Impressions from opening day Aug 1 , 2010.
Some background about myself to put the below into context.
I’m 35, married with kids and have lived in South East Asia for 7 years since leaving North America.
I have a pool villa near Laguna in Phuket and commute from Hong Kong.
Phuket has been my second home for about 5 of those years. I am very familiar with both Thailand and Asia, and my expectations are a result of all the above.
Your expectations of service, cleanliness ect.. will certainly vary.. as we say on FT.. YMMV..
Ok.
getting there'
We drove over from our place arriving about 2:30pm. The details provided on the website are rubbish. If you follow the signs from the Heroines roundabout south for
SIRE or SIREN Bay (all spelled differently...) you’ll get there.. trying to read all the street names provided when most streets are only in THAI on the signs is rather tough.
I imagine most people will have drivers and not rent so unlikely to affect the vast majority of guests. 40 minutes from airport to the resort would be a minimum.
checkin:
This took a little longer than expected, there were photographers, balloons and lei’s.
We were given seats overlooking the bay and all the documents were brought to us.
Initially, as platinum we were upgraded to a Elevation Suite, but due to a last minute failure of some sort in that room, we were moved to a Discovery Suite with pool.
The standard amenity card was provided, as well as a new one the Hotel Mgr Sean has implemented that allows guests to choose a room amenity, ie fruit, cookies, chocolate..that is delivered later in addition to the standard SPG choices.
The other Platinum benefits are stated in the opening thread include
*upgrade to best available room
*free breakfast
*free internet
*free drink 6-7pm
and some other things.. those are the relevant ones to me..
A golf cart then carries my tribe up to our suite 2213 that overlooked the resorts pools and Siran Bay.
the room:
Initially, not a big wow factor. Its a short corridor that with large bathroom leading directly to the bedroom. Opposite the bedroom thru 2 sliding doors is the living room, that has a lot of empty space. I’m puzzled why you didn’t enter the living area and the bedroom placed in the opposite room. It would have been more ‘suitesq” that way.. however.. it works. 1 flat screen and dvd player in each room and a long (maybe 40 ft by 5 ft) pool running along the length that you can access from either room.
There are 2 chairs and a small table on the outdoor patio.
Heavenly bed, as always, was heavenly...
There are numerous issues of deficiencies in many rooms at this point, in fact the hotel is only half open. To mention them seems a waste as the majority are being fixed as the come up. It’s highly unlikely you will have the same experiences in coming weeks. We were prepared for it, and not really put off.
The resort:
One word. TERRACED. if walking up and down is an issue, then perhaps this place isn’t for you. However, being so, makes for beautiful views and every room is a sea view. Golf carts are available on request to drive you up and down. We walked down, but always came back via golf cart.
The design of it all reminds of the Westin in Cabo San Lucas on a smaller scale. Lots of open areas with sweeping view. It’s been rainy the last few weeks here (we’ve been down for 6 weeks) but in the heart of dry season, the sky and sea views are going to be legendary.
The layout doesn’t lend itself to wandering. I think one knows where they intend to go prior to embarking on the trip.
The beach is the best (IMHO) of any of the Phuket hotels. At the Sheraton, generally its too rough to swim, @ the LM near Patong, there is a nice cove, but its small and does get some rough water, as does the LM Yacht club. Sea Kayaks were available to paddle about the bay.
My kid’s loved the Kids’ Club and were always harping to go back..you can leave yours from 9-6 and they will do lunch with them (you still pay ~200 baht ish) if you chose. They go to the beach, swim, and have all sorts of different activities.
Service / Staff:
Simply outstanding. Motivated, helpful, committed are only some of the words I could use. I met the hotel mgr Sean, front desk mgr Yah (who is worth her weight in gold), and many of the staff. Every time I turned around they were doing something for us (or our kids). They’ve all worked at other properties in Thailand and SE Asia. We spent a bit of time chatting to the restaurants mgr’s Jone and Sade whose enthusiasm for it all was contagious. We nearly stayed another day, but commitments elsewhere wouldn’t allow it.
On arriving back at our home, I had an email from the hotel telling me my 7yr old had forgot her iTouch and housekeeping found it. Very impressed that the cleaning staff turned it in. I likely wouldn't have noticed till she asked after it in a day or two..
To put it succinctly, the staff are there to make sure you leave with a smile.
And we did.