JW Marriott Phuket Review:

Overall/General/Staff/Activities

The grounds of the resort are unbelievable. Very meticulous in nature, and very well blended together. There are many pools on the property. The biggest spans over 100m in length – we’re talking big here. With spouting elephants, turtles and bubbly jets built into the side of the pool. The second major pool has jets, a deep end (about 10 feet) and a sitting area (so does the main pool). Anyways, you could spend all day at the pools and still be happy. The beaches are quite nice as well. Really not a lot of room to just sit there on the beach, as the waves are well… wavy and pretty far up the shore. They have nifty flags that tell you if you should go in the water. The water is clean there and quite warm, lots of fun to just get pushed around by the waves. The grounds of the resort feature a lot of fire/water combos, which make it great for wandering around at night.

The staff at the resort were exceptional. They were very friendly and everything was very straightforward and simple. On my trip I went to the Conrad BKK, then the JW Marriott in Phuket, then the Hilton Maldives, then the Hong Kong Conrad, and the Tokyo Hilton. This was the only resort (well the HKG Conrad was simple) that didn’t charge us all sorts of stupid fees for redeeming awards (with the Maldives Hilton being the worse in terms of fees). Checkout was a breeze, even with two rooms – as was check-in. They had their act together on check-in, it was simple and well coordinated. Also, all bags are security checked by hand – even your normal luggage when you arrive at the resort. Everything. Anytime you arrive to the resort anything you have with you is checked. So… just keep that in mind when you pack stuff. There is also a small contingent of dudes with big guns at the main entrance to the property to deter those who wish to drive autos to the resort without stopping first at the checkpoints. If you’re curious – you won’t have to really worry about any car-bomb situations like the JW in Jakarta here, as the resort is spread out over many acres, and the road only goes up to the sparsely populated lobby area. So I feel this is much safer hotel than most resorts.

One item we were disappointed with was the activities the resort offered. While they offer a few selections in each major category (Diving, Safari, boating, etc…) they really didn’t offer too much in each category. They kept to their preferred vendors and that was that. They offered really no help on planning if it wasn’t with one of “their companies”. So – word of recommendation – if you are planning ANY trips, the first night you arrive into Phuket, go down to town and look at the places down there. You will pay nearly double if you choose the JW options – even for the EXACT same places and companies. Diving especially – they wanted basically $90 for a two tank dive. In town at some very reputable places (per the Internet dive sites) we got a deal for our own chartered boat (it could have held 20+ people, but it was low season) for what worked out to be $40 per person for the trip, which was three dives in total covering all the major dive spots – all in one day for 5 divers (us) and there were 4 Divemasters on board – it was a good ratio. There are dozens of dive shops in Patong, walk around, check out a minimum of 5 shops – then choose. We went with Scandinavian Divers and were very pleased. But to each his own, just ensure they have all the right safety stuffs and they go to the good places. Ok…enough about that.

I really can’t compare it to other Phuket hotels, as I simply didn’t stay at any others. But the JW is considered by the locals to be “very nice”, so… fwiw.

As far as room types go – I’m not really sure of the differences. We got “upgraded” rooms – but they all seemed the same and big to me. They have a bedroom area, a sitting area (or laying I suppose, there is a technical name for that little area) as well as a big bathroom with shower, and a separate tub. All rooms then have an enclosed balcony area with large lawn chairs and table. We had ground room floors, and I recommend those over upper level floors at this hotel, simply for ease of getting in and out. There are some really nice huge suites – but we didn’t get any, probably because I had two rooms reserved on award stay and they upgraded both of them already – so I wasn’t about to complain.

In terms of how many nights to stay there – it really depends on what you’re doing. The time of year you’re going, it’s high Dive season. So if you’re going diving while you’re there, then heck – spend at least a week (if diving is the purpose of the trip). If you just want to experience a lot of the area, then probably 4-5 days is enough. Where you could fit in 1 Safari type day, 1 Phi-Phi island day (you must go to the Phi-Phi islands), 1 relaxing at hotel day, 1 random other activity day. If you have any specific activity questions, feel free to ask them.


