TommyC80

My fiancee and I are considering this property for part of our honeymoon in Thailand. I think the resort has been open for about a year now and early reviews were hit and miss. I've seen a few decent trip reports on tripadvisor lately, but am curious what you guys think as well.

Also, if you are gold or platinum...Did you receive an upgrade? We were thinking of booking either the Beach Villa (with hopes of an upgrade to the Reserve Pool Villa)...or just getting the Reserve Pool Villa outright.

I assume if we booked a Reserve Pool Villa, the best we could hope for is an upgrade to a Sea View version, but if any of you have been upgraded to the Royal Beach Villa please let me know.

ainternational

Just found this thread. Not sure if you booked something already. I was there about a year ago and it was truly great. PM or post all your questions and I'm glad to respond. I ended up getting a Reserve Pool Villa for the price of a lesser villa, confirmed at booking due to a special promo they had. But I bet a good Virtuoso agent could possibly work something similar. I assume RC has Virtuoso benefits.

Service was as good as my Aman experiences. Although I should say the resort was not at all crowded during my stay. The architecture and design is truly stunning. The beach less so.

MikeFromTokyo

I really enjoyed my stay in Reserve Villa #20, which is a Reserve Villa with Sea View. On my next stay however, I will be staying in a Royal Beach Villa as these offer the most privacy and very nice views of the Hong islands.

The butler service was excellent and very discrete. I often find butler service intrusive, but at Phulay Bay it was just right. The restaurants Sri Trang and Lae Lay Pavilion are stunning and the food throughout the resort is excellent. The Chomtawan bar is a wonderful place for drinks at sunset or later in the evening.

While I am not a fan of many Ritz-Carlton properties, I really do like the select few that get it right. Phulay Bay, in my opinion, is Ritz-Carlton at its absolute finest.

ainternational

Agreed on all points. It's a shame there aren't more RC's like this.

5khours

Thinking about going next week. Headed to Amanpulo now and haven't decided between RC, Amanpuri or FS ChaingRai. Any additional thoughts would be great.

FlyerEC

Can you split between Amanpuri & RC? How many days do you have?
Have a wonderful time !

MikeFromTokyo

Since you are already visiting the ultimate beach Amanresort, I would suggest either FS Golden Triangle or Phulay Bay. Three to four nights is enough to enjoy either property.

Time permitting, I would combine both resorts, starting at FS Golden Triangle and then flying down to Krabi.

THEJOCK

Hi All
We will head to Krabi in August for 6 nights. It will be my wife, 2.5 year old and I. I've booked the Phulay Bay but am still a little torn between the PB and Rayavadee. From what I can tell, neither are really in great proximity to be able to walk to restaurants / shops but both are great resorts. It seems like Rayavadee has a an overall better loacation and great beaches, though they can get filled with tourists, but the rooms are a little dated and not so many kids activities. Like PB, it would also be tricky to get to Ao Nang if we wanted to go. For PB, it seems the resort, rooms and service is phenominal - truly memorable. It also has a kids club now. It doesnt have a great beach and is quite isolated though there are restaurants in other resorts near by. Ive thought about splitting between the two, but with a little one its a bit of a hassle and upsets the routine to truly relax. Has anyone been to both, got any tips on this one?
Thanks

ainternational

Welcome to FT!

I've only been to PB and your comments are right on. The beach is pretty sad, but the grounds, the pool and the villas are phenomenal. The butler service is truly inspiring. Unlike any other RC in the world, and more like an Aman. In some ways, better than my Aman experiences in fact.

Which room did you book?

I'm not sure that switching would be that big of a deal with a child. How many nights total are you in Krabi?

THEJOCK

Thanks for the feedback. We will stay for 6 nights in a resort Pavillion, seems to be the safest option with a toddler. Apparently there's a decent restaurant at tubkaak resort. Do you know if you can walk there from pb?

MikeFromTokyo

I have been to both resorts and I would strongly recommend that you either stay only at Rayavadee, or combine a short stay at Phulay with a longer stay at Rayavadee. As much as I love Phulay Bay, I would advise against staying there for the entire trip.

If you choose to split, given six nights I would choose to spend two nights at Phulay Bay and four nights at Rayavadee, in that order. If you can extend the stay beyond six nights, 2/3 nights at Phulay Bay followed 4/5+ nights at Rayavadee would be even better.

If you combine both resorts I would suggest something like the following itinerary:

Phulay Bay 2/3 nights - Phulay Bay is a lovely resort but you don't need to stay there for more than three nights to enjoy it. The food at Phulay Bay is excellent, so I would advise having dinner there every night, leaving the resort is not practical.

At Phulay Bay make sure to have at least one dinner at both Sri Trang and Lae Lay Pavilion. If you stay longer you could have a private barbeque dinner or eat at Jampoon restaurant. The food throughout the resort is excellent.

From Phulay Bay, I would suggest taking day trips to attractions such as the Emerald Pool (a natural swimming hole fed by a beautiful waterfall), as well as perhaps elephant trecking, and some sightseeing at local temples.


Then stay at least four nights at Rayavadee, or even longer if you can. Rayavadee has by far the best location in Krabi, and is stunningly beautiful. While at Rayavadee, you can enjoy dinners at Krua Phranang, a barbeque dinner at The Grotto, Phranang Beach, Spa treatments, tennis, the swimming pool, and speedboat excursions in the Andaman sea to loacations like Koh Phi Phi.

If you do choose to stay only at one Resort, I would absolutely recommend Rayavadee for its location, natural beauty, and all of the choices of activities available. Although I have combined both resorts in the past, Rayavadee is always the highlight of the trip because of its beauty and the ease of taking excursions in the beautiful Andaman sea.

When I last combined Phulay Bay and Rayaadee, I stayed for three nights at Phulay Bay and seven nights at Rayavadee. I also have a trip coming up and will be spending a week at Rayavadee, and this time combining with four nights at Soneva Kiri on Koh Kood.

wolf539

I travel to that area of Thailand at least twice a year, and concur with MikeFromTokyo's assessment. In fact, I'll go further and recommend that you stay only at Rayavadee if the only other choice is PB.

While I don't know what the rules are for children, have you considered Trisara? It's not too far from Krabi...

MikeFromTokyo

Either Trisara or Rayavadee could arrange a speedboat transfer between the two, with some stops for snorkeling and a picnic lunch on the way.

I would like to clarify my above comments a bit - I think that Rayavadee should be the focus on this trip. If the OP does not want to move around, six nights at Rayavadee would be fine (I could stay for ten). The trips to the emerald pool, temples, and elephant trecking can easily be done from Rayavadee as well.

If this trip can be extended to seven or eight nights combining both resorts works even better. Ideally, I think Rayavadee needs 5+ nights.

schriste

I spent 5 nights at Rayavadee and never did even a single excursion and could have still stayed for 5 more. It is probably the most relaxing beautiful spot I have ever been to. I especially loved the fact you can swim in the warm water while being in the shade from the looming cliffs… no need to slather up.

pvdecastro

Rayavadee brings great memories... I would stay for 5 to 7 nights without second thoughts