Hi, I'm heading to Thailand in two weeks and plan to spend 5 nights in Koh Lak so we can visit Koh Sok National Park and the Similan Islands.

We're trying to decide on a hotel...between the Meridien, Merlin, and Similana. Any advice?

We would love to stay at the Meridien, but prices are very high there during peak season. Is the Merlin a good alternative? Has anyone stayed there this year? If so, how was their beach for swimming and snorkeling? How is the damage around the Merlin...I've heard it's quite bad still.

Thanks!
Michelle

We're making the same trip, and had to make the same choice between hotels.

www.khaolaklovers.com has some good information as does http://www.khaolak.de/khaolakbeach/home.htm

I had a reply over at tripadvisor.com about the Merlin that was very positive and sealed it for us.

The Meridien, though it looks lovely, isn't in our budget at all...our Khao Lak time is 12/31 - 1/6 and the price comes in at about double what we're able to spend.

The Similana was in our top 3, and after lots of e-mails back and forth with their manager, we decided against it. He was very honest with us in telling us that their guests were mostly older couples and during our period of stay there were no families booked at all...and as we have an 8 year old and only one it's important that we stay somewhere that there will be other kids.

The Merlin is where we chose. I got a very good price directly from them over the course of many e-mails. The price I got is better than any other I've seen anywhere by quite a margin, and includes lots of extras.

To the north of the Merlin, directly beside and a bit beyond, are 3 resorts that are still in terrible shape...it's not even clear to me if they are even working on them now, and I didn't ask the Merlin directly about that as we had already decided we didn't mind that...it's hard to avoid the fact that the place was wiped out last year no matter where you go. The Merlin is a big property, and I think if you don't want to see the Emerald's rubble next door you can just choose not to...know what I mean? Khao Lak right now is a mish mash of resorts ranging from completely restored and operational to completely untouched since the tsunami. I'd say that if you wanted to avoid seeing tsunami evidence then Khao Lak in general isn't for you.

To the south of the Merlin is 800 meters of undeveloped coastline, then the Poseidon resort. That undeveloped coastline is attractive to us.

The Merlin has told us that all construction work has been completed...though there may still be work to do on their top end villas if they are rebuilding them at all. All 4 pools are in operation, as are all other facilities. It has been open since January 15, so I don't doubt it. Over at tripadvisor.com is a local expert who lives in Phuket and vacations in Khao Lak at the Similana...he says the Merlin is fantastic and I trust a local's endorsement in addition to the other good feedback.

Another place that has lots of photos and maps and information is www.thaivisa.com
Do a search once in their site, as the message boards are vast and there is just tons of information....too much to manage without narrowing it down somehow. There are lots and lots of photos, most recent from October, 2005, of the whole Khao Lak area that you can see, beach photos, town photos....it's all there.

Wherever you choose, do check prices on the booking sites, direct internet offers and direct e-mail offers. The only place I corresponded with that was not negotiable was Le Meridien...lowest price was $235.00/night plus tax plus breakfast. The Similana was well under $100.00/night including tax/bfast. The Merlin is 6300 baht/night deluxe room with extra bed, tax/service, 3 bfasts, and a slew of other benefits including food/bev discount and spa discount.

Hi KimJapan,

Thanks for all of the information! I had actually read your posts on Koh Lak hotels, and that's what got me interested in the Merlin.

We were originally going to splurge on the Meridien until we realized that it would be an extra $40 in taxes/charges on top of the $235 rate, and that was getting way out of our budget. I've also read the recommendations on the Similana, but I think we want something a little less rustic.

The Merlin looks beautiful, and I'm going to Koh Lak in part because it was hit hardest by the tsunami. On the other hand, I don't necessarily want to hear construction all day at the beach if they are working on the neighboring hotels...and I haven't found anyone that has been there recently to comment on this, or the quality of the beaches in this area compared to the Meridien/Similana beaches.

Anyhow, the lowest I found for the Merlin was through their website at 7500/night for the delux room including breakfasts, New Year's eve compulsary dinner, taxes, charges, discounts on food/spa. Did your rate of 6300/night include the New Year's eve charge? Maybe that's the difference.

Anyhow, thanks for the advice, and maybe we'll run into each other! We'll be there 12/30-1/4.

Michelle

The lowest rates available on their website as well as booking sites aren't close to what I got by e-mail with the hotel directly. They quoted lower than their own website. [email protected]
is the address I have used for e-mail. We booked quite a while ago, so I'm not sure if they'd offer you the same this close to the time of arrival, but you lose nothing by asking for their best rate for your period of stay. The New Year's Eve mandatory dinner is an extra charge. I've seen various prices for this dinner on various booking sites...the lower price for the dinner has a higher price for rooms. One site even has a rate of something like 20,000 baht for the Dec 31 night only...I think that might include the dinner, but still...Since our rate includes an extra bed which normally has a charge of 900 baht or 1000 baht, you might get an even better rate than we did. I think the 7500 baht/night rate you saw includes one Thai set dinner, but the New Year's dinner is extra...check that carefully with them, as the dinner is not cheap...you don't want to be surprised that you didn't already have it included after all.

I found that in correspondence they were reallly nice, and answered all of my questions. I would ask them about construction noise...but everything I've read about the resort next door...the Emerald...indicates work has not yet begun.

KimJapan,

I wrote the Merlin, and they offered me a great rate:

deluxe room @ 5,500 Net inclusive of daily ABF and complusory gala dinner on December 31'2005 @ 3,800 net per person

I asked about construction at the neighboring resorts and this is what they had to say, "The Emeral hotel they have just rebuilt only the villas by the beach of couse noise will disturb but not that much during the day time."

I'm not sure what he means by not being an issue during the day (when else would they be working?), but at these rates ($100 less than the Meridien!), we're just gonna have to deal with it.

Thanks again, your advice saved us some money!
Michelle

Good for you! I think that the resort is large with plenty of trees and you'll be able to choose to stay away from the Emerald side. I'd ask that your room be assigned on the south side. Looks like the difference between your rate and ours is extra bed. Did you also get a slew of other discounts and freebies?

So, we'll probably see you there...look for us arriiving on the 31st. We're probably easy to spot with an 8 year old.

No discounts with this rate, just breakfast and taxes included.

I'll keep my eyes open for you...I'll be the pasty girl from Wisconsin along with my fiance!

See you there.