Kacee

If you're going to stay here for more than a couple nights, the benefits will more or less cover the annual fee ($250 resort credit, 10x bonus points, breakfast and lounge access). That's in addition to any upgrade (likely to a junior suite).

For me the bigger question is whether to stay at this property at all.

budumpst

I'm trying to use my resort credit for this year so I have <2 weeks to decide which resort to book in Thailand/Malaysia. Is this lounge worthwhile though? I was at Hilton Hua Hin last year and the lounge was crowded and meh for the most part.

thbe

The lounge at the Hilton Arcadia Phuket is better than the lounge at the Hilton Hua Hin.

But as Kacee said, the question is whether to stay at this property at all. There is more choice of better hotels at Phuket than at Hua Hin.

suitesmile

I recently posted a review of my stay here in my blog. Hope someone finds it helpful!
https://suitesmile.com/blog/review-h...e-plus-seaview

Cheapest nightly rate: 2662 THB (3160 after tax)
When to book: One week in advance

This property opened in 1983 as Phuket Arcadia before Hilton took over in 2004. At 75 acres (58 football fields), I could not find another property in Phuket larger than this.

I got in touch with the property before my stay and was informed by the General Manager, Markus Kosch, that he has pre-upgraded me to a suite in the Lotus Wing as Diamond-member benefit and to celebrate my birthday. Now that is great news but my research shows that the suites in the Lotus Wing are old and without views of the sea. I was willing to trade the suite for a standard-sized room with sea view. He then went ahead to reserve a room on the highest floor (12th) in Andaman Wing B. He even mentioned that they will be sending me a complimentary cake and even asked for my preferred flavour!


Quite street outside the entrance to the property on the left





The parking area



We arrived by our rented motorcycle. There is a parking area just beside the Welcome Lobby (yes, there are two lobbies). The experience here was a little strange. We felt lost as there were no one at the desk and there were a number of tour guides around asking me where I am going. Not sure why they are there but their tout-like behaviour made me uncomfortable. After about five minutes, a hotel staff finally came to us and informed us that there will be a shuttle bus to take us into the main lobby.




Welcome Lobby





Shuttle service from the Welcome Lobby to the Main Lobby





Drop-off area at the Main Lobby



There is a check-in desk for Gold and Diamond members. The lady who checked me in brought me to my room and that was when I found out that it was on the 7th floor instead of the promised 12th floor room.. The ‘sea view’ from this floor is mostly blocked by the lower building in front (Andaman Wing A). This was quickly sorted out when I showed her my email conversation with the General Manager. I find it hard to understand why front desk staff often play these kind of games to take away from a brilliant experience.




Check-in area at the Main Lobby





Another view of the Main Lobby





Welcome letters for Diamond members





Room 1237 at Andaman Wing B





Nice silhouette of palm trees behind the bed





View from the balcony





Bathroom with a tub and rain shower





Toiletries in the bathroom





Mini bar with two complimentary bottles of water





Refrigerated mini bar





Complimentary chocolate birthday cake



The rooms with the best views are those on the 10th-12th floors of Andaman Wing B and about four sea view rooms in the Lotus Wing on the 10th and 11th floors. Andaman Wing A, Andaman Wing C and Building G are low buildings. You will only get views of the pool or ‘garden’ and not much of the sea. Which would be a shame as the sun sets directly against the horizon of the Andaman Sea.




Map of Hilton Phuket Arcadia (click to enlarge)





View of the low-rise Building G and a part of Lotus Wing on the right





Andaman Wing C on the right and the taller Lotus Wing



I was given two drink coupons for redemption at Andaman Lounge




Entrance of Andaman Lounge





Andaman Lounge in the evening





Our complimentary cocktails



The Executive Lounge has a nice panoramic view of the Andaman Sea. It is a great alternative spot to catch the sunset if you do not have a sea view room. Alcoholic drinks are complimentary and the warm food offerings in the evening are of good quality.




Executive Lounge on level 12 of Lotus Wing



I was told that there are three places where I can have my breakfast; Sails Restaurant, Buon Appetito and the Executive Lounge. Sails restaurant is the main restaurant and there tends to be a queue at the entrance all the time. Buon Appetito is an Italian Restaurant but I must say, there was nothing Italian about their breakfast spread. It is much less crowded there. Diamond member recognition is good as both restaurants.




