam iron and ironing board (perfect for soggy cottons or flabby bellies), a 29-inch flat-screen TV, a DVD player and a reading alcove that easily doubles as a kid's “bedroom".
All rooms offer plug-in high-speed Internet while public areas and meetings rooms are Wireless enabled. The dedicated Mandara Spa conjures visions of bliss, at a price, with its aromatic private rooms for couples, plunge pools and lap pool.
Try assorted wraps, a coffee scrub or get waxed. Ouch! Located within the Sirinath Marine National Park, the JW Marriott Phuket has earned kudos for its conservation work with marine turtles. No, there's no turtle soup on the menu. Still, at Ginja Cook, the new cooking school at JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa, you may bone up on traditional Thai cooking, or opt for Indian or even Japanese. Soon you'll give Jamie a run for his money. (The JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa features in our exclusive Top Asian Hotels Collection, featuring the best Asian hotels, resorts and spas in a printable A4 page with stunning visuals.)
Also set on Mai Khao beach (at the end of the road leading on from the JW Marriott) is the very chic, cubist SALA Phuket Resort and Spa, which opened in December 2007. The resort offers 79 smart villas and suites with contemporary design blending black-tile water pools, clean lines and gardens with beige-white exteriors in an unobtrusive lowrise setting.
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| Sala Phuket/ photo: hotel |
Several villas have private lap pools, and rooms feature outdoor bathrooms with freestanding bathtubs, chandeliers, in-room WiFi, and daybeds. For families and larger groups there are 13 one and two-bedroom suites. There are three beachfront pools, one for kids, and the SALA Spa offers a range of treatments. This Phuket luxury resort occupies a secluded strip in an undisturbed patch. Cheek-by-jowl with the JW Marriott, is the new and somewhat eclectic Anantara Phuket Resort & Spa with 85 pool villas featuring large bathrooms and an outdoor soaking tub for couples. In-room expect iPod and docking station, flatscreen TV with DVD player, daybed, outdoor sala, and WiFi.
The resort is a 15-minute drive up from Phuket Airport and close to the green mangrove lungs of Sirinath National Park. The resort features red brick, luxury villas with quality Thai flourishes and lotus ponds accessed by a rather tight driveway where I was unable to loop around in a very very small car. Once inside the resort, service is good and accommodation is more than comfortable.
If work has got you in a hole, pack your bags and head to the Mother of Holes, the Canyon Course Hole No. 17, described as one of the “Top 500 holes in the world”. A splendid sight for sore eyes is seamless green of the Canyon Course and the Lakes Course at the 720-acre Blue Canyon Country Club just minutes from the airport on Highway 402.
This refreshing, verdant escape offers rooms blending into the hillside, residential condominiums for longer stays, and a breezy clubhouse that commands unimpeded views of the greens which have hosted some sumptuous Johnnie Walker Classics.
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| Anantara villa/ photo: hotel |
Plunge into a Jacuzzi, enjoy a muscle-working massage, or sip a tall cool drink. There's even a professionally-run school to help you improve your swing. During those quieter evenings when you’re done chasing balls, retire to The Spa at Blue Canyon Country Club for soothing Ayurvedic, Thai and Swedish treatments. Therapists are on hand to suggest the most appropriate balm. A full 18 holes on the Canyon Course will set you back around Bt5,600 for green fee and caddie and the Lakes Course, reopening after substantial redesign and upgrading, is a less pinching Bt4,000. The invigorating environs and fresh air make Blue Canyon Country Club an extremely popular choice for golfers, families and resident expatriates.
Just south of Phuket Airport on Nai Yang Beach is the reincarnated Indigo Pearl. Step into the crystal and metal-works lobby with its surreal blue lights and glass, and embark on a pleasant hallucinogenic trip. The imaginatively designed resort offers double-size rooms featuring huge trendy bathrooms, stone walls, timber-slat headboards and a chic tin-mine feel. There are three swimming pools (with bars), acres of manicured garden and a lagoon. Deluxe rooms come with balconies overlooking the gardens while private villas offer courtyards and alfresco showers. At the upper end of the scale are pool suites and high-ceilinged luxury suites with their own private plunge pools.
Indigo Pearl has stretch room galore - both an attraction as well as a drawback for some who prefer not to walk - with lush gardens. Nai Yang beach rates well. In season, the water is exceptionally clear, to rival the best. Wacky flourishes engage the eye making it clear this is no run-of-the-mill beach resort. It has personality, style, and class. Versatile conference facilities and the Indigo Spa complete the mix. Get a mud, grean tea or oatmeal wrap and finish up with a skin-firming massage. With its tall rubber trees and lazy roads winding through hills and paddy fields, this district is one of Phuket's prettiest and well worth a drive to explore.
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| Indigo Pearl pool/ photo: hotel |
On Nai Yang Beach, a few kilometres out on the curve of the bay, is the Adamas Resort & Spa Phuket (formerly Arahmas Resort & Spa). It is a spread out low-rise getaway with a central pool offering open sea views and cooling breezes. Gravelled walks lead from the main hotel building to the pool and on to the beach lined by sun umbrellas and wooden deck chairs. There is a Spa at hand for those in search of pampering. Otherwise, laze, catch some rays, and open that book. The greenery is coming up fast. The resort can make a pleasant family getaway or honeymoon escape without overly stretching the wallet. A relaxed, simple, and unfussy place with a few quirks.
The gorgeous and unpopulated Nai Thon Beach is worth a look-see at any time. The new Naithonburi Beach Resort is across the road from here a short stroll from the sea. This is a simple but attractive compound with 79 rooms in contemporary Thai style and a pleasant swimming pool.
But it’s down the road that you'll stumble across a real gem – the Andaman White Beach Resort. Opened a few years ago and largely undiscovered, this Phuket beach resort has 56 villas connected by wooden walkways, all spilling down a lush hillside through coconut groves to meet one of the island’s most perfect white sand beaches. The combination of rustic dark-wood, cream stone and white-sand beach is visually arresting, and the curving picture-postcard bay is wonderfully private. The smart, minimalist villas (with parquet flooring), toilets (with a sunken cobalt-blue tile bathtub) and general décor are Thai-chic. There is room for a touch-up though. A small gym and spa complete the ensemble.
