Small, luxury hotels in Phuket
 

I wondered if anyone had any advice regarding Phuket hotels.

There are dozens of threads on hotel options on this forum, and on the FT boards for the various major hotel groups. However, much as the likes of the JW Marriott, le Meridien and Renaissance (and others) look appealing, I'd prefer to be (a) less isolated, with non-hotel restaurants and so on in walking distance, and (b) in a more characterful hotel that feels more genuinely Thai.

So what I'm really after is something less isolated and more 'authentic' than the various mega resorts, but available at similar cost. Do such places exist?

In Phuket, I find it better to be in a secluded location.

Trisara and Amanpuri are fantastic, even the entry level accommodation.

You might also consider:

The Boathouse (Same owners as Trisara, and very promising)
The Chedi
The Royal Phuket Yacht Club
Anantara
The Naka Island (formerly Six Senses, now Starwood Luxury Collection)

Not sure what you meant by genuinely "Thai" but the JW Marriott looks very "Thai" to me ...

The Chedi has been rebranded as The Surin & the RPYC is hardly a boutique hotel though there are some eateries within walking distance.

http://www.villaroyalephuket.com/index.html is worth a look. It's owned by the original owners of the RPYC and Boathouse.

There is a pretty significant difference in rates for these properties, especially for the dates that I am searching (late May 2012). Specifically, Boathouse, RPYC and Anantara have much lower rates than the others (much lower = half or less). Are these places comparable in quality and I'm finding really good rates, or are some of these not really luxury resorts?

Trisara and Amanpuri are the only true luxury properties in Phuket, and provide very good value even though they cost more than the other properties I have listed.

Since the OP did not mention budget, I included the other properties as more affordable options. These properties are good "high four star" options, but will not deliver the same kind of experience that one will get at Amanpuri or Trisara.

+1. As usual, Mike's comments are right on.

Had an excellent experience at Trisara last year and heading to Amanpuri very soon.

Hi, came across this old thread when searching for info on the Anantara Phuket.

Curious if there are any updated thoughts on how that property compares to others? I had originally been thinking of the LC Naka Island but the Anantara looks potentially nicer and quite competitively priced.

Have seen a few reviews saying the beach at Anantara isn't great; what does that actually mean? Rocky? Dirty water?

Also, have heard here and elsewhere that the Trisara and Amanpuri are are nicer, but curious what that means in practice? Trisara definitely looks nice but the basic rooms (~$700/night) are not private villas, while the cheapest private villa is quite a lot more expensive (~$1200/night). The same $700/night gets an upgraded private villa at Naka or Anantara, which seems like a better value to me. But not sure if there is something I am missing in the tradeoff -- if it's just the obsequiousness of the service I feel like I would lean toward the less expensive resort.