Starwood Lurker

But, breakfast and evening cocktails aren't Platinum benefits.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Online Guest Feedback Coordinator
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]

bobo809

To answer my own question. I checked in at LM Phuket Beach Resort two days ago. Breakfast was not offered by the check-in staff automatically, but I asked for it. She consulted with another reception and came back to offer us the breakfast. Talked with the manager and he told us the hotel was quite busy at 87% occupancy. I was given a pool view room, a 1-cat upgrade from the garden view room I booked. I told him that's not much for an upgrade. He apologized for not being able to give me a better room, but offered breakfast to my kids as well. When I arrived in the room, I found a gift box inside the room with two polo shirts and tote bag bearing the hotel's name and logo. That was very nice and I'm sure it was because of my plat status. I really appreciated that. The beach was very nice, but can't swim because of rough sea. The breakfast was only ok. There's really no food with Thai flavor. It's all western style except two or three asian (dim sum) items. If you are hoping for local food, you'll be disappointed. We got a complimentary fruit plate with several varieties of tropical food in the room. The fruits were awsome. It was replenished the second day.

People had complained about poor room conditions and rude staff, occupied lounge chairs, etc. I have not experienced them. The only issue was ants in my room (maybe due to fruit plate). The ants were really small and didn't bother us. My kids actually found them amusing. The pools were great for the kids.

It's a great hotel for family. Location is near Patong beach. I paid US$100 using SPG50 rate and one nite using 7k pts. It's a good value.

Reefdiver

I have a paid JR Suite stay coming up, any chance of a higher room upgrade?

yang1980

Just came back from this hotel. It is a bit old hotel but beach front is great and sea water is clean. The only drawback is away from town. You will have to pay 150 to 200 Baht to and back from nearest town.

itsaboutthejourney

Funny, I just returned from there too.

Overall very good stay: this property does not seem to be patronized by a lot of Americans (a good thing depending on your perspective).

This is a mid-level resort property, which means it's secluded from the action of Patong, but close enough via a quick tuk tuk or shuttle. It also means it's much more upscale than the budget inn's that seem to proliferate in Patong, while not so stuffy or expensive like the four-star resorts further away.

As a Plat, I was not upgraded to a suite, but given top floor deluxe room (best view). Checkin was well presented, including juice, cold towels, choice of Plat amenity and note from GM offering complementary breakfast. Box with tote bag and polo shirts was delivered to room as well as a bottle of wine. Bowl of Fruit in room seems to be standard for all guests.

Advice: ask to confirm your rate at check-in, especially if there are more than 2 adults in your party! I did not, and had to sort out a dispute upon checkout. (The GM got involved and was more than gracious) Halfway around the world, I found the language of to be SPG well spoken at this property, coordination with Starwood's reservations not so much.

Breakfast: because the hotel is pretty secluded, I suggest breakfast at the hotel. I was lucky to have it compd, but at 580 BHT (appx $19) it's not unreasonable. Two restaurants open for breakfast with a various buffet stations, with the main over-the pool restaurant having several stations, including a few dim sum items, 1 Thai dish, plus the usual Western offerings: eggs to order, pancakes, cereals, baked goods, and for the UK folks: baked beans There were also a few salad items, cheeses and cold cut meats. Coffee, tea and juices are included, fancier drinks like espresso/cappuccino are extra. The best part of breakfast is the people watching: this resort seemed to be a mix of Russians, Aussies, Japanese & Brits with a few French and Americans in the mix.

The focal point is the pool and beach, where we found easy to secure a chair as long as you laid down a towel & book as your were heading to breakfast. The hotel runs several bars and food options in the area between the pool and beach. We did pizza one day and the grill buffet another. It's more expensive than options in town, but food was high quality, great service and of course right on the beach.

We liked that the hotel seems to have allowed a few businesses to set-up on the beach: a casual bar that beer, water & cold fruit, jet-ski and other water equipment and the massage folks. The hotel had a note in the room saying these businesses were not controlled by the hotel and to use caution, but it seems the hotel has some sort of control as they all seemed safe, not too pestering and charged posted prices.

Location: for mega-tacky touristy things & nightlife head to Patong via the hotel's shuttle (100 Baht) or for a slower pace and area with nice restaurants and shops head south to Karon, each about a 5 min ride. The hotel taxi charged a flat 380 BHT, but if a tuk tuk or other taxi happens to be dropping off pax, flag them down for a better rate. From HKT airport, we used one of the official airport taxi services for 650 BHT, on the return we used the hotel's car service at 1,200 BHT.