The seaside pool features Wireless and this facility has been extended into all public areas and the beach. Dine Italian with a view, or grab a hot pizza right on the beach. This is an idyllic spot for a Thai beach wedding and the resort can cater for most requirements. Discover the place before the parasails and jet-skis do. Andman White Beach is a charming getaway albeit with a few quirky rough edges.
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| Andaman White Beach/ photo: hotel |
The Layan Beach Resort & Spa Village occupies a quiet hillside in this area above Layan Beach. A restaurant, spa and meditation rooms are set close to the beach but the resort itself is a hike up the hill. The 52 rooms are simple and basic but do include a safe, minibar, TV and a small verandah. There are a fair number of steps so be prepared to walk. The Layan held promise once but comes across now as a Plain Jane with desultory, if friendly, service, and gleaming ceramic tile floors in-room where you may drip as much water as you like. The beachfront Layan Spa Village provides aromatherapy, reflexology and a spa pool. Adjacent is the new villa complex of Bundarika Phuket with its 21 villas, each sporting 29” flat-screen TVs, a DVD and CD player, and a private 8m pool. There is WiFi on the grounds and a library with DVDs and CDs for guests.
Next up, clinging to the curves of a scenic headland, are the large pool villas of the Trisara. There are open undisturbed views of the rippling Andaman Sea in all directions. This 40-acre Phuket luxury resort is a quirky oriental amalgam when it comes to architecture. It is also lot more spread out than your average cosy hideaway. The villas offer panoramic views with a nice infinity pool. The sumptuous interiors feature silk and timber with amenities like free Broadband, 37-inch plasma TVs, spacious bathrooms and an outdoor rain shower.
There’s free WiFi in public areas, at the pool and in the Library. You will need a buggy to transport you up and down. The resort spills amiably down to the sea and a long lap pool near ocean-fronting restaurants and a well-stocked library with Internet and DVDs. Music can be downloaded onto iPods which Trisara will happily lend you at no charge. There is a wine cellar and cigar room as well. The Trisara Spa comprises six private treatment suites, each over 100sq m. There are also some privately-owned villa residences running from 750sq m to 1,500sq m with generous pools. The private villas feature kitchens with live-in maids and cooks. You can get two to five bedroom arrangements.
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| Oriental-style Trisara/ photo: hotel |
Service is excellent. The newly revamped restaurants and bar are by the same designer who branded the well-known Ku De Ta in Bali's Seminyak. These are great chillout spots for a sundowner or more. The closest villas to the beach, if you don't want to hoof it, are 101 and 102 and, on the other side of the pool, 408 and 409. There is a kids club for tiny tykes. The latest addition is a jetty to accommodate, and expand, cruise business. Not for the Queen Mary perhaps, but for boats much slimmer and classier. The landing is dismantled during the monsoon season, and water sports are abandoned, perhaps sensibly, May-October. And for a romantic cruise, the latest addition is the Queen of the Andaman, which rents for 45,000 Euros a week and can board up to eight persons in four cabins.
Bang Tao Beach, Laguna, Resorts and Hotels
Just before Bang Tao Bay, perched atop a vertiginous hill is the chic new Phuket Pavilions with 21 one-bedroom pool pavilions and 9 three-bedroom pool villas. The views are astounding, the setting romantic and the breeze enough to dry your hair in an instant, but it is a steep climb up to get here. You will need to buggy up a vertical road and then down again. This may be problematic for some.
Yet, Pavilions is a resort experience rather than a beach romp. In this respect it does not disappoint. The 105sq m one-bedroom pavilions are capacious and comfortable with spoiling infinity pools from where on a clear day you can see forever. The three-bedroom pool villas are 314sq m, far more than an average Hongkonger will enjoy in his entire life, and that’s reason enough to visit. There is Wireless Broadband, and in-room spa treatments are available.
Once a scarred moonscape of tin mine excavations where Neil Armstrong would have felt quite at home, Laguna Phuket is a marvel of reconstruction and a worthy mini-destination. This green oasis with its lazy lagoons, sheltered drives, blossoming plants, broad recreation facilities and child-friendly attitude is a favourite with families, and golfers. Staking their claims here are some of the best Phuket luxury resorts and the pantheon includes the sprawling Banyan Tree Phuket, Allamanda Laguna Phuket, Sheraton Grande Laguna Phuket, the Dusit Laguna Resort and Laguna Beach Resort.
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| Banyan Tree DoublePool Villa/ photo: hotel |
Opened in October 2006 the 79-suite Laguna Holiday Club Phuket Resort is for the exclusive use of members and guests of the Laguna Holiday Club. This is a family friendly resort overlooking the golf course with a Kids' Club, swimming pool, Wireless in the lobby and Internet access in rooms. The suites can mange anywhere from four to six persons depending on the configuration.
Occupying a generous spread at one end of this development but not directly on the beach, is the Banyan Tree Phuket, a spread-out villa-style estate redolent of Thailand with rich motifs and design flourishes, encompassing the resort, a highly regarded spa and golf. Electric buggies will ensure you are not overly exercised negotiating the distances. Each sumptuous villa is an all-in private hideaway for honeymooners, couples, or holidaymakers needing that little extra.
There are various villa categories to choose from – including Deluxe Villa, Pool Villa and Spa Pool Villa – now supplemented by the all-new DoublePool Villa, a rarefied escape featuring up to 2,185sq m of space, infinity pool, jet pool, and garden. From the bedroom, tiptoe into the wading pool and plonk down on a submerged chair to enjoy a cool evening cocktail. Guests staying at one of the 22 DoublePool Villas will be whisked from aircraft gate through immigration and customs straight to the resort where a personal host awaits. Of course the jewel in the crown here is the Banyan Tree Spa which offers a smorgasbord of selection from full-day workouts to customised scrubs, massage, aromatherapy, hydrotherapy and treatments like the three-hour Thai Ginger Healer incorporating yogic massage and steaming hot herbal pouches applied to tired limbs. Expect to be shelling out about US$200 plus for assorted pampering.
