Anantara Layan Phuket
 

Introduction In some previous trips to Phuket I stayed with big hotel chains such as Hyatt Regency and Hilton but for this trip many hotels were closed so I tried Anantara Layan for a change. Overall there were some strengths and some weaknesses, but in the balance of things I cannot recommend this property because there were too many issues that added up to a subpar stay. A clear distinction should be made between the Layan Residences which are very luxurious, and the normal hotel villas which are priced more modestly. We had the latter and in my opinion in this price range there are better options in Phuket especially if holding elite status with many hotel loyalty programs. For the residences the hard product is fantastic but given the numerous service failures we experienced during our stay, people spending that kind of money would expect much better service so I cannot recommend Anantara for the residences either. Location The resort is only a 20-minute drive from HKT airport. Pick-up from the airport was included in our rate package and a hotel representative was waiting for us outside of baggage claim and promptly led to the Mercedes hotel car. They had fresh towels and cold water straight out of a cooler box in the car waiting for us, which was appreciated. The resort is in a somewhat isolated area so the upside is that it’s quiet, but the downside is that it’s not possible to just walk out of the resort to some shops or restaurants. Thankfully the hotel has a shuttle available to go to the “Villa Market” in Bang Tao, with departures from the hotel at 10am and 2pm and return at noon and 4pm, which is a plus. Room I booked a Beach Access Pool Villa and upon arrival as GHA Platinum I was upgraded one category as per the rules to a Sala Pool Villa. This was as expected but I would note that this kind of modest upgrade (only worth 500 THB) is not competitive with the more generous upgrades at the big hotel chains particularly at Hyatt Regency Phuket where we have stayed a few times before. The villa at Anantara reminded me most of Sheraton Pranburi: lots of outdoor space, large pool (7m x 3m), and very private given walls all around the villa, but the compromise is no water views whatsoever. In Hua Hin I do not mind the lack of views but in the more hilly Phuket I personally have a stronger preference for villas with a view.The villa was nice and did not have major problems but it was a notch below the suite we had in Anantara Hua Hin one month ago in terms of quality and size. The bathroom was large and had a vanity and closet on both sides, but it was dark because there were only two frosted windows in the corners, one in the toilet enclosure and one in the shower. There was also a second shower outdoors although it did not seem to have water warm enough, unlike the shower inside. The bathtub was made of cheap plastic and was a bit unstable when we stood up in the tub.Some of the upscale features that we appreciated were the scent stick that we could burn to have an aroma in the room before going to sleep, the portable speaker that we could connect to via bluetooth, the wine cellar in addition to the mini-fridge, and the ice bucket replenished by housekeeping every day which was a nice touch. I would also note that the bed was very comfortable however not all was fine and dandy with the room hardware, one night the lights turned themselves on in the bedroom three times disturbing our sleep, and air conditioning also stopped working that night, unlike other nights where the AC was strong. The do not disturb red light outside our villa also stopped working after the night with the light problem. Housekeeping was not the most thorough which is not right for a hotel which wants to consider itself luxury. I realize that the hotel was unoccupied for two months when Phuket closed due to covid, but they had plenty of time to clean before guests’ arrival on July 1st. Our villa seemed like it had not been cleaned for a while – we could see dust and a bit of dirt on the floors as if they had moved something bulky. Also we found a cockroach in our room – not completely unusual for a tropical resort but not overly surprising either given the overall state of the room during our stay. There were also cobwebs in various outdoor areas for example in the outdoor dining area and on the pathway going to the outdoor shower so housekeeping clearly had not attended those areas at all, and there were leaves in the pool when we arrived.To conclude with the room with some miscellaneous comments, while the villa was visually private, the neighbors were far closer next to the walls than in Sheraton Pranburi where the villas are physically distant so we could clearly hear our neighbors talking during the afternoon in Anantara. Bathroom amenities were in dispensers like in Anantara Hua Hin and not as luxurious as L’Occitane products available in small bottles in Anantara Siam Bangkok. In some resorts on flat terrain there can be more mosquitoes than in hilly areas but in Anantara it was fine. In the room they also provided mosquito repellant oil to plug in the power outlets which was useful. Dining