Splash Beach Resort, Maikhao Phuket

I was unsure after reading the reviews, so I booked just one night to see how it went. We liked it enough to add four more nights. The resort is close to the airport, maybe a kilometer away, and planes do fly very low nearby. We thought it was cool to watch them over the adjacent beach. The buildings seem designed to limit the noise, and it didn't disturb our sleep as other reviewers had said. The rooms were really nice, and I suspect some of the bad reviews were about other buildings, since there are about nine. We stayed in building 6, where there was a big free kids club, and the included breakfast buffet, water park, and fitness gym were all close by. Even the basic room had comfortable beds and great water pressure. I think tubs and fridges are standard in all rooms. Staff hospitality was on par for Asian standards. There were lots of activities around the resort, including ping pong and archery, plus a private beach. The campus is large, and you could see that more was being added. Golf carts carried guests wherever they wanted to go. It was great value for a family.

For what we paid, this was awful. We booked for four adults and one child, so five people, but the room only had two single beds and one double. Reception said we'd have to pay extra for the child's bed, even though the booking we'd paid for well in advance was for five. The bedding was dirty when we were about to get into bed, and reception had to bring clean sheets. The bath taps didn't work, the shower head in the bath didn't work either, and the bathroom was old and mouldy. This isn't four-star quality, maybe two or three at best. I don't mind a lower standard, but not at a four-star price. The water park was okay if you have older kids. Breakfast was average, nothing particularly tasty, just enough to fill you up. There was a hair in my daughter's ice cream, and it was a different colour from hers. At the kids club, children can go in for free but only play with blocks and toys. Every activity costs extra. I've never stayed at an expensive hotel where every kids club activity was charged separately. Even a simple bread bracelet craft cost 350TB.

We came from Koh Samui, where I own a hotel and four restaurants, so I know a bit about service. The water park was very nice and clean, though I can't say the same about the service overall. The beach restaurant wasn't good: the menu listed what each dish contained, but the kitchen substituted things, like serving something else instead of avocado. There was no quality control, and the restaurant staff missed our food orders even though they weren't busy. The buggy service was the worst part. They took forever, often didn't show up, and were rude when they did. Better not to have it. Without the water park, this would've been a zero to one for us. We came from JW marriott, where the service was top notch. I can only recommend the water park.

I booked this hotel for one night after my flight from Phuket Airport was delayed. Nearby decent options were limited, so I ended up paying over $200, even though my first attempt to book at about $180 had been declined. When I checked again shortly afterwards, the price had gone up, and that higher-priced reservation went through. Check-in felt uncomfortable because another guest was standing right beside me and staff didn't ask him to give me privacy. After showering, I couldn't find a hair dryer in any of the drawers. The front desk said it should be there; when I explained I'd checked, the staff member sounded annoyed and said they'd send one. It arrived more than 20 minutes later. The rest was okay. The buggy drivers were friendly, and breakfast and the welcome drink were nice. There's a beach next to the hotel where you can see planes flying very close overhead. There was some noise at night, but seeing the planes so close was impressive.