4 star service -- not 5
We visited with another couple for 5 days as a Platinum Ambassador member. Points stay. No resort fee is always welcome. And no games on points. Overall, a very nice property. Service not on par with typical Ritz Carltons.
Reception
It is only about 15 minutes from the airport, which is nice (we used NaviGo to get a car- Uber for Thailand). The reception is very underwhelming, as it is set very far back from the rooms and the beach. Made me nervous, but the hotel is much nicer. Just an odd entrance.
Check-In
It was our 15th wedding anniversary and I told the hotel ahead of time as well as my ambassador. The hotel was very nice and emailed me that they would have something special prepared. Needless to say when we walked into our ocean view villa around 9PM I was disappointed to see nothing there. Nothing remotely celebrating an anniversary. This was a let down and I surely let the manager and my ambassador know. The hotel admitted they dropped the ball the next day and brought flowers, cake and wine – but the surprise was gone by then. Surely not Ritz service.
Ocean View Suite
The room is gorgeous. As others have said, be prepared for lots of walking up hills and stairs. Our room, while nice, was a three story walk up, after walking up several hills. There are golf carts that are reliable to take you places.
Breakfast
This was included in our rate and the spread is fantastic. It’s an amazing breakfast with everything from typical breakfast foods to stir fry and Indian food.
Beach and Pool
This was odd. The main beach was closed for construction with occasionally loud digging and pounding noises. No warning given, so be forewarned. There was a smaller beach that was red flagged and way too rocky to swim. We tried and got cut on the shallow coral. The hotel is lovely and huge. Plenty of seating to be had. They also have a self contained diving reef pool to see fish. It is fun for about 10 minutes and costs money. The service by the pool is also not great. You have to hunt people down for drinks, towels etc...Twice snakes jumped out of trees and fell onto chairs by the pool. They were not venomous but created quite the commotion.
Overall
This is a gorgeous property set on a hillside so be prepared for walking. We had a lovely time despite the service failures. The spa is nice with fairly decent pricing – and has a great pool hidden away. It’s a fun property with beautiful rooms and views, but just don’t expect Ritz level service.
Go find Sid-- he is amazing.