Proud Phuket

It’s in a great spot next to the market and shopping, and just a short walk from the beach. Our deluxe pool view room was roomy, with separate bath, vanity, wash sinks, shower, and toilet areas, along with a large balcony. The outdoor pools were really good. Breakfast had Asian and continental options, plus a Nescafe coffee machine. Prices were reasonable, and reception staff were friendly and pleasant.

We stayed five nights, and it was a nice stay overall. The staff were friendly and polite, despite the reviews I’d read beforehand. The rooms were clean. On two days they forgot the shower towels, but I asked at reception and they brought them right away, so that was sorted quickly. The pool was nice, though it closed on our last day, and stayed closed the following days after we left, while they prepared the New Year’s Eve scene. We were only told one day ahead, not when we booked. Breakfast could use more choices for European tastes. You can rent bikes from the hotel, with the first 2 hours free, and beach towels are free if you ask reception. It’s pretty far from downtown, but the bus station is a 10 minute walk away, and the ticket costs 100 thb for a day trip there. There’s also a local market nearby for food, fruit, or clothes. The beach is 10 minutes away.

I picked a pool access room and loved being able to take a quick dip whenever I wanted. The room was spacious, clean, and serviced daily, and I slept well, although the pillows were a bit too soft for me. The chair was also a little hard and slightly too high for the table. Breakfast was good, and the hotel restaurant “Ang Ku” served great food. Thanks to Kao for the warm, dedicated service. The staff were friendly and helpful, and there’s a 7-Eleven close by. Nai Yang Beach is a 5-10 minute walk away. The hotel is very near the airport, which was extremely convenient. Fantastic stay!

This hotel seems to see guests only as a way to make money. I’d say stay only if you’re willing to pay usage fees higher than the price of the items, without expecting any services. I booked about three hours before check-in on the day of my stay. Only non-refundable options were available, so I paid approximately 3,600 baht. When I arrived, I paid another 1,500 baht for late check-out the next day. They also asked for a 1,000 baht deposit, but accepted cash only. I found that strange. My room turned out to be a pool access room. There weren’t enough towels for swimming until the next day, so I asked for one body towel, one hand towel, and one face towel for each of the three guests. That would mean 9 towels total, three per person, with each type used for a different purpose. I didn’t want to be disturbed by housekeeping, and it wasn’t easy to communicate in English with the housekeeping person. The hotel refused at first, saying that was too much. Is one body towel, one hand towel, and one face towel per person for tomorrow excessive? They later demanded 100 baht per towel. I then noticed they had assigned a damage value to every item. A hand towel costs 80 baht and a face towel 50 baht, so the 100 baht usage fee was more than buying either outright. Does that make sense? I wanted to check out and asked for a refund, but they said I didn’t meet their refund criteria. This was only three hours after I made the booking, and I hadn’t used anything. Then they started cleaning the room I’d been assigned. I suppose they wanted to make it ready for the next guest straight away. When I discussed the refund with the booking site representative, they reportedly said the hotel claimed a refund was impossible because the booking was non-refundable, and that they had never asked for a towel fee. But I have a recording of the front desk staff admitting they requested the usage fee. Don’t lie. I looked through other reviews and found a huge number of complaints that were hard to understand, ranging from refusing to provide items and theft to demanding 200 baht for an access key. This is not a hotel. It’s a criminal group scamming customers. Why make me fill out a checkout form and clean the room after checkout, apparently to stop me from staying at all? It seems planned, since these incidents happen often. This hotel has badly damaged my impression of Thailand. I’ve submitted the matter to my country’s government agencies, and it seems measures related to it will be taken. Please read the reviews before deciding whether to stay.