Lanta Beach Resort

We’re a family with two children and really needed a vacation. We had such a great time at Lanta Riviera Beach Resort that we added three more days to our stay. The resort is beautiful, with clean bungalows, a pool and slide, and a beach right outside. The breakfast had everything we could wish for. The staff, owners, and manager were even more wonderful, all very kind and professional.

We had a great five-night stay with the family at Lanta Riviera. It’s set up for families with small children, with a pool and slide and a restaurant where you can spend the day without needing to buy anything. The beach is right there, and the resort is about 100 m from the main street and other bars, far enough away that we heard no noise. Everything was clean, the rooms were decent, and the staff were very friendly and attentive. Breakfast was fresh and delicious, with a wide choice of Western and local food. The resort is clearly well looked after. I’d recommend it for a relaxed stay.

The room was the biggest problem. Ours, number 110, was much smaller than it looked in the photos, and the bathroom smelled awful, like a mix of a canal and a urinal. I complained and asked to move, but that wasn’t possible. Booking.com tried to contact reception but couldn’t reach anyone. I got a small refund in the end, though the room still felt far too expensive. It was very worn out, especially the bathroom, and the mattress was extremely soft and clearly used. Without our mosquito plug-in we would have been eaten alive, since there was no mosquito net. Our neighbors and other guests we could hear sitting outside were unhappy with their rooms too. I was relieved we’d booked only four nights and found myself counting down until we could leave. Afterward we moved to Robinson Club, paid only a little more, and got five times the value for our money. There were good things for families. The hotel is right on the beach, so we could step out in a bikini and go straight to the sea, or use the clean, great pool, though it was a bit cloudy one day. I was there with my five-year-old, who loved being around so many other children. I wouldn’t recommend the hotel to people traveling without kids. There’s a playroom next to the pool where children can meet and play. You can get a massage on the beach, and there’s a lovely seating area with a fantastic beach view. The staff were very friendly, especially in the bars and restaurants. Breakfast had a wide selection, and the beach was beautiful, though tiny crabs or something similar occasionally bit us. We had the same experience on Koh Mook, but not in Khao Lak. The buffet could have had more vegan choices, including plant-based milk alternatives, which would be useful for everyone. The playroom toys were mismatched, broken, or incomplete and in poor condition. Staff and people from outside the hotel said the owners were opening another hotel. To me, that felt rather greedy when this one should first be brought up to a good standard.

The restaurant always had something we could eat. Breakfast was good, and there was enough food to fill up on during the day and evening. There are more restaurants next door and up on the main road, and we especially liked Lucky Tree. The 7-Eleven is about an 8-10 minute walk away. Most guests were families with young children, so it wasn’t very quiet. That didn’t really bother us, as we were usually at the beach while the families were mostly at the pool. The bungalows were perfectly adequate, but now and then there was an unpleasant bathroom smell. Shower water drained into a hole beside the toilet, with no odor trap. All in all, we had a very pleasant stay.