Thailand - phuket hotels

can anyone give me advise on good hotels for kids in phuket(age 4,7,10)
not too pricey ones please!

With three little kids I'd highly avoid staying in Patong. With that in mind, we stayed last month in Surin at the Courtyard at Surin Beach and loved it. Great family atmosphere and plenty to do. Big pool, with a smaller kiddie pool, two water slides and just a nice, relaxed atmosphere. Fridge in every room. The breakfast is perhaps one of the best we had in Thailand. 2 for 1 happy hour. It's not right on the beach, but right across the street from it. Surin beach is very nice and clean (unlike Patong) and lots of places there to eat, relax, shop or even get a massage. There are a few things within walking distance in town (a couple of decent restaurants, a family mart and a 7-11, shops, etc...). However, if you're looking for a more vibrant atmosphere, it'll definitely require a taxi ride but not the worst thing.

thanks-i was thinking of the holiday inn but i think this is right in patong-your suggestion sounds better for us-anything else away from patong recommended?
thanks

Bryan- have taken the kids many times to phuket - patong is fine if you are in a resort- also means adults get to go shopping etc and come back for naps easily and without the hassle of negotiating with tuk tuk drivers everytime- in patong Holiday Inn and Courtyard Marriott are both great with kid friendly pool(s) and kids clubs...in Karon the hilton is great too...

can anyone give me advise on good hotels for kids in phuket(age 4,7,10)
not too pricey ones please!

saw a special at J W Marriott at Phuket on Travel Zoo.....

$89per night, with add ons.

There is another new Holiday Inn at Mai Khao beach that looks good (not stayed, but it's possible there is a review on the Holiday Inn forum).

Agree that Surin is a good choice for a resort when you have children. There is a good range of hotels in that bay of different price ranges and levels of poshness. Is poshness a word?!

Depends if you want to stay in a hotel-resort (there are so many lovely ones & your choice will depend on your budget) and not go out which is often the most relaxing with children, or if you prefer to be in somewhere more vibrant and go out at night to eat out etc...

thanks for the tips-would like to stay in a hot/resort but want to go out for meals local style,dont need any night life-a nice beach not to busy would be best
hol inn at patong beach seems very crowded?

Patong is just nasty in general. Don't take children there if you can avoid it!

Surin would be a better choice - enough restaurants and some decent beach with less exposure to Patong's touts, dirt & noise, overcrowded beach, tacky shops selling fakes, s&x workers & s&x bars and all the lower class tourists that go with out ;)

thanks-i suppose im looking for somewhere with a nice quietish beach for kids,
and enough stuff at hotel -pool etc to keep entertained,as well as being relatively close to local restaurants and poss other attractions(what do people recommend for kids apart from beach?elephant rides?)
thanks

For kids

http://www.gibbonproject.org/content/about_us.htm
hire a car, it's easy to drive in Phuket

The elephants rides of course are attractive because every child loves elephants - however, they are really touristy & not natural at all. It's not trekking. The elephants are chained up. Be prepared for that.

Sea kayaking, if your children swim.

http://www.splashjunglewaterpark.com/ (that is up in the north of the island, actually just up the beach from the Holiday Inn Mai Khao, but there are not really dining out options nearby)

Go fishing? My mum loves that :)

The Phuket Aquarium is not bad and very good value. http://www.dmcr.go.th/phuketaquarium/?lang=en

Do they like cashew nuts? You can visit a (commercial) cashew nut factory to see how they are produced & try many flavours. A good place for half an hour if you are travelling between activities.

Try the blue ocean resort in the quieter side of Patong away from the hustle and bustle - yet within walking distance to the beach and restaurants. There is a mini mart downstairs and a couple of places to eat around the corner.

thanks
but isnt patong beach itself best avoided or is it still a good place for kids to play?

The beach at Patong is OK, but it's very busy. Rows of beach beds that you have to pay for, lots of beach vendors selling food and souvenirs, lots of jet skis and banana boats. Personally, if you are coming all the way to Thailand it seems a shame not to find a better quality beach for your children.
Google some pictures of Patong Beach versus Surin Beach and maybe Bangtao Beach.
Patong is not a nice place for children, but that is my opinion ;)

understood-i was thinking about avoiding patong beach but had hheard lots of good things about the holiday inn there.
at surin beach-what hotels do people recommend with good pool..
thanks

Courtyard by Marriott - my colleagues stayed there and said it was v pleasant although the rates vary wildly depending on your dates/season.

thanks for all the tips!
we are also thinking of phi phi-is it worth going and any advice on where to stay?