The Laguna Phuket Golf Club is an 18-hole delight meandering through lagoons and verdant greens. Not quite ready? Try the driving range, putting green and practise bunker. There is professional instruction available should you require it. If you’re still bored, and single, get married. Banyan Tree Phuket will roll out the red carpet for a resort wedding with Buddhist monks, blessings, candles, dance, music and romantic locations by the acre.
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| Allamanda: good family hotel/ photo: hotel |
Along the rim of a lagoon and again some distance from the beach is Banyan sister property, the all-suite Allamanda Laguna Phuket. The resort is popular with families and it is not hard to see why. The suites (up to two bedrooms) are spacious with separate living and dining areas as well as a kitchenette. There is even a Kid's Suite featuring a separate bedroom with bunk beds, toys, games and video.
Rooms are bright and cheerful, the staff welcoming. Pick up tips on batik, Thai weaving and glass painting, or throw yourself into something a bit more strenuous like volleyball, Thai boxing, canoeing, or scuba diving. There are three swimming pools to dive into and a library stocked with magazines, books and PlayStations. Allamanda Laguna Phuket is not just for toddlers and doting parents. The hotel also pitches strongly for business meetings with varied resort conference and convention facilities. If you have typhoon tykes in tow, or a large family gathering planned, this is a child friendly resort in Phuket that is worth a closer look.
The Sheraton Grande Laguna Phuket is on a scenic isthmus with its 355 rooms and Grande Villas rimming the lagoons. Villa guests can opt for a boat to shuttle to the lobby. Newly added are the spoiling Golf Pool Villas & Residences, a luxury villa complex owned by private individuals and managed and let out by Sheraton. These top-end villas are closer to the golf course and feature private pools. The Sheraton Grande Laguna Phuket has ample restaurants and a snaking 323-metre-long swimming pool providing ample distraction for kids along with the VIK (Very Important Kidz) Club for four-to-twelve-year-olds. The resort fronts a broad stretch of Bang Tao Beach. The Tea House now serves a spa menu and a spa takes care of aching muscles. Rooms feature sunken bathtubs, some with Jacuzzis and a bath menu including a "chill out" for guys with a sprinkling of camomile, cedarwood and sandalwood accompanied by a Montecristo cigar and a vodka martini.
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| Sheraton Island Villa/ photo: hotel |
Balconies offer wonderful open views. There are more business meeting and conference facilities at this Phuket luxury beach resort than you can shake a stick at. The largest meeting room can seat up to 1,000 guests. In-room, look out for roomy baths, kitchenettes, irons and ironing boards and rollaway beds. There are rooms as well with easy access for handicapped travellers. For those with laptops, some good news. The resort has WiFi.
There are Grande Villas and over-water Lagoon Villas. The smart Island Villas offer two-bedroom and three-bedroom layouts with two work desks, lots of three-pin (square) plug sockets, Broadband (at Bt650 per day), two shower rooms and a host of in-room amenities. The safe can manage a video camera but won't house a laptop. Rm 1203 fronts the pool. Book and wade in.
Next up is the Dusit Thani Laguna Phuket with a free-form pool, beachfront gardens and a low-rise Thai-style design. There is a spa here as well. The resort has undergone considerable redevelopment and upgrade with the Dusit Pool Villas comprising the latest jewel in the crown. Wireless coverage extends up to the beach and most rooms offer plug-in Broadband. The hotel has discretely reworked everything, block by block, to gradually upgrade rooms and bathrooms (which now feature glassed-in shower cubicles and other amenities). The smart new Dusit Club Rooms on the ground floor face the pool area and sea with a small sunning patio with deck chairs to catch some rays. The Thai and Italian restaurants have been remodelled and enjoy open views of the gardens. The Dusit Thani Laguna Phuket resort is a child friendly resort for families. Its Busy Bee Kids Club caters for tots to teens with activities and crafts. Kids enjoy special menus and assorted freebies.
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| Dusit Villa: family-friendly/ photo: hotel |
The privately-owned Dusit Thani Laguna Pool Villas were launched mid-2008. Most have a lagoon view though some offer a sea view too and enough room to swing an elephant by the tail. This is a smart move up for a resort that has been until now, a good Phuket family hotel and useful conference choice.
The Laguna Beach Resort is an attractive, neat, and stylish enclave featuring an inviting swimming pool with elephants carved into the stone enclosing walls. This is very much a beach playground for adults as well as kids. This former Pacific Islands Club offers vibrant colours, style, and the second largest ballroom in the Laguna Phuket area after the Sheraton. Business meetings and conferences are, unsurprisingly, well catered for.
There are WiFi hotspots in the lobby, a third of the rooms have plug-in Broadband, free, and the rest have access to dial-up services. The ubiquitous Angsana Spa is on hand in a quiet beachfront corner to offer Thai herbal wraps and coconut scrubs. Laguna Beach Resort also offers a versatile Thai Wedding Package packed with goodies should you be in the mood for a beach resort wedding, anniversary or blessing. Watch out for the nicely refurbished rooms.
For those in search of Phuket shopping discounts and dining bargains, the Laguna Phuket Plus Card priced at Bt1,500 is available to guests in the Laguna Phuket (www.lagunaphuket.com) development offering steep discounts on restaurants, green fees at the golf club and substantial price reductions at the Canal Village shopping area (open from 10am to 8pm).
If you are headed for nuptials, explore arrangements at the dreamy, lagoon-setting wedding chapel. The chapel seats up to 50 and Thai as well as Western ceremonies are available. Phuket is a popular choice for Asian resort weddings. Laguna Phuket is a resourceful and imaginative group that handles activities as diverse as corporate training and team building to sweaty triathlons.
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| Amanpuri: Pure luxury/ photo: hotel |
On Highway 4030, between the Laguna turn-off and Surin Beach, is a desolate stretch of scorched red earth with a sign for the Amora Beach Resort Phuket. Despite the rather unpromising entry, the road through this wilderness leads to the surprisingly pleasant Amora (formerly Rydges) offering 255 simple but comfortable rooms, some with balconies overlooking the Andaman Sea, in a lowrise complex. Facilities are available for both children as well as businessmen and incentives groups so, if you're a fraying wife, here's an ideal opportunity to dump everyone and relax. This is affordable luxury in a nice location at the bottom end of Bang Tao Beach.
