This is my wife and I's first trip to Asia. We traded our timeshare for a week at the Marriott Phuket Beach Club and will use points for the Marriott Bangkok Resort. We have 7 nights in Phuket and it's our first stop so we can wind down after our long flight. Not to worried about the weather as we'll enjoy whatever we get. We then have 8 nights in Bangkok. We will be there from Oct. 21st through Nov. 5th. We are using frequent flyer miles on Singapore (UA miles) and Thai, so that's done. I've been reading this board for months and I've already contacted Tong and Nok for tours, Jack at Monet Il Sarto for tailoring and will contact SJ for jewelry. We were going to do the checkup at Bumrungrad but now my wife is pregnant with our first, so that's out. She'll be 4-5 months along during the trip. Anyway, I have a couple questions. Spa services for pregnant women? I've contacted Hapa Spa to find out what they can do, anyone else have a place we can both use but will be able to do massages for my wife? Also, I'm looking to get some new eyeglasses with prescription. Does anyone recommend someplace in particular. Will getting decent and sanitary restaurants be a problem in either place? What about in Phuket, since the Marriott is north of the airport? Are there restaurants close by to recommend? Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

I would expect that any of the spas would offer massage for pregnant women. Your wife could try the spa at the Marriott, as I expect it would be nice.

You'll have no difficulty finding good restaurants in Bangkok and Phuket. Your wife will want to be concientious about food and water precautions.

For glasses, try the optical shops at Siam Paragon. There are six different shops, we used Paris Miki, but I expect they are all good. Excellent quality, excellent service for about half the price of the US.

tong's husband has an optical shop...there are also several optical places in the paragon mall...

would you like my bkk restaurant listing?? if so ask:

[email protected]

the jw marriott in phuket is fantastic...good trade....the resort and spa in bkk is my favorite overall...enjoy!!

Thanks for the replies. Anyone else??

Isn't the Marriott Phuket Beach Club a different hotel to the JW Marriott?

It is separate but located next to the JW Marriott.

yes they are seperate but one is time share and one is hotel but they are adjacent as indicated above...

We have just returned - 8 nights at the time share villas at JW Marriott / Phuket Beach Club, 5 days in Chiang Mai and 5 days at the Marriott Resort and Spa in Bangkok.

Phuket: Villas are great - unless you can get one on the top floor with full sea views I'd recommend the garden villas. The ones closest to the sea get more light. Those on level 2 and 3 can be rather dark inside. The villas on the south side are newer. On the north side construction of a new Antara Hotel is underway, but behind the last wing of the south side villas they have the housing for the construction workers. Tip - ask for a south side villa as close to the beach front as possible, this way you won't have a view of the construction site or their temporary housing.

Restaurants in the hotel were great, no problem regarding hygine standards. We tried them all. Thai food at the Ginsa was superb. Good pasta and pizza at the italian place, reasonable prices too. Andaman Grill (steak and seafood) is rather expensive compared to the other restaurants within the hotel, but they serve the most wonderful complimentary sough dough bread with pate and the portions are extremely generous, so we ate there a few times. It is also in the best location - close to the beach. The lunch menu is also good, lighter fare and less expensive. In the evenings the Marriott Cafe
had an international buffet that was very reasonable (950.- Baht) and pretty good. Breakfast (also buffet) there were also good but rather expensive. Siam deli is good for a light and fast breakfast. We also ate at the Japanese bar (they also have a few tables beside the pool) a couple of times. For a light dinner it was great.

We went to Lotus at Bang Tao Beach - we drove there, (we rented a car for a few days), but you could take a taxi there, it's about half hour away. This was a great recommendation from Tedkarma (if you read this Ted - thanks!) Seafood is in tanks, and it is right on the beach. Prices are incredibly inexpensive. Great Thai food. The shrimp and a steamed seabass were excellent.

We also went to dinner at Trishara, another tip from this board. Food was ok, I was slightly disappointed, as I was expecting something in the 2 or 3 Michelin star range. This place gets mixed reviews on Tripadvisor. One mistake we made here was not to tell them to stop with the Evian, our water bill came to over $70.

Bangkok: Hotel is ok for the price, we had great rates. My husband also went to Jack and is very happy with his suit. Being so close is a plus for the numerous fittings required.

Thank you so much CHDV for your reply, it's greatly appreciated.

The Marriott Phuket Beach Club is remotely situated and to visit Phuket City or Papong will require tuk-tuk, taxi, or rental. Agree with another post, it was a very good trade to get a week at this resort.

If you opt to taxi or rental car to the Patong beach area, go just a little further south to Kata Beach and try the Boathouse Grill Restaurant at Mom Tri's Boathouse!! Superb!! Beach front. Great service, lovely food presentation, and exc wine list.

From the Marriott Beach Club you can go to Surin which has alot of upscale restaurants

Silk-is a beautiful Thai restaurant
Manathai-is run by the manager that use to run Silk. it is in a boutique hotel by the same name

if you want to go down further in Kalim try
Phanya-right on the water

and for a romantic drink go to Joe's downstairs

i lived in Phuket and know many other places. feel free to ask me any advice