Lounged

We have booked flights for a week to Krabi & Phuket at end of May. We are 30 year old couple without kids. We love high class hotels without (too many) kids without feeling like a honeymoon resort where everybody sticks in their room at evening time. Often high end resort can feel too secluded for us. We love the design and the vibe of the W brand, with the quality of service of a Shangri-La and the rooms of a Banyan Tree to give an idea .

This will be our fourth visit to Thailand (after twice BKK & Koh Samui), but our first to this area. As we like to get many experiences we will stay in 3 max 4 different properties. The first two days will be to relax so we will go to the Rayavadee hotel. After that we go to Phuket.

I was always fascinated by the looks of the Twinpalms beach club, but apparently it has been closed down (but the former Nikki beach would continue?) ... So we are a bit unsure if we should proceed with TwinPalms. After that stay we are looking at The Shore at Katathani and Indigo Pearl. Anyone has some insights about these?

We would love to stay in some trendy places, where you can have good food & cocktails afterwards until late with nice people or going to decent clubs and not the Kuta/Pataya kind of going out.

Any insights will be more than appreciated!

MikeFromTokyo

I don't think a week is enough time to hop around from resort to resort, you should just pick one and enjoy it. A week is not a particulatly long stay at a resort, after all.

I am in your age group and love Rayavadee, so I would just stay there for the entire week and do some speadboat and land excursions.

Or, do the same in Phuket at one of the resorts there like Amanpuri or Trisara. That would be a good option if you want to be able to explore differnt parts of Phuket by car.

You can do the same speadboat excursions from either Phuket or Krabi.

Lounged

Thank you for your reply Mike and I can certainly understand your suggestion. It is however the way we always travel as it allows us to have as many different experiences as possible :-).

MikeFromTokyo

If you must split the stay, the way to do it is with speedboat transfers between Krabi and Phuket, flying into KBV and out of HKT.

It sounds like you might enjoy Sri Panwa in Phuket.

FlyerTalker37

The shore at Katatani is a great place but the beach is shared with customers of the Katatani, so you might be with kids depending on international school holiday. I was there years ago, they may have set up private area. Plus, I remember there were a lot young Asian couple and everytime I went to villa hotels, I only saw those couple at breakfast so it seems that it does not fit your requirement.
But it is an amazing place

FlyerEC

If you are still going to Krabi , perhaps try SS Ya Noi or RC PhulayBay

Even try Racha ..

For Phuket , Twin Palms does not belong in this forum .

Amanpuri or Trisara will be best

heb999

I have just spent a few days at the Rayavadee which was full of families. The swimming pool was like a creche and the restaurants were chaotic. I would not return because of the amount of children and the bad behaviour of some of them. The crowds of daytrippers and the noise of the boats arriving and departing on Phranang Beach was also a big minus for me.
We also stayed at the Layana (adults only) on Ko Lanta, which we much preferred to the Rayavadee.

MikeFromTokyo

I suspect school holidays and the Thai national Songkran holiday week might have caused the crowds.

I have been quite many times (but avoid peak season) and have never experienced crowds or had problems with children.

This resort tends to polarize opinion. I basically love the place, even though I have occasionally had service issues, which always get resolved but still should not even happen at a resort of this level.

It's a very traditionally managed Thai resort, with everything that entails. But, the location is unreal...

ung1

I'm going to hijack (sorry) this thread because I have a very similar question and need help deciding where to stay in Thailand.

The trip is 2 weeks in end July, starting off in Angkor Wat, then Singapore for a few days, followed by a week in Thailand (5 days beach, 2 days Bangkok). We've previously been to Phuket, Ko Samui, Ko Kradan and for this trip I'm considering Krabi (never been) or Phuket (more flights and resort options). I know the weather, statistically, is better in Ko Samui but I've been reading its all a toss up with regards to the weather and then why spend 3x on the flights, as long as it is possible to swim a little bit in the sea.