Also fronting Bang Tao Bay but closer to Surin is the large lowrise hotel complex of the Bangtao Beach Resort & Spa, a Best Western Premier property. The resort features two restaurants, two pools, one kids’ pool, and a generous spread of beachfront. There is an Internet café for quick-fingered teens, a modest business centre for pin-stripers and a spa. The 199 deluxe rooms are neat, with cool ceramic tile underfoot.
Surin, Pansea Area Resort Guide
At Surin Beach turn off right to a private headland to find the elegant Amanpuri Phuket (Amanresorts' first) whose signature Thai-style pavilions spill unobtrusively down through a mature and scenic coconut grove to a lovely white-sand beach. As with other Amans, it has the ambience of a gracious home without the fuss of excessively intrusive service. The central midnight-blue pool is set high above the bay with steps leading down to the sea. There is the tempting Aman Spa, set on a private headland, where you can peruse a diverse menu of treatment from Kinesiology and Bowen Therapy to Reiki and sound healing.
Amanpuri also runs an extensive fleet of cruise boats and luxury yachts that cater for everything from romantic picnic outings to blue-water cruises, in style. At the far end of the resort is an exclusive enclave of privately-owned villas (managed and sublet by Amanpuri) that offer an ever greater degree of privacy should you require it. You’ll need to bring along your own shades and paparazzi, of course. This is the original Aman that set the luxury villa resort benchmark in 1988. It is still being cloned by competitors. To find out why, drop in. It will cost you, but, what the heck. (The Amanpuri features in our exclusive Top Asian Hotels Collection, featuring the best Asian hotels, resorts and spas in a printable A4 page with stunning visuals.)
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| The Chedi Phuket/ photo: hotel |
Just before the Amanpuri and sharing the picture-postcard Pansea Beach is The Chedi Phuket. This is a charming property with thatch-roof cottages set along the headland connected by stilted walkways. Run by Singapore-based GHM Hotels, The Chedi Phuket fronts the beach and some cottages are right on the sand. There’s a lot of walking up and down, however. It can be invigorating or killing depending on your point of view. I quite like the breezy open plan, the privacy and the mesmerising sunsets. The rooms feature wooden parquet floors, louvred shutters and smart black-slate tile.
A dedicated spa is available as are meeting facilities for small groups. The beach villas that were affected by the Boxing Day Tsunami are back, bigger and better, as Beach Studios and Beach Suites with stylish interiors, enlarged bathrooms (with soaking tubs), flat-screen TVs and a couple of iPods for him and her to really get connected. Beach Suites have Wireless Broadband and there’s WiFi in The Chedi’s public areas too. Rooms are going through gradual upgrades. The Chedi Phuket offers an excellent location with warm service. Its beach is a major selling point.
The stylish Twinpalms is located a short stroll from the beach and offers contemporary chic in a secluded but extensive compound. Twinpalms Phuket is a modern and "happening" place, from the funky black tuk-tuk that chugs you down to the beach club set on picturesque Surin Beach, to the popular Oriental Spoon restaurant (with its art displays and throbbing Sunday brunch buffets) and the swank but laid-back Martini Bar. The all new beach club - Catch by Twinpalms - offers sun beds, umbrellas, smart dining, top-of-the-line live music by visiting performers, and a packed Friday night barbecue.
This partnered enterprise enjoys 50m of soft sand beach with landscaping, frangipani trees, refreshments and an open kitchen. Outsiders are welcome at a small fee for two sunning chairs, umbrella, fruit, towels and newspapers. Chill out and listen to some good late night music.
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| Twinpalms Residence/ photo: hotel |
The 76 rooms and suites are large, minimalist and open plan with the bedroom seamlessly merging into the bathing area. In-room features include an oversized bathroom with rain showers, large beds for a comfortable late-night sprawl or more (but keep the noise down), DVD player, and butler service. The rooms are arrayed around an attractive central pool. There is free Internet access with in-room Broadband for pin-stripers in a rush as well as WiFi in the pool area and at the restaurants.
Top of the range are the new Twinpalms Residence Suites - 21 units in a one and two-bedroom configuration with over 150sq m of honeymooning space. Expect a private plunge pool, roof garden, wine cellar and home theatre with surround sound. Within each high-ceiling hideaway find a 46-inch flatscreen SONY TV, iPod and dock, a DVD player and an extensive work desk with as many as seven three-pin (square) electric sockets to keep ALL your appliances charged. There is WiFi throughout and Broadband is free.
A well stocked complimentary mini-bar is replenished daily. The highlight of the bath is the moulded Korean granite tub that resembles a futuristic half-egg. Ask for Room 102 to squeeze in a little sea view and sunset. For those in need of a rubdown and more, the Palm Spa has treatment rooms.
Or try the Hair Spa and go Michael Jackson. Need waves? Take a trip out on the Catch One power cruiser. One of the most endearing features of this stylish and intimate Phuket luxury resort is the effervescent can-do attitude. Have a problem? They’ll solve it. Have a funky request? Give it a go. (Twinpalms features in our exclusive Top Asian Hotels Collection, featuring the best Asian hotels, resorts and spas in a printable A4 page with stunning visuals.)
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| Courtyard Surin/ photo: hotel |
The new Courtyard Phuket at Surin Beach is a reconstituted affair in a good location, close by a good beach, and 20 minutes from the Patong nightlife strip. There are 256 rooms and around 1,800sq ft of meeting space plus a fitness centre. In-room expect iron and ironing board, pull-out sofa bed, cable TV, DVD player, large fridge, a laptop-size safe, and Internet access. Bathrooms have showers, not tubs. Broadband costs Bt642 for 24 hours. Family rooms come with connecting doors and pull-out beds. There is an outdoor pool and a fitness centre. The MoMo Café serves international fare.
This is a smart and family-friendly resort - it has its own Kids World for the young set - and is set a little away from the beach, which is a two minute walk across a field. In high season the Courtyard runs a beach club restaurant. The hotel is recessed and set back from the road making the environs a tad quieter. The good news for motorists is there is ample parking.
