roneyc

Major anniversary trip throughout November and I've only accomplished booking flights before UA Feb devalue. Will arrive BKK midmorning Tues 11/4 and want to spend days thru Hoi Krathong in Phuket. No flights yet for Phuket so not locked into this choice. Depart BKK for AKL on evening of 11/11.

Is Phuket a good choice for this holiday? I see there is plenty to occupy us for 4 days or so, but wondering about hotel availability, prices, crowds, etc.

I don't have status with any hotels because we seldom travel. Everything is being accomplished with MS. So spouse is earning Gold status w/ Citi card plus 75k Hhonors points with AmEx. Before I do my AOR and try to accumulate more HH points, is this a good choice on Phuket - either Doubletree Surin Beach or Hilton Arcadia? Am I way too early to start looking for room award levels or Miles/Points options on these location? TIA for any advice you care to share

jangell

We have stayed at the Arcadia twice and have found it to be a great property in a convenient location. nightlife in this area is not as great as some of the other areas in phuket but can easily be gotten to via a taxi. Nic property with nice amenities centrally located INMHO. Do a search on the forum. GREAT reviews of the various properties on the island.

roneyc

Thank you Jangell. I've been researching as you suggest and it seems that this is the preferred hotel with my Hilton points if we stay on Phuket.

What I'm hoping for is guidance from locals on the advisability of visiting Phuket during this festival. Would it be better to be in Bangkok or elsewhere within reach of BKK? I know we want to take a quiet break after lengthly flight to SE Asia, and we don't want to be inundated with crowds and rowdy tourists (as if we aren't tourists ourselves). I'm hopeful that early Nov will not be too crowded and we won't see the large influx of Russians complained about in lots of the reviews.

I don't want to head down this road of planning only to discover months from now that I should be targeting another part of Thailand for my first visit.

jordandawg05

i did similar trip in Dec - got a chase marriot card for 80k offer and redeemed 4 nights with 5th free. had to talk to managers several long emails and conversation to book me there at the JW marriot phuket, but it was worth it for us. even though it showed booked they squeezed us in for 5 straight nights free ( 500+ dollars a night)

Oil-man

BAD advice. Many, many tourists have drowned swimming Karon over the summer monsoon season, given the very strong rip currents. You ignore the numerous red flags on the beach at your peril.

nldogbert

Just curious on this, will it be ok to book the day before? Will be staying at the DT Surin. Don't have much time in Phuket, will be arriving in Phuket from Phi Phi most probably late afternoon and would like to do the day trip to the James Bond island the next day. Therefore was wondering if I wait it out, will I have sufficient time to find a tour for the next day?

Cheers!

seanthepilot

Yes, book in Surin beach as soon as you arrive. There should be a plethora of places to book adjacent to your hotel.

Earlier in the day, the better. Afternoon should be ok. You can book into the evening, but once the offices that the agent calls closes, so does your chance to go.

Don't forget to let us know how it went.

italdesign

Hi everyone. I'm planning to come for Xmas and New Year's Eve. We want to be somewhere lively for NYE. We can choose to stay, for that night, at JW Marriott Khao Lak, JW Marriott Phuket (Mai Khao), or Doubletree Surin Beach. I'm leaning towards the last one because it's closer to Patong, which seems the place to be on NYE.

What do you guys recommend?

seanthepilot

I am guessing that each of the hotels you mention will have something going on 'in house' for NYE. Also, Surin Beach should have some type of activity.

If you plan on going to Patong for NYE, expect to pay far too much for transportation and expect significant delays from traffic.

In my opinion, NYE in Patong is when all the idiots come out. Patong is a great party town, albeit overpriced (in terms of drink, transportation prices, and hotels in high season). Patong is a great place to party on a Tuesday, or a Sunday, even a Friday or any other day. But, I'm hesitant to "recommend it" for New Years.

If you go, expect concerts on the beach in 2 places, lots of people, fireworks set off independently, sporadically going off all night long. Bars and Discos will legally be open until 6 or 7 am. Idiots selling and spraying aerosol cans of crazy string. It really is a party. But, over the top, in my opinion.

asundevil99

Same boat as italdesign...going to Phuket at this time and deciding between Marriott or SPG hotels. Platinum at both, not concerned with price just looking for opinions on what people thought was the "nicest" in terms of location, beach, luxury hotel. I will be solo and don't need a party scene.

nissan720

My wife and I are going to be in Phuket for a week in late May. We are staying at the Renaissance Phuket. From what I have read the weather will be hot but should not be too bad otherwise (no major rain or storms).

I was going to see if you guys can recommend things to do and not do in Late May. One thing I have read is that in May going to the Similan Islands can be very rough and may not be worth going.

Thanks for any suggestions.

cks30

Hi Sean et al.,

I can say that I have read all of the 400+ posts, and have found a great deal of helpful information for our upcoming trip to Phuket. My wife and I will be traveling in late November, and plan to spend about five days on the island before going to Bangkok. We will be arriving around 2AM (late flight from HKG). Will this cause any problems? Based on arrival time, we will probably pay a little more to reserve a car with the hotel for peace of mind.

We are still trying to decide on a place to stay. I have ample SPG and Hilton points, so we are considering the Hilton Phuket Arcadia or Le Méridien Phuket Beach, but would be definitely open to other suggestions. We would like to stay around $150 a night if possible, if we’re paying out of pocket and not using points.

We would really like an area with a nice place to relax on the beach, and the ability to snorkel of the beach. We’d like to be able to walk to a few restaurants, if possible, and will probably book trips to Phi-Phi/Maya Bay and James Bond Island when we arrive (maybe even Similan Islands if that’s possible). Are there options to spend a night or two on Phi-Phi? My wife would also like to see the “Big Buddha” in Phuket, so I’ll have to add that to the to-do list.

Are there any other ‘’must do’’ things or places to see while in Phuket? Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

cks30

cks30

Any suggestions or comments would be greatly appreciated.

seanthepilot

cks, although neither will have much snorkeling beaches, both the Le Meridien and Hilton will have nice beaches. Le M has their own bay, private to their resort. The Hilton is across the street from Karon Beach on a nice 4km stretch of sand.

The rip tides can be dangerous as it's open ocean. But, you can snorkel on Phi Phi island tours and Similan Islands (which will be open in November).

If you want to walk to restaurants, then the Hilton wins, because it's in the middle of the community of Karon Beach, because the resort grounds are so huge, it'll be a little bit of a walk, but it's not too much.

cks30

Thanks for the advice. It's greatly appreciated.

I have one more question regarding Phi Phi island. We really enjoy snorkeling, and have been considering spending a night or two on the island before flying out. Do you have any advice on spending night the island? Thanks!