I plan on staying at the LeMeridien Yacht Club in November. I want to be able to experience some of the great food everyone talks about in this forum. Will I be too are "out of the loop" staying down here? Are there places walking distance? Thanks.

we drove out to the yacht club last month..it is somewhat issolated but i did note a few small restaurants not too far away....gpands may have some thoughts for you...he has stayed there twice...you can always take a taxi or rent a car....i rented a car for a day or two and it was fantastic to get around and see the rest of the island....in one day you can make a huge sweep around the island and see lots....it is very easy driving...

thats gpanda

rhkkmk
thanks for your response, I read your posts and was glad to hear from you. The primary reason for the trip to Phuket is for my dh and our traveling companions to dive. I just snorkel but will go along for the boat ride/experience/views etc. They'll probably dive at least 4 days of our 7 days there, so we'll only have a day or so to roam the island. That's one reason I thought the LMRYC, closer to dive site (but farther from dinners/shopping). Probably will do limited night life as diving is a very full day already.

About renting a car, we're from the states and have limited experience with "wrong side" driving, and none of us have been to Asia before. Though we've all traveled pretty extensively this is a first for us so we may wait till we get there to see how we feel about renting a car, though you make it sound very appealing.

Read all your BKK threads, I have to go to Bed. We'll only have 2 nights/3 days and will have to be very creative with our time use. Any suggestions you may have for such a short visit will be welcome. Also read your suggestions for accommodations, but we have a very good deal at the Novotel Siam Sq and will probably go with that.

RE: tailors - is it within the realm of possibility to have some clothes made for my husband (maybe sports jacket/pants) in such a short time without spending all of our limited time doing so?

Hope to hear from you, keep up the posts.

there are thousands of places to stay on phuket...some better located than others...we stayed way out of the way in the north with nothing near but that was by design...others like being in town...i usually like being able to go out to restaurants, etc but not this time...although this is one reason we rented the car....it is easy to drive there although we were there in off season...

clothing---you must have a min. of 3 days i feel...if you were to do it in bkk at the beginning of your trip---assuming you are there a couple of days, and then finish at the end of your trip that would be great...also could be done in phuket with a few days notice....i would not do a 24 hour tailor ---you need at least two fittings...

We stayed at the RMPYC last year and loved it. There's a decent restaurant on the street leading up to the hotel. I would strongly recommend that you have dinner at Mon Tri's Boathouse. We had the hotel make our reservation and we got the best table in the place. We used a driver to get there and had the restaurant arrange a driver back. Both were cheap. It's about a 20 minute ride to Karon Beach.

The RMPYC is a beautiful small 5* hotel that is excellent value for money.

It is isolated and from memory I'm not too sure whether there was diving close by.

My absolute favorite place to stay on Phuket is the Villa Royale at Mom Tri's Boathouse. There are 7 villas of varying sizes and configurations. They are on the most gorgeous rocky outcropping just south of Kata beach. You can walk down to Kata Noi beach now, I believe, as they have added some new suites "next door" to the villas, with a stairway down to the beach. I've not been there for a couple of years, but I think this is now a completed building project.

The restaurants at Mom Tri's Boathouse (called the Grill, I think) and Mom Tri's Kitchen (at Villa Royale) are among the very best restaurants on Phuket. Since Kata is one of the southernmost beach areas, I think it would not be too far from the Yacht Club, if I recall the club's location correctly.

Will you have the chance to take a day trip to Phi Phi Island? It makes a wonderful day trip.

If you can get a villa at Villa Royale for about $250/night, it's a real bargain. We've paid twice that during peak season (before the tsunami) when a room on Phuket was hard to get. They are supposedly having lots of special deals now, to get the tourists to return.

Carol

This newby Fodorite thanks you all for your help. It's nice to have this resource at your fingertips.

We will definitely try Mom Tri's. We prefer "remote" and like to "visit" night life when we feel the urge but don't want to stay in the middle of it.
We tend to prefer "non resort" type places and usually take our more adventursome trips in November to get away from the eastern post fall pre ski season weather and usually get good prices and avoid the crowds. Never had to consider monsoon season before. Cool!


Carol, yes we plan on taking an all day Phi Phi dive trip and they provide the meals, 3-4 tanks etc. plus it's a good way to get to Phi Phi. Sounds wonderful as does Villa Royalle. I hadn't seen it, but will check it out. Have stayed in bungalos in Bora Bora and loved the remoteness, plus they were so cute. Haven't found the same type of accommodations in Phuket that were right on the beach. But I'm not trying to compare the two.

Bob, you answered what I was wondering about the tailors. Now I have to work that out and get in as many massages as possible Oh yes, shopping and temples and klong ride too. Whew, I'm tired all ready.

Walter & Gpanda, I like your first hand input. The diving we'll probably do is east of Nai Harn area, so thought RMYC would be a shorter drive to the boats.


Keep the comments comming.