[GONE] Sheraton Krabi, Thailand [Master Thread] (left July 1, 2015)
 

I hear that the new Sheraton Krabi has had a soft launch and will be fully open in mid-Jan.

I was wondering if anyone has stayed there and can make any comments on the place. How are the rooms, plat upgrade, pool size, etc etc.

I'm thinking of staying there in mid-March. The hotel sent me several pictures and a brochure by e-mail. I'll forward it if anyone wants. Once someone stays there, I'd love to know how it compares to Rayavadee.

We just got back from a five-night stay in December. Loved it. Nicest place my wife and I stayed. Rooms are two-story, unattached houses. Property is very classy and private, with a stunning setting. There's a very good trip report here if you look it up.

PS. We checked out Dec. 26 and out points haven't posted yet. William, is there anything you can do?

You must mean Rayavadee. The Sheraton Krabi isn't even scheduled to open until mid-January.

Any update on this property? With the Rayavadee going up to 12 to 16k/night, I'd be interested to hear how this place stacks up.

We were booked to stay there the first week of February, but canceled our bookings a couple of days ago when we found out from the hotel that it would only be partially open... no spa open yet, for example, nor any suites open so no chance of Platinum suite upgrade. Thought it would be better to go after it is fully open.

12 to 16k per night? The best rate I can find at Rayavadee is over 19k. Where did you find your rates, or are they for off-season?

The spa at Krabi isn't scheduled to open until May. Other than that, the e-mail I received from the hotel said that everything else would be operational by March.

For Rayavadee the best deals are there packages. You can call directly to the hotel. Usually cheaper than booking night by night.

I'm booked for the end of June for five nights. They deducted 48k points (12k/night + the one night free) however, 15k will be credited back (per Williams comments) so I figure five nights at the Rayavadee for only 33k points is a great deal! My wife and I were there last year for five nights and it was wonderful!

I will also spend a few nights at the new Sheraton Krabi and get back with a report.

Sorry, I just realized you were actually going to pay in the Thai Bhat - I'm using points.


[This message has been edited by SLC2002 (edited 01-12-2003).]

We stayed at the Rayavadee and used the spa - loved it - from Dec. 26-31. It is open and you will not be disappointed.

We stayed at the Rayvadee for three nights, Jan 8-11 2003, on a free Starwood reward. The place is gorgeous, and the setting spectacular. We received a standard room, really a freestanding 2-storey building. The lower floor contained a living room with TV, and a powder room. Upstairs was the bedroom, master bath with a giant tub, walk-in shower, and separate toilet room.

We tried two restaurants on-site, the Thai Seafood restaurant on Railay West beach for dinner one night, and had breakfast at the Raya dining room twice. I must say that the food at both restaurants was rather disappointing, but the best we could find without hopping on a boat.

Speaking of boats, the staff discouraged us from taking the long-tail boats to Krabi town, Phranang, and other towns, but we did anyway. Phranang is a typical tourist-oriented resort town, but Krabi Town was lots of fun, with great restaurants, wonderful street food, lots of shopping, markets, etc.

Back to the Rayavadee... it's located on the southern end of a peninsula with no roads or cars (therefore, you need to hop on a boat to get anywhere). There are giant limestone Karst towers towering over the site, and more towers coming straight out of the sea on the western side. We took one of the hotel's sea kayaks and explored the little islands off Railay west. Just beautiful.

There are other hotel/resorts on the peninsula to the north of Rayavadee. They are nice, but don't approach the quality of the Rayvadee. But then again, they only cost about US$50/night. There are also restaurants, bars, and small shops in the area. Some of the restaurants are on Phranang beach, right on the water. Great setting, but not the best food.

All in all, probably the best Starwood property I've stayed in (well, probably tied with the Gritti Palace in Venice), in an unbeatable setting. Very close to paradise.

Sheraton Krabi - Trip Report
 

Here goes my first trip report.

Only one type of Taxi from the airport to the hotel and it costs 600 THB no negotiation. The ride is about 50km and takes a little under an hour. On arrival was greeted by some garlands as well as a nice welcome juice and towel. At check in was given ammenity card with choice of 500pts, 200 bar coupon, which is not enough to pay for a single alcoholic cocktail, or a incense burner from the spa. The staff were very friendly at check-in.

The hotel is still not fully completed and the place was quite empty. None of the suites are completed so as a plat I was upgraded to a club room. Also found a nice fruit basket in the room. The rooms are okay size with a deck that faces into a marsh. Can get a small glimpse of the ocean but nothing much. The room has a seperate shower and tub. Overall it was okay, nothing special.

The pool in the resort is not very large at all. I am wondering whether they still plan to build another pool beneath the existing pool. The beach is further down from the pool and is very rocky. Its defintely not a place where you would swim. Its quite muddy and full of dead coral.

There are several resteraunts at the resort and are very pricey by Thai standards. A main course running about 300-350 baht. Next door to the hotel on the right if you are heading to the beach are a resteraunt about 100M and then another resort about 250M away. The small resteraunt 100M away is about 1/4 the price of Sheraton but the food is nothing fancy. The resort resteraunt called Andaman Resort is about 250M away and the price of food is about 1/2 price and is not bad. They have a full western and Thai menu.

The spa here is complete but I never went cause the prices are western prices and what I find to be quite unreasonable. The hotel has a new gym and a great tennis court. There is no charge for the tennis court and you can rent a nice racket for 100Baht. There are practice balls there that are free for use. They have an aquatic center that can arrange diving. Only thing that turned me off is that if you want to borrow the snorkelling equipment its 100 baht per hour. The resort is in the middle of nowhere and if you want to go to Ao Nang the closest main beach you have to take a shuttle for 200 roundtrip per person or a private hotel car. The hotel has a desk that can book all your day excursisions for you. If you are a non-Thai I would recommend you use their service because you will not get ripped off and will not have problems with transfer to and from your activity.

I went Kayaking and it was worth it. Spent the day paddling through tiny caves and mangroves. Only down side is that it took 1/2 hour to get to Ao Nang and then another 1 hour by car from Ao Nang to the paddle site.

The hotel has a marsh setting and is PACKED with mosquito's. So please bring lots of insect repellent and after bite cream.

Thats it for now. Hope it was helpful.

I'm sure glad I stayed at the Rayavadee!

Rayavadee is nice but the room rates are a lot more higher than the Sheraton Krabi.

Thanks for your report, tfong007. Has anyone else stayed there recently and can comment on the beach? On the website it says "500m of pristine white sand beach frontage" which certainly sounds better than "muddy beach with dead coral". What's the beach like? Is it fine sand or stony? We've been to Phuket and had such a muddy beach and it was horrible. Not only is there no way to swim as you could walk on the muddy, slippery ground into the water for several hundred meteres without getting water on much more than your feet, it also stinks like hell and was no pleasure at all.

Also regarding the Club room: How is the breakfast selection in the morning (cold/hot dishes)? What about dinner drinks at night? Any insight would help.