Meals/Restaurant:
Food is always important…very important. And honestly – the JW Marriott didn’t let us down. They have nearly ˝ dozen restraints on site – a Buffet/General restaurant, a Italian Restaurant, a Japanese Restaurant, a Deli/Sandwich shop, a pool bar type food place, a Sushi bar, and another bar area. Breakfast at the Buffet is typical Asian hotel massive breakfast buffet with both Western and Asian dishes – think Conrad Hong Kong/Bangkok style buffets. Very good for only $9.95. Dinner and Lunch were also good there, very reasonably priced I thought for hotel food of its quality. I’d say room service was really the best deal. We got 5 different entrees one evening (just for the heck of it), including Duck Spring Rolls, Phad Thai and an assortment of other Thai dishes – all for a grand total of $17 US. Very good deals and very good food – certainly comparable with any Thai places in Seattle. The Italian restaurant was also quite respectable, not “incredible’, but certainly good. Deli place was also good, you could get sandwiches to go there in the morning any take them with you for later on.

One place you should definitely visit is Linda’s restaurant right next door. If you’re at the JW, simply walk like your going out to the beach, then follow the little path to the right (North for those directionally challenged) until you reach the end of the JW property (about a 1-2 minute walk from your hotel room). Once you reach the end of the JW property you’ll see a small building (no more than 100 feet of the end of the JW property). This is a small restaurant not run by the JW – but has incredible Thai food for real cheap. I’m talking VERY cheap. Typical dinner with two entrees and drinks ran about $2.25 per person. Food is very, very good – and you’ll see reviews all over the internet mentioning this place.

Location, location, location…
This hotel is not really near “town” so to speak. It simply isn’t. That was both the best part about the hotel at the worst part about the hotel. It’s about 10 mins north of the Airport along the coast on protected land. You don’t hear any airplanes btw. All you hear is the waves crashing against the beach. There’s really nothing around the area. To get to “town” (either of them), it’s a solid 30-40 minute drive south. We ended up deciding to rent a car. Prior to our arrival I simply booked with Avis a CRV (the little SUV thingy). There was some minor mix-up between Corporate Avis and Phuket Avis on exact type of car, but in the end it was all worked out and they actually gave me a lower rate. Worked out to about $40 per day including all insurance and everything (I really didn’t want to deal with any issues, so I know I paid more). The car was nearly brand new, and worked great. You will need an international drivers license, but you can pick those up at your nearest AAA office. So – when choosing a rental car in Thailand, think Chicken. For those drivers from the US, driving in Thailand is all a big game of Chicken. He who has the biggest car wins – always. It doesn’t matter that the person with the biggest car is driving on the wrong side of the road – going backwards – he always wins in Thailand and cars simply move out of the way. So, you want to ensure that you are one step above the mopeds and general car traffic – so choose the CRV. Anyways… off the small tangent about rental cars, and back to the resort. If you’re trying to decide whether or not to get a rental car, work it this way: If you are planning to go to town at least once per day (or go south for activities) then rent a car. Taxi rides (once added up both ways) will basically equal the price of the rental car. Also, some activities include transportation – you can generally decline the transport and get a few bucks back (like $10-$15). So, being secluded is very nice, it can just work against you. I would not let the seclusion steer you away from this hotel though, as I think it’s worth it.

The best way to get from the hotel to the airport if not renting a car is simply to take a taxi. DO NOT take the JW’s car service – it has a major markup over a simple taxi, and it’s only a 10 minute ride. Also, on the Taxi thing, watch out for Tuk-Tuk’s. These are small mini-van looking Taxi’s. These are simply Taxi’s designed for inter-city travel – they are NOT designed for travel up to the JW Marriott. It will take you upwards of an hour if you take one of these, because they don’t have the horsepower to go the speed limit.


Let me know if you have any specific questions or need any help with anything. I stayed there in early September for 5 nights and loved it. I would definitely go back again without even thinking about it – and would certainly without a doubt go back to this resort.