Next to the Courtyard is the interesting The Chava Resort, a wannabe Phuket boutique hotel that in some respects, manages to pull it off. Launched in April 2008, the resort sports a smart cubist exterior with ground floor units offering plunge pools and apartments going from two bedrooms and up. Expect a decent kitchenette, cream or black sofa sets with bright cushions. Block A has the largest pools, with a patio and sun chairs. The Chava has one cafe that serves Thai food.
Next door is the new and classy-looking Manathai Resort Phuket emulating a Chiang Mai village feel. Its woody Thai-Euro restaurant is right at the entrance and rooms and suites feature wooden floors and ample lashings of rich silk. The design and decor are appealing. There are 55 rooms in all at this compact place that sits about 200m away from Surin Beach.
The surprisingly decent Surin Beach Resort has sneaked into this posh neighbourhood, rubbing shoulders with Twinpalms. It offers lots of family action including high-speed water slides. You would never have noticed all the commotion from the quiet and gracious entrance. It’s an offbeat choice at reasonable prices if you want to be on Surin without too much fuss. There’s Thai massage too and access to spa facilities at sister hotel Kamala Bay Garden Resort.
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| Ayara Hilltops: Breezy hillside/ photo: hotel |
Ayara Hilltops (formerly Treetops Arasia) occupies a breezy perch on Surin hill, overlooking Surin Beach and the Andaman Sea. Treetops is a villa-style luxury boutique resort with 48 suites. Look forward to some panoramic views and a range of spa programmes and therapies. The Ayara Hilltops spa speciality is individually tailored spa retreats to suit specific needs. There is a swimming pool - with a kids' pool - and a speciality Thai restaurant with indoor and alfresco dining options.
Kamala, Kalim, Nakalay Beach Resorts
Driving south past Kamala Bay, take the beach turn off just before the road climbs up again. On a quiet headland is the small Kamala Beach Estate with a choice of lowrise apartments or villas. All units come with kitchens, separate living and dining areas and balconies. Towards the end of this road is the detritus of the Kamala Bay Terrace Resort which was hard hit by the tsunami. The Kamala Bay area in general is back and commercial intent is clearly in the air. The Centara Karon Resort Phuket (formerly Central Karon Beach Resort), has completed some extensive renovations. This four-star Phuket hotel is essentially a reincarnation of the Phuket Islandia Resort. It offers three swimming pools, a Centara Spa, two floodlit tennis courts, a kids' club and even some facilities for the disabled. The deluxe and premium deluxe rooms go up to a spacious 52sq m.
Further south after the mountainous hump are Nakalay and Kalim beaches. There are sections along here that are totally unswimmable at low tide due to rock and old coral. This is particularly true of Kalim. On Nakalay Beach is the tucked-away Thavorn Beach Village & Spa, almost entirely crafted of dark-wood. The tastefully decorated Thai bungalows are set in lush green gardens and around a lovely swimming pool area. A health spa is available as well. Just beyond, both the Novotel Phuket Resort and the Diamond Cliff Resort & Spa are set on the hillside away from the beach. Both have fine views but the construction is a touch dense and the walk up is steep. The Novotel Resort features a three-stepped swimming pool, a kid's club, Thai massage and a sauna. In the same area, the simple but homey Patong Lodge is a useful budget option.
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| Phuket Graceland/ photo: hotel |
The Courtyard Phuket at Kamala Beach aims to be a top Phuket family resort with a selection of two and three-bedroom suites with generous kitchenettes, ideas for long stays, and an all-new Kidsworld for ages four and up. Expect wood parquet flooring, flat-screen TVs, in-room Internet access, working desk, iron, hair-dryer, a MoMo Café, pool, and fitness centre. The resort should be good for kids with splash slides and a range of activities. This Courtyard is not on the beach - set towards the hillside - but is a leisurely stroll or a minute's ride down to the bay with its sand, shops and food.
Patong Hotel and Resort Guide
The clutter-and-clatter of Patong is not for honeymooners or doddering retirees in search of calm but there are pockets here and there of relative peace. You will be excused for rubbing your eyes when you confront the Quixotic Phuket Graceland Resort & Spa. It’s hard to describe the place, a mad mix of Euro kitsch and Lifestyles Of The Rich And Famous vigorously shaken and plonked down in a Thailand beach resort. The endeavour clearly is luxury with business facilities in a five-star setting. And business facilities are ample. The hotel can handle conferences of up to 1,000 persons, and the smart rooms have plug-in Internet access. The 460-room Graceland is an odd, if busy, presence. It is rescued by generous lawns and a decent pool. Kids will love it and place can be fun. You need to cross the beach road to get to the sea.
The Millennium Resort Patong Phuket arrived in January 2008 billing itself as an alternative "urban resort". Located in the hip Jungceylon mall-and-lifestyle complex close to the bustle and neon of Soi Bangla, the hotel offers a 197-room Beachside Wing and a 224-room Lakeside Wing. Expect two pools, a spa and fitness centre. In-room find a safe, Internet, work facilities, iron and ironing board, hair-dryer, and coffee-making facilities. Lakeside Superior rooms offer the added indulgence of a balcony. Or opt for a 40sq m Cabana Room with its own sunning terrace. Step from here straight into the pool. This low-rise, bright and well featured Patong hotel is in a busy and bustling part of town a short walk from the beach, past traffic.
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| Millennium Patong/ photo: hotel |
An unfussy family option is the neighbouring high-rise Club Andaman Beach Resort set in extensive gardens and, as with many properties, separated from the beach by a main road. Club Andaman also has some "Lotus" cottages offered as a "resort within a resort", set away from the main building. Or try their Andaspa. Adjacent is sister-property The Andaman Beach Suites, a modern highrise with big balconies and lower rates. An oasis in the bedlam and an attractive Patong choice is the beachfront Impiana Phuket Cabana. It offers boutique flourishes and fine food. The resort re-emerged post-tsunami with redesigned and vastly-upgraded rooms. Along with trendy and tasteful décor you get air-conditioning, ceiling fans, in-room safes, hair-drier and a private balcony. The pool is literally by the sea and young kids can splash out in their own wading pool. For rejuvenation, there’s the Swasana Spa.
