Hi
Has anyone stayed at this hotel? How is Karon Beach? Super quiet, somewhat quiet? And how far is it to the "busy" beach (which I understand is Patong)
Thanks!

I haven't stayed at the Woraburi but know it as it is just along from my local favorite the "Old Phuket".

The Woraburi entrance faces the Sea which is across the Karon beach Road.
Now, Karon beach except for one bulding towards the north and the Karon beach resort at the south is devoid of any building on/near it at all, for this it results in a beach several km/nmiles long which is wide and sandy, (except for a hillside access from central karon ), the small In on the beach ( building I mentioned at the north end ) and the Karon beach resort at the south there are no places with direct beach access at Karon, this is the downside of these beaches on Phuket unless you go to quieter beaches further up and the odd exception such as the Meridiens which are right on the beach.

The Woraburi is very stylish, nice location, easy to wander along to other restaurants etc, the rooms go back from the front lobby area ( beach road land is premium hence many buildings tends to go back as opposed to being spread out roadwise ).

The beach is very pleasant but do note that with these places you have to leave the hotel to head to the beach, for the bathroom or anything you have to go 'back' to the hotel, and so forth, this applies to all along that stretch even the Hilton.

Pricewise I believe it is good value and like most new properties I understand it also has a spa.

Karon beach is quieter than patong but not super quiet, you find lots of restaurants and if you turn right leaving the Woraburi and go along to karon Circle the road heading inland from there is packed with convenience stores, tailor shos, souvernir shops and lots of bars, so very busy in the evenings.
It's about 15 minutes to patong for nightlife, street stall shopping, restaurants, bars, clubs, discos etc.

Hi. I am a new Fodorite and this is my first post. I am hoping that JamesA will respond...I am trying to plan a trip for myself, my husband and our 11 year old daughter to Thailand over Cmas. I am now realizing that it may be the high season in Thailand and prices are high for accomodations and flights from LAX (we live in San Diego). Thats okay, we will pay big bucks if we HAVE to, but we are not touristy and prefer to stay where locals would be. We don't want to stay in a large hotel but prefer to stay in a bungalow or small boutique that is run by the owner/operators themselves. We are even open to renting a vaction rental house in Thailand, (I own a vacation rental/property managment business on the beach in San Diego). We don't want to be around busy-ness or a ton of tourists.

I see that you live in Thailand...can you give me any ideas on where to go? We really want to get bored, lay on the beach, snorkel, learn to scuba dive, read books, and be LAZY!! We are not big shoppers but i assume that after a week of bordom we may want to do some negotiating...can you help? I would appreciate anything you can tell me. thanks a ton!!

This comes up so often and quite natural, people seek the idyllic beach with snorkeling and scuba, relaxing, nice accommodation, perhaps some shopping and restaurants, but not mass tourism.

Herein lies the 'problem'....

Those places that have the good snorkeling and best beaches have now also become the touristy places, ok, you can find nice resorts tucked away but venture out in the evenings and you see the neon lights and more.

Places such as the Nakamanda in Krabi are excellent, but peak season Christmas you are looking at ( if you can get rooms ) $ 350 plus per night, the Rayavadee Krabi, although there are smaller boutique style places around they tend not to around places such as the same areas you find snorkeling and the white sandy beaches, getting a balance of a nice quiet place plus the sands etc is not so easy.

I think an area down south that might appeal would be around the Phang Nga area which is roughly between Phuket and Krabi, I think the 'closest' I could suggest to meet your criteria would be the Paradise Koh Yao, around the $250 a night range, it's small and received apparently the "National Geographic Home Stay Award".

I must emphasise I have not stayed there but I know the area from many years back and it is pleasant and away from the crowds:
http://www.r24.org/beachsiam.com/pha...dise/pictures/
Another same place is Koh Yao Island Resort, same price range

http://www.r24.org/beachsiam.com/pha...oyao/pictures/

Your problem actually will be getting accommodation, but if you like the look of those especially Paradise Koh Yao it could be what you are after. But you are not going to find other restaurants or any shopping or nightlife. My suggestion would be to perhaps spend a few days in Bangkok ( you have not given actual dates ) and perhaps locate yourself there for Christmas itself and then perhaps 5-6 days relaxation and then tag on a few more Bangkok days or somewhere else for the last few days.
That is the most expensive time of the years in the Phuket/Krabi area, places like the JW Marriott on Phuket offers relaxed beach, peace and quiet but you can get to shops and nightlife if needed in about 30-40 minutes.

The alternatives are quieter islands such as Koh Lanta south east from Phuket or an almost endless number of places elsewhere throughout Thailand.

None of these places are where local Thais go in large numbers at all because to most lazing on a beach all day is not their idea of a vacation, you will find people from Europe/US etc mainly plus some package travellers from North asia such as Japan escaping the cold !

There are many beach places that have nice resorts that are quiet and closer to Thai local and rural life but don't expect the idyllic beaches snorkeling and scuba schools, because the greatest beaches have been taken over, supply and demand, hence the McD's and Starbucks appearing.

We travel around quite a lot but unless on business we don't go to these touristy islands but tend to stick around quieter places along the coasts which we enjoy.