Queue to enter Sails Restaurant





Outdoor seating of Sails Restaurant





Indoor seating at Sails Restaurant





They made it clear that this table was reserved for a Diamond member





Outdoor seating of Buon Appetito





Indoor seating at Buon Appetito





Our daily routine; watching the sunset while eating mango sticky rice





Lush, well-maintained greenery around the resort





The Spa



The gym is small for a property of this size and it was pretty crowded the few times I was there. I had to wait a long time to get a photo with less people in it. It is also a shame that guests are charged for using the tennis facilities, squash and yoga classes.




The gym





Price list for activities





Tennis courts



There is an unguarded back entrance to the hotel. This is also where you have direct access to Karon Beach. I find the lack of security here strange as the security at the front gate looks tight.

Worth Noting

Breakfast hours: 0700 - 1100 hours
Executive Lounge opening hours: 0700 - 2100 hours
Happy hour at the Executive Lounge: 1700 - 1830 hours

Conclusion

I like the location of this property compared to the ones in the busy (and noisy) Patong area. Karon beach is just a few steps away and it is a lot less crowded than Patong beach. I disliked the inconvenience of needing to wait for the shuttle just to get from the Welcome Lobby to Main Lobby. It takes about 10 minutes just to wait for a shuttle and get there. If I am staying here again, I will skip the crowd at the restaurants and have my breakfasts in the Executive Lounge. It is a long 10 minutes walk to get from our room in Andaman Wing B to the Executive Lounge in Lotus Wing. Try to request for rooms on the top 3 floors of Andaman Wing B as those room have the best views.

Ratings

Breakfast: 8/10
Service: 8/10
Location: 8/10
Room: 8/10
Facilities: 8/10
Executive lounge: 9/10
Elite member recognition: 9/10

Kacee

Andaman A has panoramic sea views. I posted pics upthread.

You were given an unrenovated room. Andaman A is new construction. The downside to Andaman A is it's closer to the road and the construction quality is not great.

It's a three minute walk to the main lobby.

thbe

Nice pictures, but I don’t understand your ratings at all.

That is a common incident at that property. They’ve ignored your request and your agreement with the GM. The first is bad elite recognition, the second is unacceptable. After a long journey you have to argue, show an email (which means they didn’t believe you) and walk to another room. Totally lack of competence plus high level of corruption by the staff as they don’t do that incidentally. No excuse for that. After experiencing that you can not rate that property with 9/10 for DIA recognition. You simply can not. Given that experience the maximum is somewhere between 3 and 4/10, if everything else was perfect, which was not the case.

Your other ratings are rated to high as well. How do you rate excellent hotels? Are those at 18/10? Why should hotels even try to offer excellent service, if you are easy to satisfy with chaos and corruption? “Hey, their security shot me in the leg for no reason, but I got a free orange juice in the morning after queuing up! Great hotel!”

It’s wise, that you don’t let unacceptable service bring you down on your birthday stay. But when you rate the hotel after all, you should stick to the facts. Other travellers could believe your ratings and think, that this hotel is excellent. Which is definitely not the case.

gav0106

Thbe calm down. Read the review fully. To be fair, the GM offered a suite upgrade in the first place. This was turned down by the op in return for a sea view. So diamond Recognition was good. The GM then agreed to a sea view which they did not have too and offered a birthday cake. Yes the check in was not good but that does not reflect the diamond status. The hotel did more than was needed and factor in a good lounge =9/10. Everyone has their own perspective. That’s what makes reviews interesting. I have read it and interpreted it in a different way to you.

thbe

Actually I'm calm as I don't stay there anymore after a couple of stays with incidents like that. I'm just worried, that others could believe that ratings and expect an excellent hotel and an excellent DIA recognition.

He arrived, felt lost and had to wait 5 minutes. He was brought in a room, which was not the one promised by the GM before. He had to proof, that he got promised another room.

There are hotels, who welcome you right away, don't let you wait, give you the promised room and - in case they've made a mistake - believes you without proofing it on the scene. What is the rating for them, if you give a hotel with the first hour with problems and incidents a 9/10 already?

