Journey Residence Phuket

The room was spacious, and the location worked well for training at Bangtao Gym. The attached restaurant was handy for a quick bite. I stayed for a week in December 2024 hoping for a simple place to rest and train, but I can’t agree with the overall positive reviews. Some shortcomings seemed understandable for a place that isn’t a high-end resort: the room lighting was poor, there was no handsoap even after I asked, and landscaping workers outside my room woke me at 9am on a Saturday when I wanted to sleep in. The bigger problems were a constant, pungent musty smell, mainly from the bathroom, and multiple cockroaches in my room. I reported both straight away. Extra cleaning didn’t fix anything, and I had to approach staff repeatedly with proof before much happened. One staff member blamed the smell on my slightly moist swimming shorts being left in the room. The smell was there before and after I removed them. I know both issues are somewhat common in Thailand, but I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect them to be addressed. I felt like they saw me as a fussy Westerner, and there was no resolution or attempt to compensate me. After three days of pushing, I was moved to another room, but it smelled just as bad and also had cockroaches. I don’t recommend staying here.

The staff at Journey residence were so accommodating and friendly, and couldn’t do enough for us. booking .com had made a mistake in our reservation, but they sorted it out even though they didn’t have to. The pickup on arrival was great too. I’d recommend the place to anyone in the Bangtao area looking to train or have a good time. Rowhan and Lee from Ireland

The family running the hotel were extremely friendly and always stopped for a chat. Our accommodation was clean and comfortable, and the restaurant served tasty, inexpensive food when it was open. Had a great stay at Journey and would come back.

The beach is within walking distance, and the staff were really friendly, especially the older lady. There’s a shop next door with breakfast, lunch, and dinner at reasonable prices. When we didn’t feel like going out, we got takeaway from there delivered to our door, which was very convenient. The place was very clean.