A Decent Place for a Pool (Regency Suite + Ocean View Terrace rooms)

1   Not Recommended
Room 1418 , Ocean View Terrace
March 5, 2017 by

 Map | 3 Reviews | 33% Recommended
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Hyatt Regency Phuket Resort
 Map | 3 Reviews | 33% Recommended

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Room 1418

Ocean View Terrace

Liked:
Location
Service
Food
Amenities
Room
Stats
Room
Ocean View Terrace

Check In

The initial reception at this property is done right.  Upon entry, you get greeted, seated away from the checkin desk, and the staff will provide you with a delicious drink.  Checkin is performed at this comfortable seating.  The main lobby is a beautiful open-air space.

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Experience was great.  We were then taken by golf cart up to our room.  To give you an idea of the property, it is situated on a huge hill, so unless you are used to big hills, you will want to use the golf carts.

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Room

Stayed here late November/easy December for 5 nights on a DSU to a "Regency Suite King" (two bedrooms, one king, two double beds).  I stayed in Building 12, just two persons.  The room was nice, but I did see some items were worn, so it was not a complete refurb.

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In the entryway hallway was a window overlooking the side of the Regency Club, along with a number of air conditioner units.

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There was also a large closet in the main hallway, presumably to be shared.

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There was a fantastic livingroom which could fit 3-4 people well, with a TV.

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For a group of >2 people, this would be great.  Except for the window (with blinds) that went from the bathroom to the master bedroom.  There was also a large gap between the double doors leading from the 2nd bedroom to the bathroom, which would lead to significant...light leakage and "visibility" into the bathroom.  There was also no lock on the doors, not that I care, but I know some people do.  A/C was absolutely fantastic, with 3 or 4 separate units (and separate thermostats) for the master bedroom, 2nd bedroom, living room, and I think also the hallway, iirc.

Patio had a large chair for 1-2 people to sit on, and a dining table.  Great view, not much functional space other than for dining.  Room didn't have a kitchen, so no idea why there was a dining table (not pictured).

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I thought the rooms and layout were silly for two people, so I asked to be "downgraded" to an "Ocean View Terrace" room.

We got swapped to building 14, room 1418.  Out of the top-most level of the terrace rooms, this is the one with the worst view, but it was still great.

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The room itself was small, just a king bed, work desk, and bathroom.  One AC unit for the whole place, which worked reasonably well, but the room did get humid sometimes (imagine that, right?).  The terrace was huge, and had a huge covered outdoor seating area.  This had lighting for sitting at night, a small table with two chairs, and a ceiling fan to keep you cool at night.  Candle with matches inside a lantern (to protect from wind) and a citronella coil were provided.

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Also had a Jacuzzi which was covered, had curtains on one side to protect from others trying to view the area, and lights as well.

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Overall the room was great, except for a few issues.  There was glass between the bathroom and bedroom, but it was up high and was frosted.  Yet for some reason the door between the bedroom and bathroom was a slider that had glass that was clear.  Very very odd.  The Jacuzzi when we arrived was still filling with water, but nobody came to stop the filling.  There were also no chemicals added to the water.  We shut off the water ourselves.  I don't think any chemicals were ever added.  When adjusting the jets, weird flakes came out.  I know this is very unusual, but we actually emptied the whole hot tub ourselves, cleaned it with the loofah from the shower, and refilled it with water.  It was actually kind of nasty.  There was green stuff around some of the jets.  I can only think this room was not frequently used or something.  After cleaning and refilling, everything worked well.

Overall, I loved the terrace room.  If I had more than two people, I would actually just recommend getting a terrace room and one additional cheap room as opposed to the two bedroom suite.  I think it's actually cheaper that way.

Dining

We did eat at the breakfast buffet each day which is included as a Diamond/Globalist member, which was good.  Variety of western and asian options, including made to order eggs and omelettes, fresh juice, etc.

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Never ate breakfast in the lounge.  Stopped in once in the morning to grab a Coke, but they didn't have any.  When asking, we were blown off and told they didn't have any come back later in the day.  Lounge beakfast hours are 6:30a-10:30a.

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Had some of the evening cocktail hour and snacks in the club lounge (530p-730p).  Beer, wine, and hard liquor were there, but ran out quickly and not consistently refilled quickly.  There were many snacks inside that were ok, but the star was the outdoor cooking station.  Each night they had some grilled item (grilled chicken thighs, for example) with vegetables and such.  This was consistently excellent, and the outdoor chef was the one who actually always provided the biggest smile and best service.  The outdoor steating at the club also had decent views, and a private pool which I never saw used.

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If you are so inclined, the Pool Bar has a happy hour menu coinciding with the club lounge cocktail hours where select drinks are buy one get one free.  Service varied from expedient and personable to mediocre.  One of the staff members told me they were considering moving from the Hyatt chain to another chain in the Phuket area because Hyatt didn't really treat them that well.

We did leverage the paid dining facilities at The Pool House which has indoor and outdoor dining.  Service here actually sucked.  It was bad.  As in the staff would take our order, then disappear for 30-45 minutes.  Then they would bring our food, and then disappear for 45 minutes again.  No joke, I timed it after the first time this happened.  I ate here for convenience, but would really avoid it.

Location

The pool area itself was cleaned daily.  When I woke up early, I would always see staff cleaning the pool, which is nice.

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During the day, there are plenty of staff to hand you towels, but found it hard to order a drink from my lounge chair.

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The pool sits overlooking the beach.  At low tide, it looks bad.  At high tide, it looks great.  But the pool is right next to a lightly-trafficked road, so expect to hear and sometimes see cars and vans.  Beach is unusable here, but hotel provides a free shuttle to the nice beach just down the read.  The driver will pick you up to take you back to the hotel if you meet him while he is dropping off.  Otherwise you are on your own to travel back to the hotel.  Taxis rip you off, and are about 200 THB for a 5 min ride.  You can try to negotiate with the drivers, but they are unlikely to take it if you do not appear to be local.  Grabcar will likely not be able to find cars around here for the short trips.

From the airport, we took Grabcar for 700 THB.  Grab is similar to Uber here.  Our driver spoke English, and let us know that Grab employs translators with phones to call you if needed.  Driver met us at the curb outside International terminal arrivals, and the ride was absolutely painless.  Just keep in mind when the Grab app says "limo" it's not talking about a US Limo, it's talking about a not-so-run-down car.  Keep your expectations in check.

To get back to the airport, hotel will fetch a taxi for 1500 THB.  If you prefer, walk outside of the hotel from the stairway at The Pool House and you will see at least one taxi driver with a sign that says "Airport 800 THB".  Or you can use the Grabcar app and pay more like 620 THB.

Additional Information

Schedule for service to Kamala.  Van to Patong is chargeable, except fee is waived for Diamond/Globalist.

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Overall

I thought the Hyatt Regency Phuket was a decent hotel.  There was nothing wrong with it per se.  But the pool wasn't that large, and there was nothing else to really do at the hotel.  Everything else required a long walk in to town, or a taxi/shuttle.  Similarly, even getting to your room at the Hyatt here may require a golf cart unless you have strong legs ready to walk up steep hills.  While I enjoyed my trip here, I think this property acts more as a "home base" for the area rather than a resort property.  It may be good if you are expecting to go on day trips, tours, or have a family where the Globalist Suite Upgrade to the two bedroom suite would be helpful.  I might stay again if the situation dictated, although would probably prefer a different property.

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