The beaches around Koh Yao/Krabi/Phuket/Phi Phi/Koh Lanta etc are great but although you 'get' the beach you are not going to get very much in touch with Thailand.
I know Gloria and other regulars often mention that if it is 'beach for the sake of beach' you can find that closer to home, I do really agree that there is simply 'so much more' to visiting Thailand and above all else I think it is inter-acting with Thai people, learning a little about their culture, learning what Asia is all about.

For me baked prawns on an open fire on a beach with some beers laughing with local people listening to Thai music on an old cassette makes memories, contrast that with getting up in the morning and seeing monks in their Saffron robes collecting food/alms along some quiet street, such things are for me anyhow what enriches the experience of Thailand, but that's me.

I always say if people want to relax on a 'fairly ok' strecth of beach, inter-act with local people, wander past local temples and see an elephant stroll past believe me, it 'is there', but don't expect the shopping malls and nightlife, and the coffee is instant.

There are some very very good resorts in quieter places but in reality the beaches are not as good as the ones down south, once a great beach is found in comes the road, resorts, convenience stors, bars, tailor shops and all.

Hope that doesn't confuse you more.
I know some great beaches places but the beaches are not perfect but are 'ok', and you can get some snorkeling within a few hours, Pranburi and Pak Nam pran and Chumphon have some nice places far from the crowns, but those places actually 'do' have great coffee!! I never 'rough ride' when I stay around Thailand and low season budget around $40 for a family, always get a/con and comfy rooms, but I appreciate that when people travel so far they tend to want to enjoy the nice resorts.

LM3682 : Have you seen plenty of photos of the Woraburi ? if not I can give you a link which shows pool, rooms plus map if you need.

JamesA-Thanks, I have seen the photos on that R24 site. But pictures can be deceiving and I can't really find any reviews on the hotel with it being new. Do you know anything about it? What about Karon Beach? Are there restaurants etc. along the beach? Or do you have to go back up by the hotels?

If we were by chance able to get onto Patong, any hotels you'd recommend in the mid but not high end? I think we might like the activity. And similar question to Karon, are the restaurants etc on the beach or do we have to back up by the hotels/town?

The beach raod runs the length of Karon beach, not a wide road, enough for one lane each way, the Woraburi and others are along the road. Once across the road there is a grassy area and then the wide beach. All restaurant etc are of the 'hotel' side of the beach road. The stretch from there has lots of other hotels, restaurants, some shops, and as said the central part of Karon up from karon Circle is nothing but shops, tailors, restaurants, bars, tourist counters etc.

Patong is very different, far more crowded and crampt, far busier, some like the busy side but others loathe it. I lived in Patong for some years and moved away, it really is tightly packed buidling after building, whereas Karon is more spread out and 'airy'.

If you tell me which country/town you are from maybe I can hazard some comparisons, though they may be vague it can sometimes immediately 'click' the difference between them. People stay in Patong if they want to be is a crowded busy place with nightlife etc, someone on this board described Patong as Tijuana on the beach ( all I know of Tijuana is from movies ) but you might get the idea, it's fun in the evenings to visit and have a meal and head to the bars and clubs but daytime the beachroad is packed with people wanting to rent you a motor-bike or jeep, lots of vendors etc, whereas daytime Karon beach is far more relaxed.

Those photos of the Woraburi are pretty accurate in my opinion, it is 'fairly new', the entrance is impressive, you can't tell much from having a drink but staff nicely uniformed, classy drink list, nice presentation, cool sea breeze. Now in Patong except for a very few exceptions you won't find a 'frontage area' with clear views across the beach and the sea because the beach road in Patong is so packed with vehicle and then trees in some areas.

tell me where you are from and I and others may be able to give you some very rough ideas of how to compare.

Go to www.patong-beach-hotels.com and then also go to the Karon beach page.

Mid range good hotels ( 3 star ) are the original 'Patong beach Hotel', the Thara Patong also good for the price, the Patong Merlin is nice too, the Holiday Inn, going cheaper and more natural the Coconut Village and the Dunagjitt Resort, for Duangjitt and Coconut are still easy walking along to the center but have larger grounds as both established before land prices boomed, short walk to the beach, there is certainly more 'life' in Patong but Karon isn't "quiet", you get more beach space at Karon and easier to just hop across the road back to your accommodation ( I always stay at the Old Phuket( new ) just along from Worabura, bargain!! )for a boutique style place about 15 minutes walk from the beach in the Patong Hills is Club Bamboo, Club Andaman another option. There are so so many now.

Helpful as always JamesA! My group and I are from the US...we're grad students, looking for decent activity, but we're not raging partiers by any means. I think we'd be happy enough at Karon Beach??...sounds like there's decent activity, and if we really want crazy, we can go over to Patong...

JamesA, one more thing. I just caught wind from another post about domestic and inter'l terminals...if we go to Phuket, our plan is to return from Phuket to Bangkok at 2:20 (arriving in Bang at that time, Thai air), and catching another flight at 3:40 to Hong Kong (finnair)...are these flights in the same airport terminal? If not, will we have enough time?