It's OK but accommodation is very very overpriced compared to what you get on Phuket main island. The little main village is very crowded and is on the backpacker route. Narrow lanes between accommodation, queues at restaurants, touts for bucket-drink bars...

There is accommodation on separate beaches, but then you either eat in the bungalow resort or you get a long tail boat to take you into the village for dinner - starts to add onto the price.

You could maybe do a day trip instead although Maya Bay, where they filmed The Beach, can be packed full of dozens of speedboats full of tourists from certain countries playing loud music on a bad day, plus floating rubbish. I am not trying to spoil it for you, because it can be fun & the islands themselves remain beautiful limestone karst monuments, but it's not the pristine magical environment maybe it was in the old days.
Like I said before, a sea kayaking day trip in Phang Nga bay is a possibility depending on the water confidence of your children.

We're staying at the Grand Sunset Hotel in Karon for $33/night. It's a new hotel, and it has received great reviews and for the price you can't beat it. In Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, and Bali we are staying at all 5 star properties, but we decided to take it easy here. Supposedly Karon Beach is only a few blocks away, and there are a ton of local restaurants just outside of the hotel. They do have a two bedroom suite available, but I'm not sure the cost. I'm sure it's very reasonable.

http://grandsunsethotel.com/rooms.htm

Here are the tripadvisor reviews:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g1215780-d2269519-Reviews-Grand_Sunset_Hotel-Karon_Phuket.html

I hope that new hotel has no teething problems.

http://phuketwan.com/tourism/phuket-tourist-electrocuted-resort-rescuer-suffers-burns-15628/

I hope that new hotel has no teething problems.

http://phuketwan.com/tourism/phuket-tourist-electrocuted-resort-rescuer-suffers-burns-15628/

Eek, me too.

With a young family I'd recommend Karon or Kata rather than Patong. They are cheaper and quieter but still close enough to Patong to go for a day trip to see what the fuss is about. The beaches are also very good - but just be careful in the sea as they have notoriously dangerous tides.

was trying to get the courtyard surin beach but seems to be fully booked:mad::mad:

what to do
is the holiday inn patong beach really that bad?

You really should stay away from Patong. It is not a family environment. Kata is too hemmed in and claustrophobic for my taste. Karon is better but has a reputation for treacherous rips in the water so you'd be doing more time at pool than beach with those kids.

Surin doesn't have all that much available so if you can't find anything there, I recommend trying something at Bangtao Beach, or possibly Kamala. I normally stay at Bangtao--the northern part has the expensive hotels like the Banyan Tree and Laguna Resort properties, Sheraton, etc. But the central and southern part have more reasonable places. I've stayed at Amora before--it's older but still pretty decent. Lots of little beachside restaurants to have good seafood at reasonable prices, also some restaurants on the road. There's a Best Western and also some other places to stay, both in regular hotel rooms and little villas which could be good for a family.

I didn't catch when you were going, but once you get past end of March, rates generally go way down until November. Except for holidays like Songkran. Beach/water conditions can get too rough for safe swimming once you get into June, July, Aug, Sept especially. Pool time instead.

I also echo the recommendation to only do Phi Phi as a daytrip if you must go, but that the sea kayaking trips or bigger boats to Phang-Nga bay would be better.

thanks jiejie
we are going start of may..
i was thinking that if we were in a nice resort like hol in or jw marriott then patong would be ok but maybe not?
happy to go somewhere better for kids but was worried then too isolated with no food options/things to do available nearby
thanks for the tips

You really should stay away from Patong. It is not a family environment.

An outdated impression, at one time accurate. Patong has more to offer than debauchery and rip-offs. It has grown tremendously in the last few years, but the beach remains busy... not for everyone. Yes, it still has umpteen bars and discos that close as late as 6am, but the nightlife scene is mostly in one big nightlife zone, easily avoided.

Kata is too hemmed in and claustrophobic for my taste.

The 'original' Phuket beach resort spot, its condensed but still keeps the small beach community feel that other spots have forgotten or evolved from. It is still mighty popular though...

Karon is better but has a reputation for treacherous rips in the water so you'd be doing more time at pool than beach with those kids.

