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Marriott Bonvoy hotels in Phuket, Thailand

Marriott Bonvoy hotels in Phuket, Thailand

Old Nov 22, 2018, 5:59 pm
  #1606  
 
Join Date: Nov 2013
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Phuket, Thailand Hotel Options

My wife and I are heading to Phuket for 5 nights in February 2019. We are trying to decide what hotel is going to be the best for us.

We enjoy a great beach for swimming and snorkeling.
Very clean and modern hotel
Good food
Romantic and relaxing

The two hotels we have been looking at are:

The Naka Island, a Luxury Collection Resort & Spa, Phuket

JW MARRIOTT KHAO LAK RESORT & SPA

Any positive or negative feedback on these hotels would be appreciated. If we are missing another hotel that we should check out let me know.

THANKS!!!
Jay00848 is offline  
Old Nov 23, 2018, 5:13 am
  #1607  
CL9
 
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Originally Posted by Jay00848
My wife and I are heading to Phuket for 5 nights in February 2019. We are trying to decide what hotel is going to be the best for us.

We enjoy a great beach for swimming and snorkeling.
Very clean and modern hotel
Good food
Romantic and relaxing

The two hotels we have been looking at are:

The Naka Island, a Luxury Collection Resort & Spa, Phuket
JW MARRIOTT KHAO LAK RESORT & SPA

Any positive or negative feedback on these hotels would be appreciated. If we are missing another hotel that we should check out let me know.

THANKS!!!

The Naka Island, a Luxury Collection Resort & Spa, Phuket:

We enjoy a great beach for swimming and snorkeling: Beach looks nice but when tide is low you cannot swimm. Snorkeling useless (you don't see anything)
Very clean and modern hotel: Clean yes, modern not really. I had an Pool Seaview Villa and was really disappointed. It looks so nice on pictures but in real they are not.
Good food: nope, you can eat but it is not delicious (and for that taste totaly overpriced)
Romantic and relaxing: YES, I think thats why this property still exists. The surounding is really beautful, as you are nearly alone on the island and the beach is private.


JW MARRIOTT KHAO LAK RESORT & SPA:

We enjoy a great beach for swimming and snorkeling: Swimming yes (but it can have strong current and big waves) Snorkeling useless (you don't see anything) but from there it is not far to Similan Island where snorkeling is fantastic.
Very clean and modern hotel: Clean yes, modern not really. Typically JW style, a lot of dark wood. I would not call it modern and the hotel is outdated in my opinion.
Good food: nope, you can eat but it is not delicious
Romantic and relaxing: No, it is an huge resort with many tour operator tourits.


The only alternative I could recommend would be the Renaissance Phuket.

We enjoy a great beach for swimming and snorkeling: Beach is nice, long, lonely, no people but swimming can be hard (I was the only person who try go swimming) really big waves and really strong current!
Very clean and modern hotel: YES, everything is clean, fresh and modern.
Good food: YES, very delicious (it is so delicious that when I stayed last time at JW Phuket I drived to Renaissance to eat there instead of eating at JW)
Romantic and relaxing: YES it is an small resort, the Pool Villas are really private (nobody can look into your area, at Naka Island people may look into your area) and 10 times better than the Naka Island Villas even when it is a lot smaller.
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CL9 is offline  
Old Nov 23, 2018, 10:54 am
  #1608  
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Originally Posted by CL9
The only alternative I could recommend would be the Renaissance Phuket.
The Ren came to mind for me as well.

Note that the big waves on the Phuket coastline are seasonal. February shouldn't be bad. April through October can be quite dangerous and they lose many tourists every year.
Kacee is offline  
Old Nov 23, 2018, 12:46 pm
  #1609  
 
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Originally Posted by CL9
The Naka Island, a Luxury Collection Resort & Spa, Phuket:

We enjoy a great beach for swimming and snorkeling: Beach looks nice but when tide is low you cannot swimm. Snorkeling useless (you don't see anything)
Very clean and modern hotel: Clean yes, modern not really. I had an Pool Seaview Villa and was really disappointed. It looks so nice on pictures but in real they are not.
Good food: nope, you can eat but it is not delicious (and for that taste totaly overpriced)
Romantic and relaxing: YES, I think thats why this property still exists. The surounding is really beautful, as you are nearly alone on the island and the beach is private.


