Hi, my husband and I are debating staying in a pool villa at the Banyan Tree Phuket or in a garden villa at the Amanpuri, which is their lowest class of room. The rates are the same for these two types of rooms. Which do you recommend?<BR><BR>Thank you!

The hotels are both high-quality but very different in terms of ambience, IMO. The Banyan Tree is a large resort with a golf course and is part of a complex of 5 hotels on Laguna beach. I will say it is the most secluded of the 5 hotels, so you don't feel like you are at a massive resort. If golfing is going to form a big part of your activities, then this is probably a better hotel than the Aman. The hotel is not directly on the beach, you have about a 5�10 minute walk to the beach over a small dune. (Environmental set back rules, the Aman was built before these rules.) I don't think the pool villas have any beach views. As the area is flat, there are not many beach views from any parts of the hotel. The beach is wide, long and curving, and is quite pretty. The one drawback is that the beach is not private (no beaches are in Thailand) so there are hawker stalls and people coming up to sell you drinks, offer Thai massage, etc. Not really annoying, but does take away a bit from the quiet beach you may be seeking. There are also water sports offered off the beach which can sometimes be a bit noisy with the jetskis. The water is very calm. There is a good shopping area that is part of the complex and is next to the Sheraton, which is next door to the Banyan. You can also eat at the restaurants at the other hotel sand charge it to your room at the Banyan.<BR><BR>The Aman is on a bay that is quite secluded, so there aren't any hawker stands or people coming by. It shares the beach with the Chedi hotel next door but that is it. You do feel much more like you have a private beach here. The beach is not as long as at the Banyan and curves out to rocky points at either end. It is a very pretty beach as well. The Aman is set on a hill over the beach, so you get good views from various parts of the resort. The pool is really something. As the resort is much smaller, you do get more of a feeling of privacy and I think the staff know you a bit better. If I were making the choice, I would choose the Aman, just because I like the ambience of the smaller hotel. In terms of room quality, food, service, etc I don't think you would find a big difference.<BR><BR>I don't know when you are think of going, but there was another thread on this site that indicated that the Aman was scheduled for some refurbishing room May to October. (The thread is called &quot;Amanpuri Phuket � Construction Work&quot You might want to confirm with the Aman the nature and extent of the refurbishing � you wouldn't want to be in the midst of construction work during your stay!<BR><BR>

I would personally go for a good resort at Kata or Karon.

The Amanpuri has a private beach and pretty views from its hilltop setting. I think it's the more exclusive of the 2 resorts. You will really enjoy the luxurious seclusion of the Amanpuri - we only dined there to visit friends who were guests there but wish we could have stayed ourselves.

We stayed in a pool villa at Banyan Tree in February and it was awesome!!! The only time we left our room was to eat. The other poster was right, there is no view from Banyan Tree but there is total privacy. Each room has walls around the garden. As far as the beach goes, there were hardly any people on the beach at all and to get to it, it is a 5 minute walk but you can call the front desk and they will come with a golf cart to take you there so it really isn't a problem. Cannot comment on Aman--did not stay there. Hope this helps.

julelev - the Banyan Tree is a large resort - tha Amanpuri is an experience not to be forgotten!