A great long straight beach, next to Kata, it has much less people (primarily Scandinavian) but, like Surin, gets deep quickly and is known for rip tide deaths, even among experienced swimmers. The community stretches giving the impression that each different business cluster is a bit of a walk from each other, and low seasons here can be quite quiet. Still a great beach, and away from the Party atmosphere.

Surin doesn't have all that much available...

Other than being a much shorter beach, and having a much less selection of amenities, Surin is a charming little place. A fair drive from most other parts of the island (closer to the airport and Talang/Laguna) but still without the isolated feel.

I also echo the recommendation to only do Phi Phi as a daytrip if you must go, but that the sea kayaking trips or bigger boats to Phang-Nga bay would be better.

Phi Phi day trips usually include swimming and beach time. Phang-Nga day trips have more to see, but no swimming or beach time. Two different flavours for two different experiences.

As for the Phi Phi day trip vs overnight. Phi Phi is lovely, and a very different feel than the rest of Thailand. If you just want to see the island, do some swimming, have lunch, 40 minutes on the beach, the day trip is enough. If you want to see a bit more, walk to the viewpoint, hire a longtail boat for half day, or even try the nighttime beach parties, then it may be a good experience. I don't like Phi Phi, or what they did to it... but two things are for sure... it is BEAUTIFUL and it meets the typical tourists expectations. decide for yourself.

www.yanuiseaview.com. Small 8 bungalows family run resort on Yanui beach see reviews and google earth . MrsTD n I enjoying sunset :cool:Now. Happy campers ^

thanks for all the tips!
we are also thinking of phi phi-is it worth going and any advice on where to stay?

My friend and I booked Phi Phi Hotel last time we stayed there. Excellent choice since its the first thing you see when the ferry docks, obviously walking distance, smack in the middle of all the little shops... has a pool, restaurant, etc. Easy to find, won't get lost and comfortable large rooms with a relatively modern/traditional design mix.

An outdated impression, at one time accurate.

Sorry sean, but unless "outdated" means things at Patong changed radically between 2011 and 2012, then I'm sticking to my guns on this one. There are simply much better beaches for families to stay on Phuket.

My comment on Surin about "not much available" had to do with accommodation. Surin simply doesn't have the number of hotel rooms that other beaches have.

thanks jiejie
we are going start of may..
i was thinking that if we were in a nice resort like hol in or jw marriott then patong would be ok but maybe not?
happy to go somewhere better for kids but was worried then too isolated with no food options/things to do available nearby
thanks for the tips What kind of resort or budget are you looking at? We arrive May 1st, but its the just the wife and I and all we needed was a place to sleep as we will be out and about for 3 days.

Just taking a quick look on hotels.com, you can have a 2 bedroom suite for $75/night on Karon beach.

http://www.hotels.com/hotel/details.html?pa=2&pn=1&ps=2&tab=description&destinationId=1308721&searchDestination=Phuket&hotelId=213870&arrivalDate=05-01-12&departureDate=05-06-12&children[0]=2&rooms[0].childrenAges[0]=8&rooms[0].childrenAges[1]=10&rooms[0].numberOfAdults=2&roomno=1&validate=false&previousDateful=false&reviewOrder=date_newest_first

Sorry sean, but unless "outdated" means things at Patong changed radically between 2011 and 2012, then I'm sticking to my guns on this one. There are simply much better beaches for families to stay on Phuket.

I agree completely. The 'outdated' comment is way off skew. I was there not too long ago (within 2012) and it's still a place to avoid, especially for families. Don't get me wrong, its got its clientele, like hardcore partiers, drinkers and generally people going to just go nuts. But if you're looking to relax on vacation, definitely not the spot to go and with a family...forget it. You can't 'avoid' those areas. They're everywhere.

do you think it is worth hiriing a car for phuket?
how much will a taxi cost from the airport down to kata beach or patong??

do you think it is worth hiriing a car for phuket?
how much will a taxi cost from the airport down to kata beach or patong??

You should carefully think if renting a car on Phuket is a good idea or not. For example:

Where are you going to park?
Parking in many areas of Phuket is a disaster, complied with the threat of damage by the locals if they determine you have parked in a space that they do not approve of. However many places do have free parking for their guests. It all depends on your individual needs.

As for the taxi fare to Patong or Kata, you should expect to pay 650-750THB for an airport car to these locations.

thanks to everyone for all the tips.
we have decided to stay in kata-any tips on what to do round here for kids?
thanks^