JW MARRIOTT KHAO LAK RESORT & SPA:

We enjoy a great beach for swimming and snorkeling: Swimming yes (but it can have strong current and big waves) Snorkeling useless (you don't see anything) but from there it is not far to Similan Island where snorkeling is fantastic.
Very clean and modern hotel: Clean yes, modern not really. Typically JW style, a lot of dark wood. I would not call it modern and the hotel is outdated in my opinion.
Good food: nope, you can eat but it is not delicious
Romantic and relaxing: No, it is an huge resort with many tour operator tourits.


The only alternative I could recommend would be the Renaissance Phuket.

We enjoy a great beach for swimming and snorkeling: Beach is nice, long, lonely, no people but swimming can be hard (I was the only person who try go swimming) really big waves and really strong current!
Very clean and modern hotel: YES, everything is clean, fresh and modern.
Good food: YES, very delicious (it is so delicious that when I stayed last time at JW Phuket I drived to Renaissance to eat there instead of eating at JW)
Romantic and relaxing: YES it is an small resort, the Pool Villas are really private (nobody can look into your area, at Naka Island people may look into your area) and 10 times better than the Naka Island Villas even when it is a lot smaller.
thank you for all the info. I am going to add Ren to my list to check out.

Jay00848 is offline  
Old Nov 28, 2018, 9:19 pm
  #1610  
 
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Hi all!

I have an upcoming trip to SE Asia, and the last part of our trip is a week in Thailand, I arrive to BKK on a Tuesday, and leave a week later. Our plan is to spend 2 days there, and then head south to spend 4-5 days at the beach.

I have a Marriott 5n Cat-5 certificate, so i'm ideally looking at cat-5 properties.

My initial thought was Koh Samui, but recently saw the prices of flights, and i dont remember them being that expensive, around $330 CAD x3.

I was looking then at Phuket, although not my ideal destination, but flights are much cheaper and there seems to be plenty of Marriott hotels to choose from.

Last year we also went to Ao nang beach, next to Railey, which we loved, but for 5 days it's a bit much.

One other place i considered was Phu Quoc, the JW there is cat-5 and looks rather nice. Problem is getting there. Prices are a bit cheaper than Koh Samui, but our dates dont work with the direct flights so we would have to fly through SGN thus requiring a Visa and also a longer flight.

So, im a bit out of ideas at the moment. Phuket seems like an ok choice, but i would to see what other options are there.

I would definitely consider a cat-6 as i have the points for that as well.

Btw, we are 2 adults and a 3yo.

Thanks!
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Old Dec 26, 2018, 1:00 am
  #1611  
 
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I can confirm now both JW Phuket and Khao Lak give full buffet breakfast as plat amenity, and both breakfasts are excellent. I personally far prefer Khaolak breakfast because of variety but Phuket one good and had fresh squeezed juice which was excellent.

From a plat standpoint, Phuket offers very little while Khaolak is more generous (1 drink per person per night and free shuttle).

Beach at Phuket nice to walk on but not really incorporated into resort like Khaolak. Phuket's pools tiny in comparison but overall has a more luxuripis feel... Khaolak seems more like a giant Sheraton to me. Service at Phuket was subpar, with staff never smiling, almost machine like. Khaolak service friendlier.

Mixed on both resorts. I'd go back but not dying to. There are other resorts out there I'd like to try first. JW Phu Quoc far superior, as is LC Vana Belle.

