audinva

We made reservations there over a year ago for our honeymoon and I'm just wondering what the beaches and atmosphere is like out there. Is that a good place on the island to be? Thank you in advance for sharing your thoughts.

rhkkmk

i will be going next month so today do not have first hand info...the only negetive i have ever read concerns its location....it is fairly remote and cost and time to get to other parts of the island are significant and as much as 45 minutes....i believe they have limited shuttle service to more southern areas but very limited...i have rented a car for part of my stay...there is an avis counter in the lobby fyi....

Cicerone

I am a big fan of the Marriott and have stayed a couple of times. OK first the good news. The hotel is beautiful. It is the first new international resort hotel built on Phuket in 10 years and has beautiful grounds and several pools. The north pool is a black pool that is quite something. There are several restaurants and an excellent spa. The food is great and the staff extremely helpful and friendly. There are some shops in the hotel, including a Jim Thompson Thai Silk shop. There is a turtle preserve next door. There are tennis courts. The hotel is near the Blue Canyon Golf Club, the best course on the island (IMHO), and you can get playing privileges. Drawbacks are location (north of the airport and bit out of the action), and the surf on the beach is quite rough. The beach is very pretty, and the hotel is all by itself so you do get the feeling of seclusion (notwithstanding the people standing around offering to plait your hair or give you a massage. . .)

I personally like being a bit out of the action, and on my own stretch of beach. You won’t really need to go to other parts of the island, as there is not really a whole lot to see or do on Phuket, IMO. Other than going out to a restaurant in the evening, I don’t see any reason to go to other parts of the island. Patong is really not a nice town, IMO. Shopping on the island is not anything like Bangkok, and the nature “preserves” and “elephant rides” are not worth the effort, IMO, of going to. The shopping arcade at he Marriott that is plenty of shopping for me, and with the spa, you really don’t need to leave the property for anything.

The only thing definitely is worth leaving the hotel for is to hire a boat for the day (with captain) and take day trips out to outlying areas, as these are really beautiful and beaches and water quality are far superior to Phuket itself, which is pretty but not spectacular. Day trips to Phi Phi are surrounding areas are easy to do. You should be able to hire a boat from the Phuket Boat Lagoon in Amphur Muang, which is about 15 minutes from the hotel. (You can join organized day trips from Patong, I believe, but I far prefer to hire my own boat and set my own itinerary. Patong would be about 30-40 minutes by taxi.) The hotel can probably give you info now on boat hires from Phuket Boat Lagoon. You could also search here for operators, and when contacting them tell them you want to be picked up at the Phuket Boat Lagoon, or ask for transport to and from the Marriott to be included in the price.

vker

This is a beautiful place to go for your honeymoon! The rooms are luxurious and the staff is excellent. The massages on the beach are very inexpensive so you can enjoy them more often. Also try the spa for a treatment. They do an excellent job. If you agree to the time share tour you can choose to have some free spa treatments. The time share people are not "hard sell" so even if the program is not for you it will not turn into a miserable experience.

I agree with Cicerone about taking a tour and not bothering with going into town. My husband enjoyed taking scuba lessons at the Marriott.

We had a great week there and plan to return in July 2006 (yes, we bought the time share!).

JamesA

If you are looking for a high class beach resort then fine if that appeals, but if you want to see more of Thailand and get out and about to see the aouth of Thailand there are a vast number of choices. I know some people enjoy the remote location and do not find the larger resorts and busy areas appealing, however, there are many that do. Although Phuket is highly developed there are still parts that are interesting. You could also considor spending some time around the Krabi area or even down to Koh lanta island, somewhere like the Pimalai or Sri Lanta. There are of course plenty of smaller resorts.

It really depends on age/desire for nightlife etc as to which beach area you decide on.

One thing you have not mentioned and that is time of year? May to october is the rainy season and November to April the dry season, so if you are thinking about the 'wet' time of year then you need to decide if you are happy with that.

If people are thinking about time share remember the condo market is huge in Thailand, studios start depending on location from about $12,000, average around the $30,000-40,000 range for outright purchase.

BillT

So the $12,000 buys you one or two weeks?

The $30,000-40,000 buys it outright?

rhkkmk

james...can you give us some suggestions on how to spend one full day touring phuket in a self drive car....more interested in sites than in shopping or entertainment...seeing the place quickly in other words...also any restaurants that we may encounter in the same areas...

can you also give me any hint on how to locate a shop's owner at patong that was washed away in the storm? i have the names and the former phone numbers?? thanks bob

JamesA

Bill, those prices I didn't mean the Marriott Phuket, I was talking about Condo developments which you find in many places, Phuket condo prices are higher than other places, Jomtien Beach where I am that is the going rate for outright purchase, $30-40k buys you a Condo for life ( and those aren't the cheapest which can start from $12,000 for a studio ). Friends who recently bought a 1 bedroom one in this area paid about $34k total, the place is high rise but they got a lower floor cheaper because in Asia people prefer higher floors, but sense wise they chose a lower floor, their 'service fees are just $15 per month covers security, common area maintenance and lighting etc etc etc, they chose the area in particular as only a cab ride from Bangkok, once the new airport opens it will be about a 50 minute drive from airport to their condo at Jomtien .In Thailand you cannot own land, but Condos are readily available for foreign ownership no problem.

I have no idea what the Marriott time share deal prices are so no idea what value, but Bob will tell us all after he has been there..

JamesA

Bob, I will certainly email you this week, I have been working 18hrs+!!
mmmh, how to find a shop washed away, can you tell me the name of the shop, must have been on the Beach Road as that was the only place that shops were actually knocked down, tell me the shop name and I will try and find out for you.

I will get back on a trip around and suggestions, I pressume you will want to dine at Mon Tri's one evening? You may also fancy Baan Rim Pa but I always think it overated overpriced, are you sure you want to sef drive?
Are you flying from Pattaya/U-Tapao to Phuket or routing back via BKK?

rhkkmk

we are flying from bkk to phuket after a wonderful restful?? nite at the holiday inn on silom...

the shop is/was Crystal Tailor House and was at 24, 26 Ruamjai Rd, Patong Beach...the phone number was 76-343034...the merchants names are Mr. Peter and Mr. Sagar...

i am trying to help a canadian couple who are also fodorites who had a large order lost to the dec 26 storm...it just occurred to me that maybe you might have a contact who knew them or you might know a way to track them down....basically they want me to see if anything was left (not destroyed) from their tailoring order after the water hit....i would pay for it and bring it to north america and mail it to them in canada....they are a very nice couple who you have also helped in the planning of their trip....BACanada i think is the name she uses on fodors...you may remember them---Bev is her name...

any leads you can get for me before may 17 would be appreciated or after in fact as i will look here occasionally while travelling...we leave on may 18....thanks ....bob...you also have my e address...

on phuket i had previously written down your suggestions of Red Onion and Old Siam and also Baan Rim Pa...
which would you choose for lunch and which for dinner?? mom's was not particularily on my list unless you think that we would really be missing something by not going there????
we would prefer something decent, whatever that means, preferably with a/c unless the views will keep me cool....as always thanks james for your assistance...rhk

fb

Are there any scuba operators near the Marriott? The ones I have found on the web all operate out of the Karon or Patong Beach areas, which would seem to be a pain to get to for an 8AM boat.