The Holiday Inn Resort Phuket is briskly back to business. Both the Main Wing and the stylish Thai-style Busakorn Wing – featuring spacious villa and studio rooms girdling an attractive pool – have had a fresh lick of paint and design upgrades while the Aspara Spa tends to aching muscles. The Busakorn Wing is unlike any Holiday Inn you may have seen. If you have any misgivings about mid-market American chains, this is the one to visit to dispel any worries. In keeping with its family-friendly reputation, the Holiday Inn Phuket also offers its Club 12 and Kids Club with ample distractions like PlayStations, Internet, and even karaoke. The hotel is across the road from Patong Beach.
Close by and projecting a jaunty, carefree appeal is the trendy Burasari Patong. Burasari is a comfortable, playful option right next to shopping and nightlife and a quick stroll from the beach. As a hotel it's pretty straightforward but the small design flourishes and use of colour make all the difference. The place is steadily making a name for itself.
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| Funky Burasari Patong/ photo: Verghese |
There’s a nice pool, a gauze-draped lobby and bright splashes of tropical colour and art at every turn. The 90 rooms offer Cable TV, small but funky toilets, a tiny safe (that will accommodate a video camera), a simple minibar and free WiFi. The whole property is a Wireless hotspot. The hotel draws inspiration from its energetic young owner, Lily Udomkunatum, who worked at fever pitch to restore the property after the tsunami waves receded. The endeavour has repositioned Burasari Patong in the four-star bracket with a funky Floyd’s café called Bow Thai and more. There's also sister-property Burasari JungCeylon in the JungCeylon lifestyle and leisure complex in Patong.
The 400-room Patong Merlin Hotel is large and well-managed with tour groups bussing in and out. It is set away from the beach. The property offers three swimming pools and landscaped gardens. Set in a side soi with an unmistakably Thai feel is the Baan Sukhothai Hotel & Spa. It is unassuming, has reasonable prices but service is patchy.
For about the same price you might venture to the larger (you would never guess it though) Duangjitt Resort with its lowrise rooms and 79 bungalows crisply ordered in military rows. You’ll find a large free-form swimming pool and extensive 36-acre grounds packed with flowering shrubs and trees. Duangjitt Resort is a decent, friendly and clean choice for families not too particular about kitsch room décor and location. The resort is set far enough from the soi to offer peace and quiet yet it is walking distance to the beach. Next door is the cheaper Duangjitt Villa (run by the same group) with toy-size cottages, most fan-cooled without hot water and some with aircon. Only for the intrepid.
Farther south along the Patong Beach strip is the Avantika, a cosy little resort with modern styling and boutique touches. The resort offers 31 seaview rooms with Wireless Internet and a spa. Like Burasari, Avantika has cashed in on its location and applied some design upgrades. The exterior is unremarkable but the interior, once you step in, is inviting. Not far from here is the beach-fronting Absolute Sea Pearl Beach Resort with a host of activities, including deep sea fishing, should you be so inclined, and the Royal Spa with wellness treatments, massage and therapy. There is a treatment room for couples with bathtub and shower.
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| Baan Yin Dee: Aman tones/ photo: Verghese |
Continuing up the headland, the road deposits you at the Amari Coral Beach Resort perched on a promontory with fine views over Patong Bay. The resort has been considerable spruced up after a brief post-tsunami closure. Rooms offer balconies with delightful views, simple, tasteful contemporary décor in quiet pastels, tea and coffee-making facilities, satellite TV and other mod-cons. The Sivara Spa is a big plus, as are the two swimming pools. The spa features romantic teak-wood hillside salas where you can be wrapped, pummelled and exfoliated to the accompaniment of breaking waves. Later, dine alfresco at the Italian La Gritta and take in a sunset. Set apart from the main beach, the Amari Phuket maintains a small private stretch of sand.
On the other side of the same headland are the 414-room Merlin Beach Resort with three pools and a children's club on the pebbly Tri-Tram Beach, and the graceful Baan Yin Dee up on the hill. Baan Yin Dee is a stylish 21-room boutique resort with a dark-blue three-tier pool and several Aman-like touches. It has utilised the space well and its three-storey accommodations with grey-slate Thai-sala roofs have a good interior finish with lots of burnished wood. It affords fine views of Patong Bay.
Baan Yin Dee literally means "warm welcome home". Free frosties are served up at the pool and complimentary coffee and tea in your room. The whole resort is Wireless enabled and New Agers taking time off from laptops will enjoy the general laid-back but stylish ambience. Despite the lack of beach, it is easily one of the best small Phuket resorts and scores high on style and dining. The Piano Bar is set too close to the main road, as is the pool, but the views and food more than compensate.
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| Spruced up Le Meridien/ photo: Verghese |
The Courtyard Phuket at Patong Beach by Marriott plans to be a family-friendly Phuket hotel with a rooftop pool, gym, and Internet access. Its Kidsworld centre will take care of typhoon tykes from four years and up. Can't get more child-friendly than that. The beach is a short stroll away down a side soi as is shopping.
Relax Bay, Karon Beach Resorts
The proud Le Meridien Phuket Beach Resort wearing its signature green "hats" has also had a comprehensive post-tsunami makeover. Two large pools dominate the seafront at aptly-named Relax Bay. It is a very good beach indeed. And private. The resort is old-style and ageing none-too-gracefully in parts but some snappy renovations and no stinting on teakwood and rich Thai fabrics have brightened the rooms and suites. There is Wireless Internet access in public areas Broadband in some Deluxe rooms.
The 40-acre Le Meridien Phuket Beach Resort was among the original 5 star resort pioneers in Phuket. The airbrushed lobby and beachfront do it much more justice now and show why this place is a huge favourite with European travellers. The short access road is flanked by the tiny pale-yellow wood cabins of Karon Hill. Each comes with a small garden and porch. Budget deals available but you may need some help translating the Thai. High above Karon Noi, a very tight hairpin leads to the tucked-away Centara Villas Phuket ( formerly named Central Karon Village) and its 64 villas, two swimming pools and Centara Spa. This is a true hideaway, set in 22 hectares of forest, with a breezy, treetop-lookout feel to it and fine wooded views. Villas come with decent balconies to catch the rays and the scenery.
