Asia - Beach stay en route from Siem Reap to SIN

My wife and I will be traveling from Siam Reap to SIN in January and will have several days to rest en route. We would like to stay at a nice beach resort or hotel, and so far I have come up with Phuket, Phi Phi, and Langkawi. At most we would be able to stay two nights before transiting to SIN for our return to the States. We would leave Siem Reap in the morning of the 17 and we fly out of SIN on the morning of the 20. Phuket is attractive because of the ability to Priceline the 5* JW Marriott and the LCC's that run between it and SIN, but we are open to any other advice. We are budget travelers that like class (and Priceline!) and I wouldn't mind spending up to $200 or so a night on a nice place. Any suggestions?

We stayed in Phuket this summer for 4 nights, in addition to 3 nights in KUL and 8 in S'Pore. First time to Phuket, although we had been to BKK before. Haven't been to the other possibilities that you mention, but we enjoyed HKT.

Great food, seafood and Tom Yum soup everywhere. Drinks very cheap outside the hotels.

There are relatively few car taxi's to get around, the more prevalent mode is by the so-called tuk-tuk. Agree on the price before you get in.

Except for the new shopping center in Patong Beach which is worth perhaps a half day IMHO and also has a smallish Carrefour, I wouldn't ay it ranks in the top 5 Asian shopping destinations. There are other shopping opportunities on the way to Phuket town also.

I would recommend Phuket for a short stay such as yours, but you should research your other possibilities as well.

I've probably left out a bunch of things, but there are lots of Phuket resources out there.

Thanks for that great info, Unagi1! FT is a super valuable resource. I have been to BKK and SIN before and loved it and am excited to take my wife along this time.

Nice weather in January, but dont expect "bargains" during high season ;)

The hassle of getting to Phi Phi is probably not worth it for a two-night stay. Phuket or maybe Hua Hin/Cha Am is a better option.

I haven't seen the JW in Phuket on PL for quite a while. I found Karon to be quite nice with several decently priced hotels.

Have you considered Sentosa Island off SIN? It's not very cheap though IIRC.

Or skip the beach and go to KUL. The Hilton there is great and it has a nice pool if you feel like relaxing.

Thanks for the suggestions, Cathaana. I was wondering if the JW would make it back onto Priceline or not... Biddingfortravel doesn't seem to be showing it lately. Would $225 be a decent rate for the JW if I can't get it on Priceline?

Another option that I was thinking about was Bintan or Batam for the few days before flying out of SIN. Any recommendations for either of these two?

I'll also check out properties on Hua Hin/Cha Am

I loved it but $225 seems a bit steep. But then I used to get it for $55-75 on PL. If you have a Premium Pound/Bonus Buck, you should seriously think about it.
It's also fairly close to the airport (10-15 minutes) which would make getting there and back easier for you. Karon/Patong can easily be an hour's drive.

I've read various things about the beaches at the JW.... Are they swimmable, or should we stick to the pool? That is great about the short trip to the airport!

The beach is quite steep and I never found it comfortable to lie or walk there. As for swimming, it seems like there is a red flag most of the time. Pick somewhere else if you need a beach. For me relaxing at the pool is enough, as long as I hear the sea.