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Introduction In normal years I am a bit hesitant to stay at Ritz Carlton Reserve hotels because they do not participate in Bonvoy, however this year renewing status with many hotel chains is easier so staying at RCR was less of an issue and we decided to go to Phulay Bay. The hotel informed us that baby Minnie was their youngest guest ever to check-in at the age of 5 weeks old and they did their utmost to ensure we had a comfortable stay. We were all alone on the resort except a couple of days in the middle of our stay where one couple showed up, so we could notpossibly have had a more peaceful and relaxing time; I can highly recommend this hotel for a premium luxury experience. Room RCR hotels do not have to upgrade Marriott Bonvoy elite guests but Phulay Bay is aware of guest elite status and they do upgrade depending on the circumstances. This time was no exception – I booked the second room type and we received an upgrade to the Reserve Pool Villa. This is one heck of a stunning villa, the word ‘grandiose’ would come to mind with the cathedral ceiling in the bathroom including sky light, the huge thick wood doors with Thai paintings, the indoor bathtub in a greenhouse tower, the gigantic 4-meter wide bed, and lots of real estate space outdoors with Japanese-style design including a private pool in front and an outdoor tub in the back. All in all, a great property which has been very well maintained since it opened 16 years ago. The one downside of this resort in my opinion is that many room types do not have the most fantastic sea views, in fact some premium room types only have modest views which is in contrast more hilly resorts in Phuket and Koh Samui. The villa was also not purely stand-alone – the pool villas are arranged in blocks of two so we had a large door outside which could serve as a connecting door with the adjoining villa. Obviously since we were alone on the resort this was a non-issue but in different circumstances for top luxury I wonder how privacy would feel. While less important, I would also note that the bathroom amenities were forgettable and not my favorites. Service Despite the unusual circumstances, I did not notice any kind of slippage in service which was great from A to Z. They were very well prepared for our arrival with lots of useful baby amenities such as a sterilizer for baby bottles, shampoo and lotion for infants, diaper garbage can, etc. We could also order lots of off the menu items with ingredients which optimize breastfeeding, housekeeping was offered twice a day, they kept one restaurant open only for us or alternatively in-room breakfast was available too, special pillows we ordered were ready for us in the room upon our arrival, and butler service was available to serve us alone. We also received a nice turndown amenity every night (usually a local dessert) which was appreciated. Dining The breakfast menu was not the most luxurious I have seen in Thailand but the quality of the ingredients was excellent and the venue very nice overlooking the pool and the sea. I especially enjoyed the avocado toast which was an interesting blend of smooth textures with hummus and sweet juicy mangoes. The Kanom Jeen dish was also delicious and provided a special southern Thai touch to the menu. I would also note that many ingredients they use for cooking are grown in the resort garden and fully organic. Beach The beach is not the strong point of Phulay Bay but they normally have a shuttle boat to take guests to Hong Island nearby for a fun day trip expedition but it was not available this time due to covid restrictions. Wifi Wifi worked great with speeds of 150 Mbps. Overall For people who want a more quiet destination than Phuket or Koh Samui, Krabi is a good choice but the downside is that there are not as many hotels to choose from. In the luxury space, there is a new Banyan Tree nearby which opened a few months ago. BT is also non-participating in the Accor program (a more upscale BT, maybe similar to the distinction between RCR vs RC), has shown willingness to upgrade elites like RCR despite the lack of participation, but the similarities end there so they are less head-on competitors than I previously thought. BT has the better sea views because it’s on a hill, all room types at BT have a private pool unlike the lower room types at Phulay Bay which do not, but BT is a very dense resort with small villas unlike the Phulay Bay where our villa was 100+ sqm plus outdoor space adding another 250 sqm, also RCR has the butler service while BT does not. For those reasons both hotels probably cater to different crowds in my opinion. Anyway, bottom line I wish expensive stays at Phulay Bay could help make progress towards the $20k USD required spend to renew Ambassador status in normal years, but the property is special which will draw us back nonetheless.