From here the road inscribes a broad loop past the fairly faceless Felix Karon and the Phuket Ocean Resort (now a Best Western). The Phuket Ocean Resort is functional and tidy and aimed squarely at the middle market. It is a small way from the beach. Facilities include swimming pools, private balconies and satellite TV.
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| Marina Phuket Resort/ photo: Verghese |
The reasonably enticing The Front Village is attractively lit up at night but the beach is a good 200-400 metres or more away. And no, there is no Back Village though a more recent addition is the ochre-hued hobbit house The Village Resort & Spa. Across the road, right on the surf, is the cosy 30-room two-storey In On The Beach. Better rates and better views. Rooms are simple if oddly ornate but the location is very pleasant indeed. Not much nightlife or shopping in the immediate vicinity.
Next up is the new Mövenpick Resort & Spa Karon Beach Phuket (formerly, and briefly, the Crowne Plaza). The resort hotel features hi-tech meetings facilities for small groups and large conferences, 166 sea-facing rooms, and a further 166 villas, all with sun decks and outdoor rainshowers. Guests can unwind at the Tea Tree Spa while kids scamper about assisted by their very own club – The Zone – which is sensibly divided into three age group areas.
The airy hotel lobby is decorated with artefacts and design oddities and the dining area wends its way down steps, and large private “birdcages” for those intimate candle-lit moments.
The Mövenpick Resort & Spa Karon Beach Phuket is the reincarnated Karon Royal Villas. This holdover sports bright mustard and blue three-storey arrangements that don’t quite gel together. The ensemble is somewhat let down by villas with corrugated sheet roofing. The colours and combinations need sorting out and doubtless the new management will get around to it in good time. Villa interiors are okay and the hotel rooms are quite attractive. The main hotel itself is, well, a hotel. Not much that can be done about that. All this is set back away from the beach.
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| Hilton Phuket Arcadia/ photo: hotel |
Longtime neighbour is the meetings-and-conventions Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort & Spa. The Hilton Phuket is a set of condo-style low, circular towers set in expansive landscaped grounds with lagoon and flowering trees. This is a hotel-style development too but the contrast with its conventions neighbour is striking. There is space, less clutter, colours are well thought out and, for all its age, the Hilton exudes an elegant contemporary feel.
The 15-villa The Spa is a 1,500sq m addition set apart from the main hotel by a small bridge over the lagoon. Peacocks used to wander the resort grounds, dodging water sprinklers and posing for guests. But no more. The Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort & Spa offers Wireless Broadband in all rooms and Internet stations in the café and business centre. The rooms are smart with all the usual mod-cons. The garden setting is a huge plus with ample room for walks, jogging, and energetic kids.
If you’re driving, you’ll need to park out the back (now the front) and get trundled in on a Hawaiian trolley-bus. Kids are well catered for at the Kidz Paradise Club (for 2-12-year-olds). A comfortable Phuket hotel for groups, families and company meetings. The Hilton is, in fact, a popular choice among Phuket conference hotels.
With sweeping views of Karon Bay, the Marina Phuket Resort (formerly Marina Cottages) estate is manicured and tasteful. While lumbering left-brain dinosaurs roam the adjacent mini-golf Dino Park terrorising toddlers, everything at Marina Cottage is right-brain, detailed and attentive from the grounds and pathways to the rooms. Wooden walkways connect the bungalows, leading down to the seaside remodelled On The Rock restaurant looking out over the bay. Facing the sea is a clutch of gleaming Thai style Deluxe Villas with parquet flooring, chic black marble toilets with bathtub and generous balconies right above the ocean. A sliding screen reveals a plasma flat-screen TV.
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| Mangosteen: Up on a hill/ photo: hotel |
Best of all, in most of the rooms at this resort, there's high-speed Internet with a wireless keyboard utilising the giant screen. All this is run by a stylish Apple Mini. The Jungle Villas on a wooded knoll are equally stylish with sliding partitions revealing the bathtub and wash area.
Kata, Nai Harn, Rawai, Phuket Town
Along Kata Beach is the spread-out Club Med Phuket with its frenzied fun-in-the-sun activities. As at all Meds, it takes a certain attitude, a large family, or a delicious French accent to really enjoy the experience. The resort has an excellent Scuba diving facility with PADI instruction and certification for kids and adults. The more energetically inclined can bungee jump, learn the flying trapeze, putt a nine-hole course, and try tennis, archery, snorkelling, yoga, basketball, volleyball, squash… Need we say more? Club Med likes to style itself as a “village” concept, a , with funky goings on. There is resultantly much interactivity which is great if you’re looking for this sort of holiday. The Medneighbourhood with its 297 comfortable rooms equipped with all mod cons and a soothing Club Med Spa (with an arsenal of treatment from tamarind exfoliation to hot herbal wraps) is a worthy choice for families with kids in tow.
Just past the large tourist-guzzling beachfront Kata Beach Resort, is the quaint, nautical-themed Mom Tri's The Boathouse and the exclusive Villa Royale. Lots of wood and beaming staff in sailor outfits will greet you at The Boathouse. Its stretch of beach is rather average but the food is a gourmet's delight. Garden dining at Mom Tri's Kitchen is on most discerning travellers' Phuket to-do list. The Villa Royale section is a more exclusive enclave with six luxury suites. This is best described as a gourmet resort.
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| Royal Phuket Yacht Club/ photo: Verghese |
A total of 27 plush suites and studios perch at the edge of lovely Kata Noi in a very personalised non-formal tropical setting. Check out the Spa Royale. Minutes from here is the at-first unremarkable-seeming 429-room Kata Thani Hotel & Beach Resort. The place grows on you as you step through the lobby into its generous lawns. Larger Family Superior Rooms are 40sq m. Touristy but nice if that's what you want.
Two easy-on-the-budget options in the Kata area are the quiet three-star Serene Resort and the more spread out Tropical Garden Resort. Both are under the same management. Neither is on the beach but both offer easy access on foot and the rooms offer sweeping views of the bay. Staff at Tropical Garden Resort are bright and friendly. The generous pool deck ensures plenty of sunshine as well as fabulous views and sea breezes. The Mali Spa is at hand with aromatic distractions and rub-downs and spa rooms have been added to extend this popular service. Tropical Garden Resort rooms offer satellite TV, an in-room safe and small private balconies looking onto Kata Beach.