I had higher hopes for JWs to be more luxurious yet still be large enough for fun for little ones. Not quite luxuriois enough, not quite fun enough.
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Old Jan 6, 2019, 4:02 pm
  #1612  
 
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I know this hotel is currently a Cat 5, requiring 35K Marriott points/night. Does anybody remember how many points per night and which category this hotel was prior to the Aug 2018 changes?
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Old Jan 6, 2019, 11:20 pm
  #1613  
 
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Originally Posted by bostonbali
I know this hotel is currently a Cat 5, requiring 35K Marriott points/night. Does anybody remember how many points per night and which category this hotel was prior to the Aug 2018 changes?
Not 100% sure which you are asking about but the JW Khao Lak was 35k in 2017, up to 40k in spring, 2018, and back down to 35k in August
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Old Jan 6, 2019, 11:47 pm
  #1614  
 
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Sorry, forgot to specify, I meant JW Phuket. Good to know that JW KL went up, then back down to 35K.
Speaking of 35K, I am planning to stay at a Phuket-area hotel for 7 nights using a Cat 5 (new Cat 5) Travel Certificate. I'll be traveling with my 6-year old son. Am I correct to assume that the JW Marriott is the best of the 35K/night hotels in the Phuket area for kids? I'm concerned that the renaissance is too romantic / boring for kids, and that Khao Lak might be too remote / fewer kid-friendly options. For what it's worth, I've been to Phuket before, as well as to Khao Lak, though have never stated at either JW properies. As far as towns/areas,. I much preferred Khao Lak, but feel that there are more options for kids near (or not too far) from JW Phuket. I am also planning to get a rental car.

Thanks for your suggestions and input!
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Old Jan 7, 2019, 12:11 am
  #1615  
 
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JW Khao Lak far superior than JW Phuket for kids. Has one of the biggest swimming pools I've ever seen and a small but fun water slide. It is remote but so is JW Phuket.

Phuket's pools are tiny and not laid out well for playing.

We just stayed at both and LM. Son wants to go back Khao Lak most. Followed by LM. None of us wpuld object going bacl to Phuket but none of us miss it.

Khao Lak far better
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Old Jan 23, 2019, 2:08 am
  #1616  
 
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Originally Posted by SHLTP
JW Khao Lak far superior than JW Phuket for kids. Has one of the biggest swimming pools I've ever seen and a small but fun water slide. It is remote but so is JW Phuket.

Phuket's pools are tiny and not laid out well for playing.

We just stayed at both and LM. Son wants to go back Khao Lak most. Followed by LM. None of us wpuld object going bacl to Phuket but none of us miss it.

Khao Lak far better
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How is the schlepp from the airport to Khao Lak? JW Phuket at Mai Khao is all of 20 minutes from the airport which to me (going to be travelling with a 5 year old and a 2 year old) is a BIG plus.
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Old Jan 23, 2019, 4:23 pm
  #1617  
 
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You can't go wrong w JW Phuket but for kids I find JW Khao Lak far superior. It takes 1 hour 20 mins to Khao Lak. My little one made that trip no problem to the then LM Khao Lak when he was 5-6.

If pools are important to you, go to Khao Lak.
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Old Feb 1, 2019, 8:45 pm
  #1618  
 
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Got a question on the 3 southernmost SPG/Marriott hotels...
Le Meridien
Westin Siray Bay
Marriott Nai Yang

looking for a) the best breakfast b) overall resort build and beauty and c) platinum upgrades
d) would be beach and view

any suggestions? Also is the Ren head and shoulders above all of them?
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Old Feb 2, 2019, 1:47 pm
  #1619  
 
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Originally Posted by elleana
How is the schlepp from the airport to Khao Lak? JW Phuket at Mai Khao is all of 20 minutes from the airport which to me (going to be travelling with a 5 year old and a 2 year old) is a BIG plus.
Apart from the last bit, its a fairly wide straight piece of road. JW KL is supposed to be the largest pool in Asia. You might want to check as I dont recall a kiddy section.
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Old Feb 6, 2019, 11:03 pm
  #1620  
 
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Has anyone stayed at the Marriott Vacation Club Mai Khao beach? It appears to be very close to the JW Phuket and the Marriott Vacation Phuket Beach Club (where I have stayed before). Do guests at the Mai Khao vacation club have access to the JW facilities like the pool and spa and such? I think the answer is yes from what I remembered reading online somewhere but can’t seem to find a definite answer short of emailing (faxing) the hotel .
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