Planning a trip to Phuket (among other stops in Thailand) in December and are considering the Sheraton Laguna or the Boathouse Inn. Looking for opinions from anyone who has experience with either of these or any other suggestions would be welcomed. Thanks!!!

Mike/Sue <BR> <BR>We've been to Thailand for the past 2 years and had a wonderful time on both occasions. As for the hotels you've mentioned, they are quite exclusive and expensive. The Laguna looked great but it was in an isolated position (only the other hotels in the lagoon to go to)if you wanted a night out in Patong. My wife visited the Boathouse for one of their famous cookery courses and she said that the hotel was great. <BR> <BR>If I was to choose between them I'd go for the Boathouse as it's location ie. shops, stalls, eating places close by. ps. Try Islanders just down the road from the Boathouse, excellent food. <BR> <BR>Hope this helps <BR> <BR>John.

My husband and I spent a few days at the Boathouse in June and just loved it!!! The rooms are modest (we'd just come from a suite at the Shangri La in Bangkok) but everything else is wonderful. It's got the best food in Phuket and a great staff. We highly recommend it. If it wasn't so far from NYC, we'd become regulars. <BR>

We stayed at the Sheraton Laguna last year. We loved it. Instead of eating at the hotel resaurants...we ate at the place on the beach and the food and prices were both exeptional. Food at the hotel was a bit pricey for dinner. It is off the beaten path...but we were looking for beach and relaxing time...and the beach was wonderful. You certainly can't go wrong staying there.

My wife and I stayed next door to the Boathouse at the Kata Beach Resort last February and were very satisfied. We probably had a larger room at a much lower price than the Boathouse. The money we saved we used to eat at the Boathouse (excellent) as well as to take a cooking class at the Boathouse. Next door to the Boathouse is the Gung Cafe which is under the same mgt. and has excellent food at very reasonable prices. Kata Beach Resort is not stratospheric luxury but it is not uncomfortable in the least bit. We ate breakfast every day overlooking the beach and spent many an afternoon at the large pool. We had a beautiful oceanview room for around US$100/nt. Check their website. Kata Beach is one of the most beautiful uncrowded beaches I've ever seen. RK

My wife and I are staying at Kata Noi in October. Any thoughts or recommendations? Your description of Kata Beach sounded wonderful.

If you're staying at Kata Noi, would you be staying at Kata Thani? I'm curious to hear how it is. We only went over to Kata Noi once (at night) to eat at the Gallery Grill. That's also part of the Boathouse properties and is a very good (and expensive) restaurant. We had a nice conversation with the American manager who's from the Napa area. <BR>You've probably already found a couple of good Phuket links on the net; Phuket Net is one and the other escapes me. <BR>There's great snorkeling on the Kata Beach side of the point separating Kata and Kata Noi. <BR>I'm curious to hear about Kata Noi, anyone else stayed there? RK

RK - Yes, we're staying at the Kata Thani. When you say expensive, do you mean by U. S. standards or relative to what other places charge in the area of Kata? What would you budget for an expensive meal? For an inexpensive one. THANKS for the input.

Att:Mike&Sue <BR>I'd say expensive on both US and Thai standards for the Gallery Grill. I checked my Visa bill for the dinner at GG and found that it was $123 for the two of us. That included appetizers, dessert, and a bottle of CA wine. The wine was probably $45 or $50 for a wine we could get here in N. Calif. at a restaurant for $25. I think most entrees were $20+-. That said, everything was of the highest quality but we paid more than what I normally would in the US. And we paid more than we did for the meals that we had at the Boathouse which was very, very good. I see that we paid $77 and $90 for dinner meals at the Boathouse which included wine and dessert. It was comparable in price to places here in the US. Now by recent Thai standards, even the Boathouse is fairly expensive. We had less expensive meals in Bangkok that were excellent, too. Checking our bills at the Gung Cafe, I see that we normally paid $20-$30. And that's off of a menu that has lobster for less than $10. One thing that we're quite grateful to Thailand for is the exposure to good Australian wines. The $18 to $25 Shiraz's are excellent red wines. <BR>If you need access to the Internet, there's an Internet cafe in Kata town next to Phuket Scuba Club. You'll find my picture on the wall there at PSC for getting my PADI certificate last Feb. Say hello to Kevan and Chantha if you happen by PSC. RK