Hi, came across this old thread when searching for info on the Anantara Phuket.

Curious if there are any updated thoughts on how that property compares to others? I had originally been thinking of the LC Naka Island but the Anantara looks potentially nicer and quite competitively priced.

Have seen a few reviews saying the beach at Anantara isn't great; what does that actually mean? Rocky? Dirty water?

Also, have heard here and elsewhere that the Trisara and Amanpuri are are nicer, but curious what that means in practice? Trisara definitely looks nice but the basic rooms (~$700/night) are not private villas, while the cheapest private villa is quite a lot more expensive (~$1200/night). The same $700/night gets an upgraded private villa at Naka or Anantara, which seems like a better value to me. But not sure if there is something I am missing in the tradeoff -- if it's just the obsequiousness of the service I feel like I would lean toward the less expensive resort.