Phuket Island View Resort

20 seconds from the beach, quiet, spotlessly clean, rooms cleaned everyday, great for families, very friendly and helpful staff. They have several excellent pools, one that’s 2.7 deep with another having one of those bars where you sit in the water as you get served juices etc. my only gripe with the juices is that they are made from purée as opposed to fresh fruit but they charge fresh fruit prices, but maybe I’m being too harsh. The rooms are clean, adequately sized and good air conditioning and showers. The TV is very basic, lacks English channels and unlike some hotels I’ve stayed in, their TV’s are a bit dated (not smart) and don’t have Netflix etc. so you are limited as to what you can watch. Understandably, replacing every TV in a hotel wouldn’t be cheap but it’s a flaw none the less. The breakfast is buffet style and is pretty standard, more savoury than anything else but that’s the Thai way. Rice, noodles, some pastries, cereals, juices, basically something for everyone. The coffee however is pretty nasty, weak and percolated, so if you are like me and like a decent cup in the morning, I’d give it a miss. Curiously, they have a proper Italian coffee machine which doesn’t get fired up until 8.00am although breakfast starts at 7.00. It’s about 10 mins walk from the main drag which is the price of peace and quiet at night although it is surrounded by decent restaurants that do the usual Thai food with average pizzas and burgers thrown in, there are are the usual shops, a self service laundry and a 7/11 is a 5 minute walk away. There appears to be a WiFi repeater in the centre of each complex so while Wi-Fi inside each room can be a bit slow for streaming video, it’s decent on the balcony which every room has. Now, some reviews here are just plain unfair. The mattresses are good and on the firm side but comfortable. A firm mattress does not give you back ache unless you have an existing back issue by regularly sleeping on a soft mattress offering no support in the first place. The beach outside the hotel is quiet and serviced but that’s how I personally like it. If you want to sit on a beach being blasted with rave music, take your pick. I stayed here for a week and not once did I see people putting towels out on recliners at dawn by the pool. Overall, from a price and location perspective, I can’t really fault it and I would say it’s very good value. I would stay there again if I came back and I recommend it to families in particular.

Hotel/resort location is perfect, easy to find a restaurant if you feel like eating fresh seafood or just basic Thai food. Beach is also just across the street, convenience store very near so it is very accessible. Long drive to and from the airport, took 1hr one way to reach Karon beach. The only downside is, the rooms are dated and needs sprucing up, you can tell that the property had its good days.