Thunderroad

Wonderful trip report. Glad you had a great time and got that upgrade!

buylowsellhigh

What does it cost for a taxi or other ride from HKT to Le Meridien? Strongly considering this one for an April stay... this is at the top of the list for the 3 spg's in the area (Khao Lak, LM Phuket, and Westin Siray).

767300ER

Right now it is 2000 THB if you have the transportation arranged by the hotel. It is a 75 min drive. LMKL have a nice arrival lounge in HKT. They use Toyota Camry, good drivers and efficient operation. If you don't plan to go too much around it is a good option. Other that that.. you could consider renting a car. That's an easy drive.

Just came back last week from another great stay at LMKL. Very good staff in general and a special thank you to the villa hosts, Salinee, Tippy, Dom and Farn!^

needtoescape

I used Boss at Cheaper than Hotel Taxis for my airport transfer last month, and it was 1200 baht (each way). They are recommended on TripAdvisor, and I had a good experience with them. Boss responded to my emails very quickly, and it was very easy to make the arrangements. The driver was waiting as expected after my flight arrived late to HKT, and he was punctual for my pickup at LMKL. Both times, the vehicle was a clean, newer SUV, and the driver was good. I also noticed some signs at the beach places near LMKL advertising taxis to HKT for 1300 baht.

buylowsellhigh

Thanks for the excellent info! So its 2k using hotel car, $1.1-1.3k using airport taxi / private car hire, and maybe 100 a person for a school bus.

I was in HKT last year and know about the taxi mafia/monopoly scam and paid around 600 to get to Kamala. Not high by Western standards because a 5 minute ride can be about that much, but certainly do not want to encourage this kind of behavior.

I first looked at LM Phuket but after seeing so many comments about the hotel going "downhill" I changed to Westin... then saw so many comments about a 2yr old hotel falling apart + being in the middle of nowhere, i changed to LM KL.

One last Q - since I'll be getting this with C&P or Free night award, how much is breakfast?

Le Meridien Khao Lak

Dear buylowsellhigh, regarding your latest enquiry about breakfast when you redempt Cash & Point as per SPG membership, this rate is normally not applicable for daily breakfast for SPG standard levels. Breakfast costs THB 860net for adult and THB 430 net for 3-12 year-old children.

However, the breakfast will be exclusively included for all SPG Platinum levels and they can enjoy complimentary daily Breakfast at Baan Thai restaurant arraged for SPG Platinum and Suite or Villa guests.

buylowsellhigh

Thanks for your quick reply. Thats quite expensive for someone not on a corporate expense account, lol. I'm not at Platinum quite yet. Is breakfast (or airport transfer) part of your starpoint redemption chart?

I love staying at chains owned by western brands when I'm traveling thru asia... pricing and everything seems to be adjusted depending on the region that the hotels are located in, everything except for food, room service and other incidentals. I'm staying in phuket for a week before my 2 week biz trip starts and I'm already foreseeing myself giving high ratings except the cost of breakfast

MilesTalk

Just to clarify - It is NOT included for Villa guests that upgraded to a Villa from a regular award room (as we found out last year) if you are not Platinum. And yes, breakfast is quite expensive for the area. That said, Baan Thai is a wonderful place to spend your breakfast hour ... so serene ....

buylowsellhigh

Yeah maybe I'll go once for the experience; but it will be tough to pay 30 USD a day for breakfast every single day. I look forward to this, I check in next week!

bizaro86

They have an a la carte breakfast menu that was considerably cheaper (and ample for us) when we went on C&P as golds. It was inconsistently delivered, but it was available.

Sam P. Goodman

I'm here now looking at the menu featuring Jean Georges dishes. Items range from 180-260 THB, though they are included for Platinums and Villa guests at Baan Thai. I've seen the menu out at Lilawadee (the main restaurant) as well. I had the Croque Madame yesterday and it was a nice portion and tasty. Mrs. G had the Oatmeal Souffle which was smaller and "kind of like oatmeal cake" as she described it.

By the way, the resort is as great as I remembered and we're having a great time. I'll post a thorough write up after our trip wraps up. In the meantime, here's the JG breakfast menu:

Smoked Salmon + Silken Tofu THB 280++

Espresso Steamed Eggs THB 180++

Spiced Oatmeal Souffle THB 250++

Croque Madame Reinvented THB 250++

Warm Goat Cheese Custard THB 260++

Spinach + Herb Buckwheat Crepe THB 240++

buylowsellhigh

Nice!! Thanks for the tip, have a great rest of your stay!!!

Land-of-Miles

The JG breakfast menu is common across all Meridiens as I understand it.

The MKL had the best execution of it I have encountered however. Other Meridiens deploy the dishes in rather sad buffet arrangements which really spoils the food. The MKL is the only property I have found them cooked to order.

Sam P. Goodman

Yes, we've seen the menus at several LMs, though I've never seen any of the items displayed buffet style other than the shots. Definitely cooked to order at Baan Thai. My eggs were perfectly done--hot with very runny yolks, just as I like them. I suspect the oatmeal souffle was pre-done in its dish and then heated to order.

Land-of-Miles

They have pretty much all of the range out on the buffet at the Meridien Cyberport (at least they did last time I stayed there).