ung1

Interesting report. Was considering the RC Phulay Bay but that apparently doesn't have a great beach. Then thought about this one, but the beach is crowded with day trippers. Tough decisions!

MikeFromTokyo

The two make a good pairing if you have enough time to split your stay between both resorts.

Benco

Hello,

We're considering staying at Rayavadee in October and I'm hoping to tap into your experience of this resort so that we can maximise the experience and reduce our costs

By we, I refer to a couple with two children (age 1 and 4).

Some of the questions i still have have after reading some of the reviews and posts on this resort are:

- which booking agent will offer us better prices and freebies (i.e. Upgrade etc)? LHW or Mr&Mrs Smith are listed on their website as official partners; anyone else I should consider?

- if we wanted to visit the towns in the area, does the hotel offers complimentary shuttle?

- are there any activities for young children? Do they offer babysitting service?

- I read here a report that mentioned that some of the pavilions were renovated and one should avoid those who were not. Does the hotel normally accepts a request to only be in a renovated room or will they just say "subject to availability on the day"?

- our flight arrives at 7am, how likely is it to get early check-in?

- Does the hotel adds resort fees? What are they and are there ways to avoid them?


Thanks in advance!

MikeFromTokyo

LHW with Leaders Club membeship is the only way I know to get a published upgrade benefit. This resort will not negotiate with first time guests, so that is the best way to book in my opinion.

You can guarantee a renovated pavilion by booking any of the "premium" categories; however, virtually all of the pavilions should be renovated by now. You can try to get a guarantee in writing from the hotel that you will have a renovated Deluxe Pavilion (if you were not upgraded), but YMMV. This probably depends on occupancy.

Yes re babysitting services. Activities for children can surely be arranged as well, but I have no direct experience as I have no children.

Re early check in, that is highly likely. Virtually guaranteed if not high/full occupancy.

No "resort" fees per se. There is of course tax and service charge on everything, as with most resorts.

QPRfan

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QPRfan

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mumum17

QPRfan,

We were there last October. Actually, we shared time with Phulay Bay (again, all thanks to MikeFromTokyo for the great suggestions ).

We stayed also in the Hydro pool room #107 !
I truly felt that area was best. It was closer to the more private beach and not inconvenient from Raley beach either.
I have to say that i agree with you on the location, quality of accomodation and the food. The food was great across the board and we ate everywhere (we did not try anywhere outside the resort except for drinks).
Our daughter had a great time as there are many activities to keep the kids occupied. Everyday they have an itinerary next to the library of whats going on and usually it includes kid friendly activities.
We did not have much issue with all the traffic on the Raley beach and most of them dissipated by the late afternoon. Very fond memories.

twentyfourseven

@Musken great report above.

Family pavilions are sold out for our dates - could we squeeze 2 kids and a little one in a cot into a deluxe pavilion - essentially they would have the downstairs as their bedroom?

How bad were the mosquitos?

Musken

In terms of actual square meters there is space for another bed downstairs, I think, but there is not really a logic place for the 2nd bed to be put as the pavilion is round with three doors (entrance, door to stairs up to 2nd floor and door to downstairs toilet) and then windows on all walls except where the daybed where our son slept was placed. This means that the 2nd bed would be either in the middle of the room or next to a window and that they would need to move furniture.I guess the best you can do is to ask them if they allow this and how they would suggest to put the extra bed.

Maybe the cot upstairs with you??

Regarding mosquitos I do not recall that these were a problem when we were there, but this obiously varies dependent on the time you go. They did fog as well once or twice when we were there. Maybe @MikeFromTokyo knows more about this since he has been there several times.

QPRfan

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MikeFromTokyo

I've never had a big problem with mosquitoes at all, in any season. Occasionally one may need a bit of repellent when having dinner, but overall it's not a problem. I only use natural insect repellent spray very lightly if needed, as my aversion to chemical repellents is even stronger than my aversion to the occasional little mosquito bite.

The resort must handle the mosquito problem well, because most of the time I never even notice anything.

ung1

They fog the entire resort every second day, so hardly any issues with mosquitoes

offerendum

Does it have any impact on quantity of birds etc in the resort? I thought in the past that in this cases the had less mosquitoes but also less wildlife.

MikeFromTokyo

I certainly hope not, but it would be hard to say. There is a lot of beautiful wildlife, but since they always do apparently fog for mosquitoes, I have no idea how it would be otherwise.

Unfortunately it is a necessary evil for them to control the mosquitoes and other flys, as they could not operate a resort if guests were getting bitten constantly and with all of the associated health risks that would entail. I am sure it's the same at all resorts in southern Thailand.