Just back from Rayavadee, Pimalai and Peninsula, Bangkok
 

Just got back from my honeymoon in Thailand, and wanted to share some thoughts, recommendations and feedback on the places we stayed given that this forum was such a great starting point in planning our holiday. My husband and I are both 30, from the UK and very used to travelling and staying in good hotels as part of our jobs so we were really looking for top end luxury, some almost guranteed hot & sunny weather and (as my dad is from the North of England!) didn't want to feel like we were paying over the odds, so Thailand seemed a perfect option.

We flew from Heathrow to Bangkok with Thai Airways. What a less than good start. The plane was very old and tired, and we were advised that there were no TV/video facilities due to problems with their systems. Not what you want to hear at the outset of an 11 hour flight! However the upside was that the flight was only half full so plenty of space and great service.

Arrived Bangkok and took a short connecting flight down to Krabi where we were met by a Rayavadee representative and taken to a private pier for a short transfer to the hotel. On arrival we had a brief check in at the main bar and given drinks and cold towels, then taken by golf buggy to our room. Fabulous rooms, actually they are detached houses! Lounge and guest bathroom on the ground floor, bedroom and bathroom with spa bath and huge walk in shower upstairs. Lovely toiletries, even candles all round the bath. Generally we loved every minute of our 5 day stay here - wonderful service, the pool was stunning and the monkeys running wild was great to see. Downsides? Very, very expensive. Food slightly on the disappointing side - we ate one night in their main restaurant and for £100 had a meal that frankly I cannot remember and which you could have eaten in any hotel in the world. The Thai restautant there was much better, but getting a glass or bottle of wine in there took 10-15 minutes each time, they obviously had to go and get it from another part of the resort. Minor comment but a little irritating at a 5 star place. Talking of wine their local house wine was 550 baht for a very small glass...£8.00 - how??!! Beaches very busy with lots of longtails and backpackers, but generally not a problem as there was a set back sunbathing area, and access was restricted.

Moved on next to the Pimalai on Koh Lanta. Much smaller hotel in terms of feel, more intimate & personal I felt, but actually more choice in terms of bars & restaurants. Beautiful setting on deserted sandy bay, totally unspoilt and very, very quiet. Rooms excellent, in a more contemporary Thai style but extremely nicely done & comfortable. Only negative here was the air con - we liked to keep it on even at night as it was so warm but it was exceptionally noisy. Overall we much preferred the Pimalai, the service was wonderful, the spa was terrific, great sunsets at night and wonderful food. Actually we ate most often at the fabulous 'Same Same but Different' Thai restaurant - absolutely beautiful beach restaurant/bar style about 50m from the hotel - best food we ate all trip, main courses at about 90 baht each. We did a couple of trips from the hotel including a night squid fishing trip, don't bother with this one, but do the all day snorkelling trip, you will see some untouched pristine white beaches and fantastic corals & sealife in the national park about an hour and a half away.

After 8 nights here we travelled back to Bangkok and stayed 2 nights at the Peninsula. If I am being honest this was the part of the trip I was looking forward to least as although we previously lived in London for 8 years I'm not at heart a city person. However I was amazed and loved our time there - I guess staying where we did may have helped! Would not hesitate to recommend the Peninsula. We had a suite on the 33rd floor, fabulous views. Great rooms, big bathroom with a wall mounted TV at the end of the bath! All room controls operated by very modern touch-panels, and great service again. Nice to have the pool too. We did all the things the guide books say - the palace and emerald buddha, hired a longtail down the river to get there. Went to the weekend market - brilliant for anything you would want to buy from over 8000 stalls, clothes, furniture, food even pets. Skytain was easy to navigate and impressively clean and efficient. Had a memorable dinner on our last night at Sirocco which is on the 64th floor of the trade building opposite the Peninsula. Spectacular views as you can imagine, live music - it was expensive but well worth it as completely open air and very, very stylish. A real must. Also terrific shopping at The Emporium, fab food hall too for lunch.

Overall a perfect honeymoon, couldn't have wished for better. Thank you for all the useful information we found on here that helped us plan our time, and I hope my report may be of some use to others!

Thanks for the great report. I was very interested in your report on the Pimalai. It sounds wonderful!

thanks for the great report....sorry the lux hotels in the beach places were less than perfect for you....i have found this to be true generally in thailand....the beach places are far more expensive than the city places and far less service orientated and lux....although the prices are 3 or 4 times more dear.... the penn is a must for all honeymooners....next time spend more time in bkk....its a wonderful city....i just returned from two weeks in the uk and continue to be amazed at how you cope with those outrageous prices....the 2 to 1 conversion for the us dollar at the moment does not help either...

Another in the win column for the Penn!!

Thanks for the report. Was was the average price for a meal and/or drink at Sirocco? I want to take a friend there for his birthday when we are in Bkk in march.

Our meal at Sirocco cost around 7000 baht I seem to remember - but this was the last night of our honeymoon so that included champagne, lots of good wine and 2 courses each plus a shared dessert. Main courses approx 1000 baht I guess, starters at the 300-400 baht mark. UK prices pretty much. Have a great time - you must reserve a table as it was very busy.

We just got back from the Pimalai and thought it was heavenly. Perhaps you had a faulty air-conditioning unit. Ours was quiet even on high. We thought the beach, the accommodations, the pool, the tropical gardens (aah, the smell of jasmine!), the food, the spa, and the service were all perfect. Unless you want bars and night life, this is an ideal place for a honeymoon - or in our case a second honeymoon.

Great trip report! We will be staying at the Peninsula for 4 nights in March and I was wondering how much the buffet breakfast and airport transfer cost. We are still debating over a package that includes these things or just paying for them separately.