Originally Posted by
Will08
What you have described is any hotel outside of the Patong area. They all require transport to get anywhere bar a few restaurants outside of hotels and the odd hotel shuttle bus. The journey from the airport to LM Khao Lak can actually be quicker than getting to LM Phuket beach resort due to traffic so the journey time you quote has no bearing on the area being isolated. I think the price has more to do with the quality of the rooms which you highlight in your photos rather than the location. JW Khao Lak Suites is commanding more than VB, RC and even W Koh Samui.
It is actually a decent drive from Koh Samui across to Khao Lak, with Samet Nangshe a slight detour offering amazing views for a lunch stopover and the new roads in the area make driving fairly straight forward. Food for thought rather than flying into HKT.
Ha. Have you got shares in Le Meridien Khao Lak? We will probably have to agree to disagree on the definition of "isolated" when it refers to the experience of all-inclusive package tourists brought to Thailand en masse by European tour operators which is what I was talking about and I wasn't comparing the resort or the clientele to other Bonvoy hotels in Khao Lak or Phuket because I do not think other hotels so emphatically target all-inclusive package tourists brought by TUI to HKT which the guests we talked to at the bars were. At least, other Bonvoy hotels don't seem to offer such all-inclusive meal and booze plans through the Marriott web site because I looked for them before booking this. And, yes, as the photos show although the hotel is new and carrying the Le Meridien brand, it's clearly no more than 4* and I'd say the Four Points in Patong is in many ways a higher-quality property (though with its own issues with soundproofing).
I'm well aware how long it takes to get to Le Meridien Phuket from HKT as I've gone the journey a number of times and the two hotels cannot be compared for convenience to nightlife, tourist restaurants, and mainstream tourist attractions - the Phuket property being a short taxi ride away from the flesh pots of Patong. But I'm not here to be a rowing keyboard warrior and a diversity of online opinions on the specific location of Le Meridien Khao Lak may help others make a decision as to whether it's right for them so your opinion of course is as valid as mine as long as you've stayed there.