On to sunset country, Promthep Cape. But just before we get there, pull a right onto Nai Harn Beach at the end of which is the very regal 110-Oceanfront Suite The Royal Phuket Yacht Club (formerly the Le Royal Meridien). This was one of the first trend-setters on the island and is still a stately presence though the approach has got a bit crowded with Yacht Club wannabes, imitations and shops that still manage to lend the place a festive atmosphere. Once inside the resort, the difference is like catapulting into first, from economy-class. Rooms offer roomy 20-45sq m balconies with arresting views of the Andaman Sea. If it's sheer indulgence you crave, unwind at the Royal Spa that occupies 300sq m of open space overlooking Nai Harn Bay. The Royal Phuket Yacht Club won't disappoint.
Two of the better offerings riding on the Meridien bandwagon are the new Sabana Resort (formerly the Nai Harn Resort) which is Thai in design but built in a manner resembling an orange barracks complex, and The Sands, a Mangosteen managed boutique resort, a pleasant three-storey resort-style 150sq m apartment with kitchens.
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| Evason Six Senses/ photo: hotel |
A short drive from here, sited on a breezy hill, is the Lord of the Rings hobbit-style Mangosteen Resort & Spa. This is an interesting getaway that distracts you sufficiently to forget that the nearest beach is a few kilometres away. Villas are round elfin dwellings with interesting touches. The Deluxe Villas have a Jacuzzi, open shower (covered by a thatch roof), smooth-pebble floors and a rattan reclining chair. Now that's a toilet. Take your time. Rooms have a sense of space and offer plenty of light and air. There's Cable TV, hair-drier, CD players in deluxe rooms, and a minibar. Beds are laid down in a slightly raised area on brick platforms. The resort offers fine views of hills and seascapes and a spa is available for that extra pampering. If you're lugging your laptop, the good news is, there's Wireless Internet access at the resort. Bit of a hike up the hill, but enjoy the resort.
Rounding Promthep Cape, Highway 4233 leads to The Evason Phuket & Six Senses Spa, set on a remote corner of Rawai. The approach to the main building up on a hillock is through a coconut grove. Everything is as you might expect of a Six Senses resort, except for one thing, the building. This is a bland, uninspiring ship-bridge structure that runs along the top of the rise. But take one step into the funky Star Trek "tube" that leads to the lobby, and all reservations start to melt. Check-in is conducted in four open-sided salas (pavilions) set in a central lotus pond and a "tram" trundles guests down to the restaurants, three swimming pools, the seaside, other accommodations and private luxury villas.
At the high-end Evason Pool Villa Suites enjoy 289sq m of leisure space, an outdoor shower, TV and home theatre, and lap pool with sea views. At the gorgeous Into The View restaurant with its tall white columns framing turquoise seas, the Six Senses touch becomes increasingly evident. On Rawai's Friendship Beach is the all-villa Vijitt Resort Phuket that launched in September 2008 with 92 villas including three family villas and 13 larger two-storey pool villas. The 18-acre resort fronts the beach where the luxury Vijitt Pool Villas are set.
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| Vijitt Resort/ photo: hotel |
One level down a Thai restaurant, Into Thai, is set in the sand under shady trees along a stone breakwater that leads to a stunning infinity pool almost blending into the ocean. The pool is small but oozes chic with great 180-degree views. Most swimmers just take pictures and pose. A boat is on hand to ferry guests to a private beach on a nearby island. The Six Senses Spa, spread over three floors, is a major attraction with an array of signature treatments and a Just Kids club for five-to-twelve-year-olds keeps tiny tykes occupied with adventure games and even sleepovers. This leaves parents free to check out the two saunas and two steam rooms. Romantics can head to the 115sq m Honeymoon Suite on Bon Island complete with its own DVD home theatre. Who needs Viagra? Closer to Phuket Town an option is The Residence by Richmond, with two to four-bedroom villas starting at 311sq m, each with private swimming pool, rooftop sala, satellite TV, and the usual mod-cons. There's a parking garage with each unit.
Cape Panwa resorts and hotels, Koh Racha Island
The Radisson Plaza Resort Phuket Panwa Beach offers a family-friendly getaway in the far south with three free-form pools, a climbing wall, and a Kid's Club. Expect a useful mix of 211 rooms, suites and pool villas done up in modern Thai decor, a fitness centre and spa. The Radisson - pitching to be a more than useful Phuket conference hotel - will also offer extensive meetings facilities with the usual arsenal of hi-tech equipment and a ballroom that can handle up to 170 persons.
Cape Panwa Hotel, a much older property at the far end of hard-to-find Highway 4129 is at the other end of the south. It's the sort of place you'd expect to find in an American '60s TV romance. Lots of activities and the occasional celebrity. There’s free WiFi in public areas and the conference rooms. A tramcar ferries guests to the beach and the charming Sino-Portuguese wooden all-white Panwa House serving Thai. Much of the shoreline has coral and stone underlay so watch for it at low tide. Sample a Thai massage on the beach, hop onto a Cape Panwa cruise boat, or work out at tennis. Around the hill is the Cape Panwa Hotel-managed The Bay Hotel, a clean, basic, salmon-beige budget option whose guests can share and sign for facilities at the larger resort.
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| Sri Panwa villa / photo: hotel |
Also in the Cape Panwa area is The Panwaburi (once flirting with Conrad). The development includes around 40 hotel rooms along with 12 well appointed Beach Villas and 27 Sea View Villas. Need a massage? There's an Angsana Spa on the site. The Sri Panwa is a high end escape. now with its very own Sai Spa & Wellness for holistic pampering. The family-owned estate features villas with contemporary decor and Thai furnishings. Watch a movie on surround sound or simply hit the play button on a hotel iPod. Expect a private beach (part of it rocky and pebbled), swimming pool, beach club, tennis court, gym and steam room. Kenny G has stayed here. If it's good enough for him, well...
Just off Phuket is the idyllic island hideaway, The Racha, on Koh Racha Yai. Head out by speedboat to explore this hedonistic and stylish playground. Good sand, breezy, open layout and good facilities including a spa.
Find your spot, turn off that mobile phone and, hey, what’s that pink feather boa doing in my soup?
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