Estella Phuket Mai Khao Beach Resort

The condition of this resort was awful, and I felt the $2000 Canadian cost was a rip-off. The website photos are outdated and don’t show how the property currently looks. It’s in a luxury area, but this place felt like a one-star hotel, not luxury at all. I’m extremely disappointed that my first trip to Thailand included this experience. There were problems all over the place: the elevator, shower, toilet, air conditioning and lights malfunctioned. The lights flickered in connection with the air conditioner. The sink leaked across the counter and soaked our toiletries, and the beds felt like sleeping on the floor. Gaps under the door let lizards into the room. The safe wouldn’t secure our passport and wallet for a beach trip. After we complained, management brought another one, but it was loose and unsecured on the wall, as shown in the attached picture. Breakfast was unhygienic and left us with extreme diarrhea. Many tourists used their own water bottles at the juice and drink dispensers without washing their hands. Dirty dishes were left in the corridors. The smaller pool beside building one was murky and smelled foul, and the pool deck had broken, filthy loungers. Several buildings on the property were derelict and vacant. All pictures and video are attached.

The beach was amazing, and the Thai food at the restaurant was delicious. People staying at nearby hotels came over to eat there too. Some rooms in one section of the hotel aren’t available to guests, but that didn’t affect us. We enjoyed our stay at Estella, and the price felt fair for what we got.

The location worked well for being close to the airport, though there wasn’t much happening outside the hotel. To explore or find a nice dinner elsewhere, you’ll need a motorbike or a taxi or Bolt. My boyfriend and I had a disappointing stay at Estella Phuket Resort. We could hear people in nearby rooms talking at a normal volume, so the poor soundproofing made it hard to rest. We’d paid for breakfast and told the hotel ahead of time that we were leaving very early, but they didn’t prepare a breakfast box. We also asked for help getting our luggage from the room because reception was a long walk away. Nobody came, so we carried it all ourselves. There wasn’t any drinking water available despite the hot weather and the hotel encouraging outdoor activities like badminton and volleyball. The service felt unprofessional, with little attention to basic guest needs. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone looking for comfort and proper service.

We were sent to collect things from the hotel restaurant ourselves, walking in the dark to the far end of the property because they said no staff were available. Later, I saw that same staff member drive foreign guests there in a golf cart. If that wasn’t discrimination against Thai guests, it was simply unwillingness to help. The service during our stay was disappointing in other ways too. The bigger problem was the e-tax invoice. Before booking, I confirmed through the hotel’s Facebook page that they could issue one for a government tax deduction program, and they asked for my personal information. I checked again at both check-in and check-out, and several staff members assured me it would be emailed after we left. Weeks went by with nothing. My messages were ignored until I called, and then I was told they couldn’t issue it because their document submission hadn’t been approved. That was the hotel’s failure, but they offered no compensation or solution and took no responsibility beyond empty apologies. The issue isn’t the amount of tax itself. I asked clearly, more than once and through different channels, and everyone gave me the same wrong answer. Calling it a “miscommunication” just shows how poorly trained the staff were. Their mistake means I now have to pay more tax, even though I planned ahead. Apparently I was wrong to trust them. There are plenty of other problems I could mention. If you just need a basic place to sleep near the airport and expect nothing else, it may be acceptable. For proper service or accountability, I strongly recommend looking elsewhere.