I want to stay on the best part of the beach in Railey (Krabi area) and was looking for the next most upscale place other than Rayavadee.
Rayavadee is a bit too expensive and was wondering what is the next best alternative.

All I have come up with is the:
1) Sea & Sand
2) Sunrise Tropical
3) Railey Bay Resort

Am I missing anything here? If these are the only 3 upscale alternatives, which has the nicest rooms and which is closest to the best beach in Railey? Thanks for any help.

Excellent question, because i'm going with my family to the same area in beginning of november. I have two children, 5 and 9, and because of them I also want an excellent pool area.

Thank's

I can't help you compare, but in April of this year, I stayed at Sand Sea on West Hat. My notes say I paid 2800B/nt (w/AC).

My unit was very nice and with modern amenities. I don't normally splurge on my travels, but since I showed up during Songkran without reservations, I felt fortunate.

The bungalows are along a nicely gardened pathway that ultimately ends up at East Hat. West Hat beach is superb, wasn't too crowded, and I don't remember the longtail noise being bothersome. I believe they are cordoned into one section, anyways.

Depending on what bungalow you get, you could be close to the beach or further back like I was. At first I was dissapointed, but then was happy as mine was very quiet in the evenings while the ones up front were near the pool and restaurant.

The area is very spectacular and has a number of hikes up into the limestone cliffs for awesome views. I have a number of photos of the area here:

http://www.brucegcollier.com/galleri...level2_all.htm

You'll have to scroll through the thumbnails, but they tend to be the ones with beach scenery. I also have one of the bungalow exterior and gardens that's not on the site, but you can send me email if you want me to send it along.

Regards,
Bruce
www.brucegcollier.com

We stayed at Rayavadee Jan 2003. The best alternative may be the Railey Beach Club, a collection of private homes that can be rented out. No web site that I know of, I think you e-mail them to get the info. I think it's [email protected] .We got to visit one of them called the bridges which was very nice.

A friend, my husband and I first visited Railay in January 2002, we rented a house at the Railei Beach Club. It was really neat, but had no electricity during the night which was the only downfall (it would have been nice to have the ceiling fan on).

We returned in January 2003 and stayed at the Sand and Sea Resort, it did not have a pool at that time but may now. We chose the Sand and Sea because we liked their breakfast best the previous year. If I remember correctly, the Sunrise Tropical is on East Railay. I looked them up on the web and their rooms look nicer than ours did at the Sand and Sea (not that it was a bad room). Personally, I prefer West Railay to East Railay, but my favorite beach is Phra Nang which is a shorter walk from East Railay. Even better is to take a long tail boat out to Ko Poda, this would be easiest from West Railay or Phra Nang.

You can see pictures from our trips at
http://kerstentraveler.com/photos.htm

We stayed at Sunrise Tropical in July and loved it. The rooms are individual or duplex bungalows and seem very new and modern. We stayed in one with a beautiful bathroom with outdoor shower pavillion. The pool was just lovely - very private, tropical and surrounded by vegetation. The pools on Railay West are very "public" and nothing to rave about. I would consider the rooms at this resort to be the most "upscale" next to the Rayavadee (in a league of its own tho'), but as we went in the low season there wasn't much on offer at the restaurant except breakfast. That didn't matter as it was only a 3 minute walk across to the other restaurants at Railay West where you have a couple of choices. We went to the Rayavadee beach everyday (via another 5 minute walk) and it was just heaven on earth! Check out the Sunrise Tropical Website pictures, they show a true representation of the rooms & gardens.

Hope this helps.

nzers

Bruce,
Great pics! I love the one
Cruising the Bay, Ko Phing Kan.

Thank you, anna_k, I appreciate you taking the time to look and comment!

Regards, Bruce
www.brucegcollier.com