FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - The Naka Island Resort, Phuket Thailand [Master Thread]
Old Mar 11, 2012 | 4:32 am
  #166  
reeg2
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: DFW
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Posts: 1,112
Arrow Impressions after 6-night HM Stay:

Team FT:

Just back into the US after 2 weeks in SE Asia on honeymoon. First 6 nights spent at Naka.

Overall, while the hard product is fairly nice, there were too many issues and shortcomings for me to consider going back.

Naka faces back onto Ao Po Marina, not out into the Bay. Time by the pool or at the restaurants (the main common areas) doesn't exude any discernible beauty. You're basically just looking back onto a small channel between the island against a backdrop of jungle/forest. The "beach" is mostly gravel, very little sand. Also, highly concentrated with old shells, pieces of brick and other building materials, etc. Unable to really enjoy without shoes and once in the water, the bottom is covered in shells/dead reef/other debris. Also, it's rather shallow unless you go quite a ways out. The view from Z Bar and near the water, however, is killer. But it's not a main focus of the resort and I think it would be entirely likely that a good portion of guests would never venture over there to see.

General Thoughts - Pros:
Staff: very gentle and sweet, almost too a fault. All interactions or greetings seem very sincere and thoughtful. Very Thai.
Villas: well-appointed, comfortable. Bedroom is very livable, outdoor bathroom not really an issue. Shower doubles as steam-room, outdoor bathtub big enough for two. While my view was pretty abysmal, there are villas with epic views of the bay. I know the property has some age, but it's not evident when you look at the villa as a whole and the individual pieces of furniture, etc.
Pool: Enjoyable, very clean.
Spa: Very peaceful with good services available.
Breakfast Buffet: Very varied in choice, good quality, actually a highlight of the stay.

Cons:
Insects: Only a con because they're annoying anywhere you are. The mosquitoes are still prevalent, but not in obnoxious quantity. Lots of insects, but it's expected. The hotel does work very hard to control, but it's never going to be perfect. I recommend lighting up the coil in the bathroom every morning. If it burns out too fast, call for more.
Housekeeping Service: lots of small issues concerning timing of service and attention to detail. Pool not cleaned two-days in a row after storms - lots of debris, etc. Towels taken away during cleaning, but not replaced. Housekeeping not visiting one day before 3pm, which I'd consider a missed visit.
Quality of Food: Very hit and miss. At best, it's decent, not great. The Thai food is actually the worst of the menus with the Western menu being marginally better. Curries aren't right, they're thin-soup consistency, Wok sauces for noodles aren't rich and powerful. I could go on and on as food is my job, but it just wasn't right. It's unreasonable to pay$60-$100 every meal for bad food. I spotted the chef, a Brit, the first day and I swear to you, I saw him off enjoying the island with his girl more than I saw him in his whites in the kitchen. Even during meal service, he'd be in street clothes sitting in the dining room. A bad Massaman curry is made even worse when the Chef is sitting out enjoying a cocktail. However, I do whole-heartedly recommend the made-to-order breakfast Mee Sappam. It was great every day.
Restaurant Service: Absolutely the worst part of our visit. While there is a rather large waitstaff, they're woefully trained and instructed. Menus not delivered, water not filled, at times not even acknowledged that you're sitting for 15 minutes. Asked for order before menu/water service. Drinks waiting at bar, but no staff stopping to pick up. No main person running the show. I have a restaurant background, so this all drove me crazy. The staff just didn't have set duties, so they always look busy, but nothing is being accomplished. They also don't have "eyes" for the room, so they focus on one task and completely ignore everything else. My suggestion, be loud and pushy.
Speedboat Service: While the expense is certainly annoying (around $55), we were made to wait one evening while the boat was serviced. There is only one boat, so we spent 1 hour sitting on the dock while the engine oil was changed (on a Saturday at 6pm!). While this likely won't happen to anyone else, it was rather unlike a Lux Collection hotel not to have alternate transportation. Also, they insisted on charging for the service, even though we waited so long. Some friends we ran into had to wait 3 hours in the marina for a thunderstorm to clear before they'd run the boat.
Rather Boring: I won't say a lot here, but we stayed too long. There just aren't many activities to enjoy, it's hard to get into town and very expensive. If you simply want to relax all day, ever day with no intentions of leaving, then you're probably fine.
Checkout Issues: I know this stuff happens, but we were nonchalantly presented a bill for the full-price of our stay, ignoring the promotion we booked under and all that it entailed. Almost $2k difference. Just shameful to have this little of attention-to-detail when all the necessary info is easily available by computer or the hard files they kept. We were charged the wrong amount for the airport transfer, we were charged for 6 nights instead of the 4 under Stay 3, Pay 2, our resort credit was not applied, etc.

I wanted to love Naka Island very much, but just found the service not completely up to standards and the location/activities too limited. It's made out to seem like an island paradise, but the views/beach aspect of a typical "paradise" are missing. This ain't the Maldives and it's on the low rungs of quality locations as it relates to Starwood resort locations.

Had service been great, I think I'd still walked away feeling a bit let-down.

Last edited by reeg2; Mar 11, 2012 at 4:38 am Reason: forgot the FOOD.
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