Phi Phi Sunset Bay Resort

I liked the place. The bungalows are rustic but clean and in good shape, with a fridge, two fans in room #11, and air conditioning. The views from the bed or balcony are breathtaking. They’re one-room units with balconies and half-open bathrooms, about a 30-minute walk from P.P.'s center, and the walk can be challenging. That location is both the main advantage and the main drawback. Depending on the wind, you can also hear much of the party noise.

The views are great, and we had a wonderful time. Staff were very nice and met us at the tonsai pier. Just don’t leave your things out: monkeys are around, and if you leave the door unlocked, they know how to get into the room. My girlfriend hated them, though I thought it was kind of fun. This isn’t a traditional hotel. You’re staying in a log cabin exposed to the elements, with an open-air shower and bathroom. Get a room with AC, because without it we’d have enjoyed the stay a lot less. The trail to town took about 20 minutes and had rough patches; at low tide, walking along the beach takes around 15 minutes. And about the noise complaints, I don’t know why you’d come to Phi Phi and expect quiet. It’s basically a college town, so you might as well go party.

The rooms could be noisy at night, with music from the clubs in town clearly audible. If you’re hoping to avoid the noise, bring earplugs. We also brought our own mosquito spray to deal with them in the room in the evening, since the resort doesn’t provide any. Some rooms have hot water and others don’t, so it seems to come down to luck. When the immersion heater was running, the rest of the room’s electrics switched off. The fans were decent if you stayed still, and the fridge was good enough. Getting there is a serious walk. The pavement ends about 800 metres from the resort, then it’s vines, slippery rocks, sand and steep steps, with poor signage. The terrain felt worse than Macchu Pichu, and even as a fit person I found it a bit of a struggle. At £10/12, you get what you pay for. I wouldn’t suggest it to anyone who struggles with walking or balance, or to elderly guests. After that jungle trek, a hot shower may not even be on your mind. The main issue was the promised boat ride with our luggage. At check-in they said an 8am longtail would take us back to the beach, letting us walk through town to catch the ferry instead of hauling more than 40kg of bags through the jungle. That was part of the advertised service. We checked the night before and again the morning before checkout, including after mentioning our Phuket ferry was at 8:30am. Each time we were told the first boat was at 8 and there was no problem, despite the very low tide. On checkout morning, they suddenly said there was no water and no boat, without apologizing. They offered to carry our bags to the pier at 8, which was no help with a 30-minute walk and an 8:30 ferry. Fortunately we’d allowed enough time in case this happened. I’m no metrologist, just someone with a C in GCSE Geography, but the tide was already very low and clearly wasn’t going to change much by the next morning. We should have seen that as a warning, but trusted the resort staff. If there’s a lot of sand on the opposite beach when you want the longtail, it can’t go. You probably won’t check tide tables when booking, so if you don’t want to carry your luggage over that terrain, get an afternoon return ferry. The walk isn’t for everyone, the luggage boat is uncertain, and the island’s night music still reaches the rooms.

A lovely spot for relaxing, with a beautiful sunset. It’s a little way from the center, but that also makes it quiet, and the center of the island is only about a 10-minute walk. Does anyone have a photo of the reception phone number on WhatsApp they could share? I lost it and want to ask about a future stay. Thanks! ;)