Phi Phi Rimlay Cottage

I reported the room problems to reception, but nothing had been done 24 hours later. The aircon was missing parts and couldn’t use its sweep function, the television didn’t work, and the sink was blocked. When I tried to clear it by hand, a load of black debris came up from the plug assembly. They also tried to charge an extra fee for paying with a bank card on top of the booking fee. It seems they only want short trippers, so they don’t have to deal with the problems they offer. Such a disappointment on a beautiful island with more to offer than the staff and management of Rimlay Resort. It’s little more than a hostel, not a hotel, and it’s a wonder how it got any stars. Maybe cash changed hands.

There was lots of construction right across from the rooms while I was there, starting very early in the morning. I hope it’s finished before your trip, or forget about a slow, leisurely wake-up. The rooms were nice, the staff friendly, and the location great, close to the beach and about a ten-minute walk from the pier, so it’s easy to walk over when you arrive by ferry. Breakfast was very basic, though, and the Wi-Fi kept dropping.

I didn’t stay at the resort, just ate at the waterfront restaurant. The food, prices, view, and staff were all fabulous, and the sunset views were great. Highly recommend.

The breakfast was poor, with lots of items missing until we asked them to refill, and even then service was slow. We got a “garden” view that was basically grass and a shed. The location wasn’t bad, but being right next to a mosque meant prayers and shouting woke us at 5 am. The facilities need a lot of renovation: lights kept crashing, the bathroom was dark, pipes weren’t fitted properly and a sewage smell appeared after a couple of days, and paint was coming off the walls everywhere. Check-in took forever because nobody was at the entrance, so we had to search around for someone working. When we finally found a person, they weren’t respectful and didn’t even apologize for the wait. We were disappointed, especially since we could have booked much nicer places for the same price. Adjacent resorts looked much better and seemed to always have a pool. Do yourselves a favor and book anywhere else.