The Kris Residence (SHA Extra Plus)

Our first impression was good, but problems started on day two during our December-January 2025-2026 stay. The bathroom tap wasn't working right. An engineer came quickly, but after he left it still opened and closed poorly; he just smiled when there was nothing more he could do. Hot water kept going off, so twice a day we had to go down to reception on the fourth floor and ask them to turn it back on. There was no room phone to call. The bathroom door lock broke on the second day and was never fixed. The cleaning was awful. They never changed the sheets despite my requests, barely cleaned the room, and didn't replace used tea and coffee. Several times they forgot the towels, and reception couldn't sort it out. After the beach, I couldn't shower, so I had to walk to the nearest 7/11 and buy towels. They don't provide beach towels either. For one day there was no electricity at the room outlets. An engineer couldn't come that day, then spent an hour fixing it the next day. We searched the floor for outlets to charge our phones. People in neighboring rooms had power problems too and waited for hours with their doors open for the engineer. The staff's English was very limited, so I had to explain with gestures or use a Russian-Thai translator. One receptionist did try hard to help, though she couldn't always resolve things. One evening a woman came running with a screwdriver to work on the hot water and electricity. That may say more about her personally than the hotel as a whole. You can hear music from a nearby club at night, but it didn't bother us much. Breakfast was terrible. Sometimes we looked and left. The only things we could eat were boiled eggs and usually watermelon and pineapple. The rest was bad: greasy, burnt omelets, very few fried eggs and those were burnt too, and rice and pasta so spicy, Thai style, that they were impossible to eat. The coffee and tea were terrible, and the juice seemed instant and was poor too. I've stayed in hotels in Thailand and other countries, and never had one this bad. I don't travel mainly for hotel facilities or go looking for problems, but this place surprised me. I won't return or recommend it.

The location is very nice and service decent, but Patong Beach isn't close enough to walk to. Water isn't included, you have to buy it. The vegetarian food wasn't good, and at breakfast the only edible items were omelet and eggs. There's no room service after 2 pm, and they inspect everything at checkout, so make sure nothing is damaged. A pretty decent stay overall.

We felt stuck and unsupported during the stay, and Agoda customer care wasn't any help. The restaurant meal was a bland, boiled spread that cost 1,000 Baht. They gave us only two water bottles a day, then charged 20 Baht for each extra one. No welcome drinks were offered, despite the facilities mentioned. We booked a Premium City View Room, but on arrival they tried to put us in a Deluxe Room, a lower category. I've seen other reviews describe the same downgrade, so it seems like a pattern. I refused to accept the wrong room, and only then did we get the Premium City View Room we'd paid for. They also took a 1,000 Thai Baht security deposit that Agoda hadn't mentioned when we booked. It felt misleading. The General Manager, Gobind, was rude and unprofessional when we raised these concerns. He said, “I don’t care about your reviews,” and kept saying he managed three other properties and couldn't wait for guests like us. That attitude, along with the lack of transparency and poor service, made the hotel feel poor value. Be cautious and check the room carefully before accepting it.

The room was spotless and spacious, with a lovely atmosphere, during my four-day stay at The Kriss Resort in Phuket. The other staff and amenities were great, but the general manager, Govind, came across as rude and unprofessional. We were in a building across from the main one, and getting to the pool meant taking two different elevator rides. It was still fine if you don't mind a bit of extra walking.