JayFarber

I, luckily, have access to Hilton FF rate and have 3 nights booked in a Superior Deluxe Sea View Suite just after Songkran, staying at the Double Tree for 3 nights before. Is there a certain wing I should hope for or any type of upgrade possible? I'm Gold through Amex.

Thank you all for the valuable information in this thread as well.

ryandelmundo

Don't suppose anyone has visited since Covid? Thinking to use my Aspire credit here as rooms are around $30. I've stayed a lot in the Sukhumvit Hilton over the past 4-5 months and the Exec lounge is not open so they do Happy Hour in the lobby. Is their Exec Lounge open? However everyone booking now (almost all Thai) seems to get Happy Hour "lounge" access as well as breakfast. One of those things where when everyone is VIP, no one is VIP.

I'll probably check it out, just need to get my Aspire card back as I didn't bring it along. I suppose they could charge it without the card if I contact them..

Thanks SuiteSmile for the review, you summed up the place well I think. How do you get the email address before you go?

Regarding your "upgrade" I find Hilton to be so amazing about how completely impossible they make upgrades for Diamond. I spent 6 months off-and-on staying in the Puerto Rico Hilton two years ago and was once offered an upgrade which he was pleased to tell me was "a king sized bed." Having just spent over 40 nights at the Hilton Sukhumvit, I was always given a high-floor room but never anything special. When I checked in in July, there were probably 5 other guests in this 22-floor Hilton and I still couldn't get a suite upgrade. Saving it for......?

Marriott where I have Titanium? Lets see, twice in Colombia Dormida Resort got upgraded free to the family suite with living room and jacuzzi over the Mediterranean and free wine and fruit. Today I check into the JW Marriott and already preconfirmed upgrade to the Oceanfront Pool Villa. Seemingly always an upgrade to best available. Marriott sucks this year because they are charging a cat-5 night for a $60 room (so of course I paid with cash), but the upgrades are always free-flow.

sbams

@ryandelmundo: Rates are indeed ridiculous, as are so many properties right now. They desperately need the business.

The Panorama Lounge is closed but Diamond members are provided daily Happy Hour from 5:00pm to 6:30pm at the Ocean Beach Club with two complimentary beverages per person per day (alcoholic beverages & a portion of pre-selected canapés).

Your Diamond recognition and suite upgrades are definitely not mine. There is a difference however (opinions vary whether it should be) between having 100+ nights annually or holding a credit card. And Puerto Rico is US so can not be compared to Asia as far as recognition and benefits go. I always receive an excellent upgrade at this property, and many others.

Go and support them, they need customers. And once your booking is made, some days before arrival, you will receive an email to which you can reply with your request.

skywalkerLAX

Just book a prepaid rate.

I stayed recently just because it was on the way. Wasn't impressed... This hotel has always reminded me a little bit of Jurassic Park. Lots of concrete, carts and shuttles zipping back and forth, lots of American and European guests in ugly shirts and khakis (less so now for obvious reasons). All that's missing is the T-Rex!

Phuket just isn't a great Hilton destination.

NoY

As of January 1, 2023, Hilton will no longer operate the Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort & Spa in Phuket. I have no idea what it will re-flag as after that date.

sbams

I also received this devastating news yesterday via my own grapevine.

Like every hotel in Phuket they are fighting for life in the aftermath of Covid, and now with the war in Ukraine there are no more Russian guests, adding to the absence of Chinese who are still unable to travel. I was there 2 weeks ago and only 50 of the 660 rooms were occupied. The staff were all fantastic and so happy and thankful to the few guests who were there.

What I don't understand is how a rebranding could change this. This hotel is iconic as a Hilton - as "another brand" it would first have to establish itself to potential visitors who are not there anyway.

In my opinion one of the best (and certainly best value) resorts in the Hilton group. For many regulars it will be sorely missed. I am curious about this development and wish all staff the best of luck. Chok Dee Khrab.

flyme2

Well actually, I remember the Arcadia before it decided to flag under the Hilton brand. I recall it had significant MICE business. I'm not sure that will still be the case. Perhaps the strategy is to ride out the current downturn until it can gain traction, then reflag under a major brand. It's really too large to remain an independent in the current economic climate.