Royal Phuket City Hotel

I travelled solo and felt safe here. The hotel is in Phuket Town, with plenty of good places nearby. The staff were kind and helpful, and my room was spacious and comfortable. An upper-floor room can have a sea view. There’s an in-house restaurant and a 7-Eleven vending machine on the premises, which was handy. The gym and pool were pretty good too. I had a pleasant stay and would recommend it, especially to solo travellers.

The Chinese restaurant served delicious food, but I found the two dining areas I visited gloomy, with dark blue and black decor. The breakfast room’s black cupboards were covered in handprints, which made the space seem unclean. Breakfast itself wasn’t great, and I was surprised there was only one loaf of wholemeal bread for all the guests each day. The pool was clean and a decent size, but there were only 16 sun loungers, several damaged, so some guests couldn’t relax after swimming. The parasols can’t be moved and stop providing shade as the sun shifts. The hotel is well placed for walking to Old Town and the Sunday Walking Night Market. Reception was modern and clean, and the staff were helpful. Rooms are dated but clean and spacious. If you just need a room, I’d recommend it. For a holiday where you want to relax, maybe choose somewhere else until the pool situation is sorted.

We booked for just one day and were extremely happy with the price. Our 14th-floor room had a serene view of the city and ocean. Smoking is prohibited, worth knowing before you arrive. The staff were courteous and quickly fixed a settings issue with the room safe without asking for any security. I loved the buffet breakfast. The location is great for exploring Old Phuket, where the vibe is lively and the city feels both peaceful and energetic.

We stayed two nights and got one complimentary coconut water per person each day. The hotel is close to the Sunday night market, and the rooms had lovely views over Phuket Town. Breakfast was excellent every day. We’re vegetarians and seemed to be the only vegans in a fully booked hotel with mostly East Asian and European tourists. The chef made vegan spring rolls just for us, and there were vegan breakfast dishes. There were no meat dishes for dinner. I felt a little sick on the first night after eating street food, and the chef kindly sent over the best congee I’ve tasted in all my travels in Asia. There were hardly any Indian tourists, maybe just one or two, while most other guests were Chinese, Korean, Japanese, European, or American. That made the experience even better. A lovely hotel.