Thanks all, this is has been really helpful so far! I won't be traveling with children, so definitely no concern from me on that part, but appreciated to have a better sense of the areas - this will be my first time in Bangkok.

Any advice on Phuket? I haven't seen any properties that look particularly compelling to me - I need to be there for a work event for 3 days, considering skipping spending any additional time though and just going to Bangkok for longer.