Honeymoon
 

So, I am planning a honeymoon to Thailand/Cambodia in March. Right now the plan is to spend time in Siem Reap, Bangkok, Chiang Mai, and Phuket.

My main reason for picking Chiang Mai is because of all the rave reviews for the Mandarin Oriental, which is actually quite reasonably priced these days.

I got the Peninsula in Bangkok (also amazing rate) and am thinking the Hotel de la Paix in SR (a bit cheaper than the others because I figure we'll be at the temples all day).

As for Phuket, I have no idea where to stay or what type of room. I need something really special as far as the room (villa with pool or something), nice beach, some culture close by. I'll pay up to $400 per night. I've found pretty good deals for many hotels in Thailand these days that otherwise would have been out of that range.

Anyway, any thoughts on what to do? I'm a bit disappointed with the choices to be honest. Nothing seems obviously great. I'd rather not go to a standard JW Marriot or similar obvious western hotel.

Take a look here:
http://www.phuket.com/hotel/recommen...ic-resorts.htm

So many wonderful luxe options! If it were me (and it isn't) I have a suite picked out at Mom Tri's Villa Royale.

By the way, the Mandarin Oriental in CM doesn't get great reviews here. If you want luxe, consider the Four Seasons outside of CM.

Kathie,
You are so RIGHT about Mom Tri's Villa Royale. I've stayed in Villa Dhamma-Raksa and in Villa Fueng Fa. My next time (?) I want to stay in the big villa... Dao-a-Dung!
Carol

(I'll bet you had already picked out Dao-a-Dung as well...!!)

LOL - you know me, Carol, Dao-a-dung is my choice as well.

There are lots of very positive reviews of the Mandarin Oriental in CM on Tripadvisor though. My in laws stayed there and we visited them there - the location is very beautiful and the villas were gorgeous. Service impeccable. We just found the reconstruction of ancient thailand a bit strange - beautiful but strange. anyway, in laws loved it and we very much liked the pool overlooking the rice paddies and the hills. The location is also pretty close to town, in comparison to the four seasons.

no idea about prices, but sala phuket is meant to be lovely. if you are willing to go a little further north from phuket, consider the Sarojin in khao lak. gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous!!!

I stayed at the FS in Chiang Mai but went over to take a look at the Mandarin and was given a tour of the property. It is nowhere near as romantic as the FS and looked more like Epcot to me-lots of concrete. All you need is an ordinary room at the FS and with that you get a beautiful outdoor sala and the rooms themselves are large and very well appointed. Coffee was also the best I've ever had in Asia!

Moremiles, I had to chuckle at your description of the MO as "Epcot." One of our regulars here called it Disneyland.

Personally, I don't find the reviews at Trip Advisor especially helpful. I find a number of them quite suspect, and even those not planted by a property or their competitor, I don't know anything about the reviewer and whether I'd like what they like or not. Here, we usually get enough info about a poster than I have a better idea of what the review means.

I agree about tripadvisor and find that the reviews on the luxury hotels section of flyertalk to be much more descriptive and accurate, at least to my taste.

For your Phuket section, why not consider going straight to Phi Phi. You say '' I need something really special as far as the room (villa with pool or something), nice beach, some culture close by.'' Take a look at Island Village. They have some great deals in March.

http://www.ppisland.com/

I think this could be a really special way to round off your trip.

Take note that while the reviews on Trip Advisor may be somewhat suspect they do give you a very candid photo display of the resort and the rooms by the guests. The resorts only put their best foot forward so to speak when showing photos of the resort- these photos by guests give you a much better feel for the rooms and the resort.