Requirements for a nice resort
- Hard product (room size and amenities, private and/or common pool, beach and view)

- Soft product (service, number of guests, avoid once a year American tourists on redemptions)

- Access (don't want to be trapped in the resort and would like the option to have some meals/ massages at local beachside "shacks")

I've previously been very happy for example at the

- IC DaNang (duplex villa with private pool and butler made for a great experience despite average beach and secluded location)
- Kupu Kupu Ko Phangnan (corner villa with private pool in a resort with less than a dozen villas - service not up to scratch but they tried really hard)
- Ko Kradan (fantastic beach, pool with great bar service, nice rooms - not really "luxury" and the small things were missing but still a memorable experience)

I'm considering the Ritz Carlton Phulay Bay (free minibar, butler, boat trips) and Rayavadee (better location probably) but both have received quite mixed reviews with regards to their location. EDIT: Also, the Conrad Ko Samui which I found at a similar price but no perks, more expensive flights, is a chain.

I also don't necessarily need to (or want or can) stay at the most expensive resorts (eg Aman, Trisara, FS) but value for money for a luxury experience is what I'm looking for.

Thanks in advance!

CanuckFlyHigh

I would go straight to Railay Beach (20 min boat ride from Krabi), one of my favorite places in the world. Rayavadee is your go to there.

chinmoylad

Conrad Koh Samui has nice rooms and stunning views but not much of a beach. I can help with perks there, though.

mumum17

Phulay Bay and Rayavadee. We split our time there last year. Both were wonderful. Railay Beach, location of Rayavadee was beautiful, though we did go when there were less crowds.
Actually, another option to get from Phuket (we stayed at Como Point Yamu - pool villa was very nice and this resort has a modern, earthy vibe to it) to Krabi is by land. We had Rayavadee pick us up from Como. The drive was effortless: they supplied snacks, drinks and WiFi in their hotel's vehicle. Two or so hours later (nice countryside views on the way) we were whisked to the island on their boat.

Cyan123

Twinpalms - the Catch Beach Club has closed down as well as everything else on Surin beach, plus no sun beds or umbrellas allowed. Hotel is still open and Catch has now moved to Bangtao, took over what used to be Bliss Beach Club, presume hotel will shuttle to it.

Nikki Beach club is now Dream Beach Club...the hotel itself is not close to the beach.

Have a look at Andara hotel in Kamala...there is now a Cafe Del Mar Beach Club there.
Keemala hotel is very unusual but not sure on service.

Banyan Tree is allowed sun beds on the beach in a semi-private area next to Angsana.

Also another option is Sarojin at Khao Lak, possibly no children but fairly quiet area.

The Nai Harn has now been refurbished, great beach, nice rooms and views but again service is typically Thai.

surftb15

I need some advice. I will be in this area right on Chinese New Year.
The Rosewood, which I wanted to stay, prices at 1k per night. A bit too much for Phucket.

I was thinking of Anantara Layan or Como Point Yamu (both around $750 a night for the room I want).
Has anyone had any experience at either of these?
Any other recommendations? I prefer to pay no more then $700 a night - 4 nights.

THEJOCK

We have been going to Point Yamu regularly since it opened, our most recent visit just a couple of months ago. The stay before the most recent visit was less spectacular, food standards had come off with change of chef and Beach club had become overrun with tourists. So our last visit could have gone either way, but fortunately it was really back to its best. With the new chef settled food was really good again, and the Beach club was excellent. No more tourists (due to issues with operators) and they now have their luxe boat to take you to the beach club rather than long tails. Need to be careful with room choice, I don’t like the rooms in the main building where you have to enter through the dungeon (lower corridors). Also some higher room categories e.g. verandah suite, the layout is not as appealing in my view as the bay suite for example, and therefore doesn’t warrant the extra money. In the main building I prefer the bay suite, bay pool suite or phang nga suite (one of the two in north wing). You can also go for a villa of course, only issue with these is buggy service can sometimes be very slow in busy periods (which it will be at CNY). We really enjoy Point yamu and find it to be a very relaxing resort that represents good value for money.