Have narrowed my search to the Chedi or the Villa Royale. We are looking for a quiet, small-ish hotel (no big groups) with good food either at the hotel or nearby. Don't want to be near shopping vendors, etc. Would like a nice beach and good snorkelling or kayaking. (We were very tempted to go to Koh Lanta for Pimalai Resort but we have only 4 nights and 3 days, so the travel seems like too much.) So, some questions: Seems like Chedi might be living on its reputation -- anyone been there lately? Villa Royale on the other hand sounds like it has been growing and adding services. What are the pros and cons of these two places? Any experiences you can share would be appreciated.

No experience with Chedi but I've stayed three times at Mom Tri's Boathouse and Villa Royale (two times in villas). I recommend the villas very very highly!! I have not been since the tsunami but I can not imagine that things went downhill, as the villas were not hurt by the water. There are new villa "suites" that opened maybe two years ago (?) Nov, and they have access to Kata Noi beach. Villa Royale is not on the beach, but on a beautiful rocky outcropping with a nice smallish pool. You can now walk down the steps from the new suites to Kata Noi beach, I should guess, as that was the plan last time I was there. The peace and quiet there cannot be found anywhere else!! I wish I had a way to show you my photos from there. You would fall in love with the place immediatley. I am on my way to BKK tomorrow and we plan to go to Phuket for a couple of days, and hope to stay at one of the villas (can't think of the name of the "one" I want this time) but the villas are all different with different amenities to offer. The service is fabulous, and the restaurant (Mom Tri's Kitchen) is wonderful. The Boathouse Grill is just down the road (by van, for free) and the food and wine cellar there are fantastic as well. Boathouse and Villa Royale are both owned by Mom Tri.

I shall be "on line" during my BKK trip so please do ask more questions if you'd like.

(I'm from downstate Illinois... are you in Chicago?)

Carol

Forgot to mention that Villa Royale was listed as one of the "100 best new small hotels" about two years ago.
Carol

I agree with Carol, great, but also good to get to other restaurants and for evening shopping at night markets in patong if you like shopping, great location but closer to activities than the Chedi.

Carol I'm so jealous that you take off tomorrow! We've been waiting a long time for this trip (was literally on the computer planning a February trip on Dec. 26th when the tsunami hit... We decided to postpone til Feb '06.) We live northwest of Chicago. Have a great trip -- I will anxiously await your postings regarding Villa Royale! Please share anything you learn about the different villas.

JamesA we don't want to be near to shopping and we only need minimal activities. Still recommend over the Chedi?

I spent 5 nights at the Chedi this month. It was very much like it has been described by various posters here. The rooms are relatively small and the wood floors creak when you walk over them. Since it is built on the side of a hill there are lots of mosquitos, frogs, and lizzards around. I liked the place, but my wife would not stay there again. The surf was much too rough to do any swimming or snorkeling, but we did do a day trip to Phang Nga bay with the Phuket Siam Seacanoe company (highly recommended).

It is a 15 minute walk to Surin beach where there are many restaurants to choose from with extremely cheap prices and cold beer. These restaurants are nothing fancy...merely small huts or tables with an umbrella on the sand.

We had one of the rooms high up on the hill that took about 200 steps to get to. This minor inconvenience was solved on day 3 when we rented a scooter from a shop near the enterance to the driveway of the Chedi (250 Baht/day). The Chedi has a side steep driveway that leads up to a small area capable of parking a few scooters and this area is close to many of the rooms up high on the hill. Depending on your weight & size of scooter motor, you may need to get a "running start" at the steep driveway!

Chedi has a nightly free shuttle bus to Patong beach. It leaves the hotel at 9:00 and you are picked up at 12:30. Travel time is about 25 minutes one way.

chicago999
Have you picked out which villa you would want? They are different sizes and have different features about them. Prices vary as well. They go from 7,500 baht off season to 18,000 baht at peak season. That does not include taxes and fees, etc. on top.

I am going to hopefully check out the new addition (Villa Royale studios) on this trip to see what they offer that is different/better/not as good as... the original Villa Royale.

Let me know if I can answer questions.

Carol
Carol

Carol I'd really appreciate your advice on which villa you'd recommend after your visit. I don't think the Chedi is for us based on what deptrai had to say in his response.
I narrowed it down to 1)a Deluxe Studio (Question on those: is there enough privacy in the rooms on the first floor units, or can passers-by see inside your room?) OR one of these three which I think are what you call the "originals": Toey Talay, Fueng Fa, or Kata Suites. I'd be looking for reasonable privacy, ocean view, and accessibility in general. (Having to rent a scooter to get to our room would NOT be my husband's idea of a good time!)
I hope you see this before you leave but -- shouldn't you be packing??

Anyone else want to defend the Chedi?

I've not seen the deluxe studios yet. They look nice on the web site though. I hope to have a look at them. If you want privacy, you mentioned the perfect place! Villa Fueng Fa. I've stayed in that villa. It is smaller in size than Dhammaraksa, which I had tried my first time to Villa Royale. Dhammaraksa is really very LARGE. The problem is that it does not overlook the water. Fueng Fa has a lovely ocean view. It is also just above the pool. It is probably the most private of the villas, in my opinion. It was small in that it did not have separate
rooms for living and bedroom. When we stayed in Dhammaraksa, we enjoyed the huge livingroom, big bedroom with king and also lounger, plus a sitting room, and TWO bathrooms!! It was great! We had a little entry terrace with table, where we had breakfast in the morning.

Fueng Fa has one large room for living, with the bed placed "behind" the couch. The entry terrace has a table for breakfast. The bathroom has a tub with a VIEW!! No one will see into this villa unless they enter your terrace. The bathroom window is right there. But you should NOT be bothered by the staff unless you want to be.

I have been in the villa named Toey Talay. It is another smaller sized villa, although a bit larger than Fueng Fa (but not even close to Dhammaraksa in size). It has a wine cellar, but it's LOCKED so not sure what good it is, other than ambiance. This villa also overlooks the water, but it is located on a lower level, underneath the biggest villa (Doa-a-dung). I'm hoping to get a bargain on Doa-a-dung and split the cost among four people on this upcoming trip. We shall see... Doa has a nice big private terrace with its own beach chairs overlooking the water.

The new suites are just behing Doa and Toey Talay. Fueng Fa is more centrally located on the grounds, in a place where you won't hear much of anything! Doa and Toey may get some noise from the new suites??? I'm not sure!

I am anxious to see the added ammenities (spa, cooking classes, etc) since I was last there at peak season in 2002. We wanted to be there last year, but could not get it on the schedule or we would have seen the tsunami! We heard from so many friends asking about our safety because they thought we were there when it happened.

If you really want ocean view, then I'd go for Fueng Fa. If you want lots of ROOM, go for Dhammaraksa, or splurge and try for Doa-a-dung.

Carol