Tips: about 1 block up the hotel's private road are a few businesses: 2 tailors, 2 massage shops, 1 travel agent, a general store and 1 restaurant. The hotel gave us unlimited bottled water, but we used the general store for snacks. The restaurant (say hi to Mr. Kenny) was very good and nice break from the hotel food.

I used the hotel's tailor to have a suit made and was impressed with the quality of the tailoring and service. Of course there are tons of tailors in Phuket offering much better deals (but some tacky stuff in the windows), and liked being able to do my 3 fittings on the property.

Would I return: yes! Thanks to this thread, I managed my expectations about upgrades and the hotel being a little dated. But I enjoyed the atmosphere, graciousness and helpfulness of the staff found the GM very quick to help with a billing dispute. If you need four star or a 100% Americanized atmosphere, go elsewhere. This property offers a semi- upscale, casual atmosphere and is not overpriced like so many resorts can be.

bgdc

We stayed at the Phuket Beach Le Meridien for 4 nights in early November. Considering the price, service, food, accommodations and inconvenience, I would not recommend this hotel to anyone.

We had "deluxe" ocean view room on the 6th floor. The only thing deluxe about it would appear to be the price. Our curtains were smeared with a red substance that might have been blood but we didn't touch to find out. The sheets were dirty, stained and apparently unchanged. Our AC unit had two levels - blowing full blast or ceasing to operate. The cleaning staff seemed disinclined to remove used glasses and replace them with new cups. The bed, while not as horrific as those found in Sheraton Krabi (a pit of epic proportions), felt like a piece of plywood with some foam taped to the top.

With the resort so far removed from any town, you are forced to use the hotels shuttles or car service. So if you want a decent meal you can drop $20 total for a round trip to Karon or Kata. Otherwise, you're stuck in the hotel eating highly overpriced food that's decent but not nearly on the level of anything at say Mom Tri's restaurants. I guess the remote nature of the resort sort of forces visitors to determine if it's worthwhile to pay a king's ransom to leave or pay a king's ransom to eat at the hotel. We paid more for a dinner at the resort than we did at Mom Tri's boathouse restaurant (one of Phukets best restaurants)...there's something so very wrong about that.

Room service has a minimum order of almost $20. And that includes their silly 10% gratuity too. So really there's no way to get a decent, reasonably priced Thai meal at the "resort." Seeing 350+ baht for even the most basic Thai dish, made my stomach churn. How could we find an entire meal at May Kadee in Bangkok for under 250 baht (two people, two dishes, shakes, dessert, water) but this places charges more than that for just a fried rice that's half as good? Don't even get me started on their joke breakfast options - pay obscene amounts to eat at a buffet ($20 in Thailand for a buffet is ludicrous) or order in your room. We opted for the room service by our third morning as we saw zero value in paying $40+ to stand in lines for food.

Service jumped from good to appalling. The staff at times seemed on top of things and at other times they couldn't find their butt with a map, picture and mirror. The staff couldn't find our reso for hours - even though we booked through SPG over-the-phone and had a confirmation number. Heck, they even had us down for an airport pickup, but couldn't find our booked nights. Flipside, when we asked for help with resos at various restaurants, they were quite helpful.

The only extremely positive thing about the location - they have a great Scuba diving company located right on the grounds. Sea Fun was exceptional the days we used them for diving and they stood out as the absolute best experience during our stay at Le Meridien. Mom Tri's runs a close second for our entire Phuket trip.

Lastly, the place is absolutely over-run with kids. Egad, their are children everywhere. This wasn't as bad as Ao Nang (what happened to the gorgeous, secluded, fun beach I visited for weeks in 1999?!) but this place is definitely a hot destination for european families.

Anyway, Le Meridien seemed run down, overpriced, too-remote and really not worthy of being called a 4 star resort. I wouldn't stay there again if the price were half as much.

itsaboutthejourney

so far removed? Really? The shuttle was 100 BHT (about $3 USD) and took less than 5 mins to Patong, a city that I wouldn't want to be any closer to that the Le Meridien. To the South, our average taxi ride to Karon was 5-10 mins. Remember the hotel has the word "resort" in it's name, so I hope you weren't expecting an in-city hotel? At the same time the hotel has it's own secluded beach "relax bay" to itself, providing a rare beach on Phuket that's not overrun with tourists, hawkers, etc.

Mama Tri's had so many locations (let alone billboards and side businesses) that we avoided it like the plague.