Breakfast started great and went downhill as the hotel got more crowded in the subsequent mornings. At the beginning of our stay we were told we could order items OFF the menu, which was in contrast with the end of our stay when we were unable to order items ON the menu! First off the a la carte menu was not very extensive but the crab fried rice had very generous and large pieces of fresh crab which was delicious. The avocado toast with extra avocados on the side was a good change of pace from traditional breakfasts. Any breakfast cannot be considered luxury without free-flow Prosecco and Anantara delivered. However they seemed to be getting more stingy as our stay went on, initially the Prosecco was laid in an ice bucket in the restaurant in view of guests and they made rounds for refills, but towards the end of our stay the Prosecco was nowhere to be seen and you had to ask for it, including refills which were no longer proactive. At the end of our stay the restaurant was packed during a holiday weekend and service was bad. They missed part of our order, there were no napkins, they brought noodle soup without condiments, no chopsticks, and when I ordered fried rice I was told that day was only chicken. Either they already ran out of shrimps at 8:30am or they were cutting costs due to high occupancy and limiting options to less than the scant choices already on the printed menu. The quality of the dishes also deteriorated at the end of the stay, for example Pad Krapao Gai was tasty on the first day but at the end the pieces of chicken were full of fat and nerves and not edible.The other problem with breakfast is that at the end they experimented with a new concept to offer some kind of buffet but without having guests stand up. They had different servers offering small dishes to each table. I asked for passion fruits and they gave me half a piece. My wife asked for papaya and they gave her one small slice and left. When we looked at our tiny piece of fruit in our large plate we could not help but laugh. The other problem is that they kept coming back to offer several times what we already indicated that we did NOT want: cheese, bread, yogurt, etc. We were constantly being interrupted by staff to the point that it became borderline irritating. And as if it was not enough, other servers brought us items that we did not order – they brought to the wrong table. The restaurant itself was a nice set up with sea views and attractive décor. Besides the fact that it became crowded, they screwed up the experience by having construction staff doing some repairs or work immediately next to the restaurant with loud banging.Guests are captive on the resort unless they have a rental car, and we ordered room service to eat in the privacy of our villa on most days despite the fact that the menu was a bit repetitive and limited. On the first night they charged prices much higher than what was in the online menu and they said it was a mistake: prices had been temporarily decreased as a covid promotion so they had to return with an updated bills half an hour later. Another night they slightly messed up our order when they forgot to bring a side dish that we ordered. And the last night they overcharged us (again) so only 1 night out of 4 were they able to get it right. Service As per the numerous examples noted above, service was not a strong point of this hotel and far below the standards we had at Anantara Hua Hin and even more so compared to Anantara Siam Bangkok which shines in terms of service. The transportation to and from the airport along with the shuttle available during the stay were positives, but the rest was forgettable. This makes it a bad fit with the Layan Residences where people pay over $1k USD per night and will expect nearly perfect service delivery. Upon check-out it was more of the same as they messed up the billing again. We had 1500 THB food & beverage credit per day but they missed one of them. Common Areas Generally speaking I would say the common areas of the hotel are very nice. The main pool was attractive and had water views while the secondary pool near reception was quiet in a forested area therefore no views. The bar near the main pool was also quite inviting. The beach was clean and the hotel being in a bay it was best for people who do not want big waves. Gym The gym had a decent selection of machines with plastic dividers for covid safety but I noted that clean towels were not replenished as often as they should for a hotel of this caliber. On a few occasions the dirty towel basket was full and no staff in sight to bring new ones. There was also a boxing ring outdoors in the middle of the resort which can be an interesting activity for some guests. Wifi Wifi worked well during our stay with speeds of 25-30 Mbps. Overall Overall our stay was not horrible but the sheer number of mishaps added up to make this resort fall well short of luxury in my opinion. Given that Phuket has a lot of competition in all price ranges I am unlikely to return and I would probably prefer to explore new resorts instead of returning to Anantara Layan.

Does the resort still offer a shuttle to the shopping area?