Introduction Phulay Bay is a Ritz-Carlton Reserve property in the Krabi province in Thailand, located on the shores of the Gulf of Thailand on the Vietnam side.  The hotel is very much a luxury resort, and expensive for Thai standards, but not unreasonably so for what would be considered normal in the US. Check In Overall, checkin was not very efficient or smooth and altogether rather awkward.  However, this property doesn't exactly seem to get dozens of people checking in at the same time, so I would imagine that the lack of efficiency isn't that big of an issue.  Still, while the general idea of doing check-in differently is great, the execution lacks polish.We were also introduced to our butler.  Every villa comes with a butler, who will take care of, well, anything you could possibly need, starting with chauffeuring you around the property in a golf cart.  Teas downed, we were led by our butler to the golf cart and driven to our villa.Once the van pulled into the hotel, staff descended on us.  Two guys took the bags, and we were led into the reception area, which is very reminiscent of a Thai temple.  Stepping stones lead across a little pool to the actual check-in area, which just consists of a little seating area.  Standing there were again several people, who handed us lemon grass tea and welcomed us.  This part was a bit awkward, as at any given time at least three people were staring at us, without saying much, waiting for us to finish our teas.We had booked the airport transfer (At the time of this writing about $100 per car and direction), and was met at the airport baggage claim and ushered into a van.  The van features electrically reclining seats with footrests, water bottles and cold towels.  A music selection was offered (or could have been pre-ordered online if desired).  The drive took about 45 minutes. Room I can't really come up with any negatives for the room.  I guess there was a tree that was a bit in the way of the sunset, but that was about it.Bottled water is provided free of charge at any time in as far as I could tell unlmited quantities.  Soft drinks in the mini bar are free, as are the teas.  Your butler will label those items that will cost you extra.The bathroom  is enormous, and consists of a large central area with dual sinks, separated by a giant hanging mirror, a small room with a toilet, a walk-in shower with seating area, and a huge soaking tub.  A good 15 feet above the tub, the roof is trasnparent, so that you can look at the stars at night.Inside the villa, we found a spacious bedroom with an enormous, 12 foot wide bed.  The bed, besides being ridiculously oversized, is soft as a cloud and I can honestly say I haven't slept this well in a hotel bed, well, ever.  There aremany different types of pillows available and again, these can all be pre-ordered.  Your butler is of course happy to add or remove pillow types at any time.Even our "modest" villa was fantastic though.  The room has a very "Thai" feel, lots of light and air.  There is a deck from which one can watch the sun set over the ocean while dining.  Roof access was disabled during our stay due to rain and thunderstorms (just my luck), but would normally be available and offer even greater views.All rooms are villas.  While this is a Marriott property, you can neither earn nor redeem points.  However, they do recognize status, and we were thus bumped up one level to an ocean view villa.  There are still several levels above that, the more pricey ones having their own private pools. Service Overall, the service at this place can be summed up as "damn near perfect".With the butler at our constant beck and call, it was almost difficult to do anything ourselves.  Immediately after our suitcases were delivered, he offered to unpack them for us, and assured us that he would be there to help us re-pack them on the day of departure.  He seemed almost sad when we declined a golf cart ride to the pool, opting to walk ourselves instead.Service was impeccable.  There was the occasional language barrier, but all customer-facing staff are well trained and speak English.  Your butler will happily make dining reservations and generally take care of everything.  The waiters were all very nice and polite, and still able to crack jokes with customers.   Room service was prompt and came with several people to help set the table.  Tipping was genuinely appreciated at amounts far below what is considered normal in the US. Dining Food was great in general, particularly the breakfast pastries.  It's not easy getting croissants just right, but the pastry chef here certainly did, producing soft, flaky, warm, buttery croissants that were probably responsible for my gaining five pounds on this trip.There are several restaurants on-site, which offer Thai and Western cuisine, lots of seafood, and of course excellent drinks.  Room service is available throughout.   Location The property itself is expansive, and contains what may be the best hotel pool I've experienced.  It's a very large infinity pool facing the ocean with a swim-up pool bar and restaurant.  There is an on-site spa with a rainforest hot tub/ shower, a well-equipped fitness center, and several other amenities.Generally speaking though, the location is serene and peaceful, right between the jungle and the ocean.  There are excursions that can be arranged, again with the help of the butler, that include boat transfers to the islands.Unfortuantely, our visit coincided with a tropical thunderstorm passing through the area.  With heavy rainfall occurring multiple times a day, including lightning, we were mostly confined to the hotel area.   Overall Despite that, Phulay Bay is a hotel well worth visiting.  Even though we were essentially stuck there during very bad weather, we still had a very good time.  That, to me, is saying something.  So, if you're planning on visiting a luxury property in Thailand, whether for a honeymoon, a romantic vacation, or just to destress and relax, I would highly recommend seriously considering Phulay Bay.Downsides include the awkward check-in, the rather remote location (Krabi isn't exactly a major airport), and the fact that the prices for e.g. food and drinks are "US normal", i.e. very expensive for Thailand.The villas are fantastic, food is great, the view is gorgeous, service is excellent, and I think I want to move here and just live in the pool.The worst thing about this place is that you have to leave at some point.  Particularly as a romantic getaway, Phulay Bay is all kinds of excellent.