Just outside the hotel's gate was a very inexpensive, but tasty local restaurant that's impossible to miss. If the hotel was holding you "hostage" why didn't you walk over there?

bgdc

Patong is essentially Ensenada but with Thai food. Seriously, if I wanted a broken down, crappy beach community, I could drive into Mexico.

Kata and Karon are well over 10 minutes and the ride each direction is at least 300 baht (about $10 - it's actually 400 using the car service). So to go to dinner after a day of scuba diving we'd blow $20 just on transportation. The meals in Karon/Kata were fine but the hassle of getting a car and getting into town just wasn't something we enjoyed.

I believed a friend who told me the place was great. She and I have very different ideas of a good hotel or resort. Being in the middle of nowhere with little kids everywhere and charged excessively for mediocre food is not my idea of a good time. I've spent months in Thailand and I've never felt so economically abused as my regretful time at the Le Meridien (Sheraton Krabi comes close). $20 for a breakfast buffet in Thailand?

Shrug. It was a beach and it was overrun with little kids. For what we wanted, Le Meridien wasn't very nice or very efficient.


Mom Tri's Boathouse was sensational. Easily the best meal we had in Phuket and possibly in Thailand.

I know the little shop you speak of; they did my laundry for 30 baht a kilo. Overall, Phuket was just one horrific tourist trap and Le Meridien exemplified everything we disliked about the island: loud, overpriced, inefficient, run-down. Only the scuba diving made that portion of the trip worthwhile. Even then we could opt for Phi Phi next time and at least enjoy shorter boat rides for great diving.

SPG's offerings in southern Thailand, in my eyes, leave a lot to be desired.

irmster

I have stayed several times at this hotel and I have to say I disagree with virtually everything you have said. The rooms are clean and comfortable, the service decent, the location great and the beach excellent. I've always enjoyed my stays there. As for your comments about the place being remote - that is just not true.

I do agree the food is over-priced though

mario33

I have not stayed at the LM Phuket but I know Phuket pretty well.

I cant comment about the rooms but the location is almost perfect. One of the very few resorts in Phuket with its own "private" beach (many resorts in Phuket are not even beach front), secluded but only 5min to Patong or Karon.

Transport in Phuket is always a pain (except for the airport limo which only runs trips to/from HKT) but I note that the resort has their own shuttle to Patong for BHT100 per person. I dont like to stay in Patong but I dont see it as such a big deal going there for dinner.

USD15-20 for breakfast is the norm these days for 4-5 star hotels and resorts in SE Asia which is why I always appreciate Hilton's free breakfast. If you were travelling as a couple, you should have subscribed for the Starwood Privilege card which would have discounted all your meals by 50% in Phuket and Krabi.

Since your trip to Phuket took place in early November and you clearly dislike noisy kids, I am surprised you chose the LM instead of LRM Phuket Yacht Club which is clearly geared towards couples though you may find the smoking-europeans to be annoying. The LRM Phuket Yacht Club however is no lonnger part of Starwood after 30th November 2007.

And before I forget, welcome to FT

itsaboutthejourney

well said, I concur with everything. And compared to Europe or USA the food isn't that overpriced for a Starwood resort. For Thailand yes, it's pricey but it was high quality and the best food handling practices of any place I've seen in Thailand.

SNA1K

I just finished a stay at this property and agree as well...we would return in a second. For info on taxi rides: walk out of the main gate and there are plenty of taxis waiting by the little minimart. A ride in an air conditioned taxi to either Patong or Karon is only 100 baht.

RobbertS

Finally chose my hotel in Phuket and booked a Junior Suite in the Le Meridien Phuket.

Does anyone know if there are any chances of getting upgraded to an even bigger suite, as Platinum SPG? Or otherwise maybe some free brekafast offer at this hotel?

itsaboutthejourney

I would not plan on the upgrade, so if it does happen it's a nice unexpected surprise. Do expect buffet breakfast daily as an SPG Plat. You should get a bottle of wine, fruit and unlimited water too. Maybe even a polo shirt with the hotel logo.

If any problems arise, the GM is onsite and very helpful. All staff are helpful, but sometimes not aware of the finer details of SPG, Cash & points, etc.

Most importantly, enjoy the hotel and beach.

SNA1K

A quick note on the breakfast: As a Plat you are entitled to take your breakfast at the Portofino as opposed to the main buffet setup. Breakfast there is a smallish buffet and a decent little menu where things are made to order. Bottom line, there is more variety in the normal buffet, but things are fresher and tastier in the Portofino.