ftrichard

Yay! I found a new Bonvoy hotel and can start a [Master Thread] for it.

Searching for one night in Patong - it's enough - at the start of April, I was intending booking the newish Four Points but then... what's this? A newly flagged Bonvoy hotel at the other end of Patong Beach which is THB2000 cheaper than the FP. Really, brand new opened. There's only one review on TripAdvisor from guests who stayed over Christmas and one review on the Marriott web site. Seems it's just opened in time for Christmas.

Investigation reveals this is the refurbished Patong Merlin Hotel and the two reviews do report refurbished rooms and common areas and new bedsheets etc. Google Streetview shows images of the refurbishment in progress at the front and the back and it seems to have been closed since around August for the building works to take place. The pics look fun with a nice curved waterslide that I will utilise in the morning before we move on to our main event which is five nights excellent all-inclusive at the Marriott Merlin Beach where we will eat and drink like pigs.

We're due to arrive mid-evening and by April I'm sure others will have already stayed here and can report what the breakfast is like and whether there's any significant elite benefits. I liked the FP when I stayed a year ago and they gave me some free drinks and extra points in lieu of a meaningful upgrade but its prices are trending higher for what it is so let's see how this new Courtyard rates in comparison.

DallasEsq

Is this property on the beach?

NoY

Yes, its directly across the road from (& faces the beach) so about as beachfront as it gets it Patong.

NoY

I drove past this a few weeks back & it was under renovation. I intended to post about it but forgot! You're welcome, LOL.

ftrichard

Like the FP, and all the other resorts in Patong, there’s a road between the resort and the beach. For the town of Patong, you could say that it’s on the beach but not in the way the resorts out of the island’s towns are directly on their own beaches. You will see from Streetview that this is at the south end of the beach just by the mini roundabout and probably roughly the same walking distance to the night festivities of Bangla Road as the FP but in the opposite direction.

ftrichard

It seems few other Flyertalkers have stayed here since we noticed Patong was getting a new Bonvoy hotel earlier this year. The main question, I guess, is whether it is better or worse than the Four Points at the opposite end of Patong beach. Rates seem to be similar which makes sense and - to cut to the chase - probably the FP wins because of its slightly better elite recognition (a few drinks) but there’s little in it so just choose your end of Patong beach if you’re in the ~THB5000 price range. The CY is next door to Planet Hollywood and we made the terrible mistake of eating there because we arrived much later than we intended and just wanted some food, any food, and a stiff drink after a dangerous Klook transfer from the airport. Really, these franchises of Western brands seem incapable of serving adequate food despite the inflated prices. No matter.

Until the hotel closed for a comprehensive refurb, the CY used to be a Merlin resort and its legacy is primarily demonstrated by the small rooms. The main entrance and reception is currently at what will ultimately be the back of the hotel away from the beach. Most of it looks like a new hotel. They’ve even done a good job pressure cleaning the concrete surrounds of the pool. Quite a few friendly stray cats live here. It looks like there are four blocks of rooms. The two blocks away from the beach and nearest the back entrance are finished and the rooms are for all intents and purposes brand new. You can just about see through the windows of another block and the rooms are stripped back to concrete. The main entrance and foyer that will eventually face the beach is all behind metal fences and the construction here is nowhere near completion. Our room was on the second floor. It’s a small room similar in size to the FP but with a balcony overlooking the pool. Everything looked new but the soundproofing to the corridor was poor and we were woken up a few times during the night by voices. The bathroom provided the full range of amenity kits including toothbrushes and shaving kit. We were given a room with a connecting door which is always annoying but the sounds at night thankfully didn’t come from random thrashing around there. We were only here one night on our way to Merlin Beach and the room was comfortable enough but felt it would be a little cramped for longer stays or maybe we’re just used to larger rooms in general because both the FP and CY have similarly small rooms from their legacy no-brand days.

The staff upon arrival and at reception were super friendly. We were thanked for being Titanium, proactively offered 4pm check out, and we chose breakfast over the 500 points welcome gift (or some small resort credit). There was no mention of a room upgrade and indeed it didn’t appear we got one. We’d been notified on the Bonvoy app that our room was ready in the afternoon though we didn’t arrive until about 9pm. Personally, I wouldn’t have put us in a room with a connecting door as I would consider this to be about as entry level as you can get but maybe all the rooms have connecting doors. Who knows. Little to choose between this room and the equivalent at the FP except this has a small balcony. An elite welcome amenity and letter awaited us (pots of dried papaya, peanuts, and some infusion). At the FP I remember getting two welcome cocktails and an additional amenity (points IIRC) because they couldn’t upgrade us. Breakfast at the CY was fine for us but I remember it being a bit more extensive at the FP.

So, little to choose between these hotels with the FP having a slight edge for its elite recognition but that’s only a distinction if the rates are about the same. We checked out at 12pm after being notified on the Bonvoy app that we’d been upgraded already to an Ocean Suite at the Marriott Merlin Beach a few minutes away. This was the real start to our holiday.