Thailand Beach Hotel/Resort

[sr81]

Hello all,
In August I am redeeming the last of my BMI miles for a two week holiday to HKG, NRT and Thailand. 37,500 + GBP 400 (inc taxes) per person for J going MEL-BKK-HKG, (HKG-NRT on CX), NRT-BKK-MEL.

In Honkers we are at the Langham Place and in Tokyo we are at the Citidines Shinjuku and the Tokyo Hilton. What I haven't been able to work out is where to stay when on the beach in Thailand.

We have seven days and the GF is not interested in changing hotels halfway through nor can I be bothered with a real challenge to get to the hotel. I have also noticed that TG have rather keen fares BKK to coughet in J.

I have done a little research and the amount of data, opinions etc. have overwhlemed my feble brain and sent me looking for a ClubMed but at $3700 for two it is out of my price range.

My budget per night is about AUD 200 and for that I hope that something cool/interesting is available. I am currently SPG gold but that expires at the end of this month.

If anyone has any suggestions I would be very grateful.

Thanks.

 

[Chimpy]

Twin Palms in coughet is a nice trendy hotel. It is at Surin Beach so you avoid the chaos of Patong. They should have rooms available around the $200 mark as you are going in the low season. They also have a good beach club (complimentary for guests).

Twinpalms coughet Resort

 

[JohnK]

We have seven days and the GF is not interested in changing hotels halfway through nor can I be bothered with a real challenge to get to the hotel. I have also noticed that TG have rather keen fares BKK to coughet in J.

How keen? You realise that it is a very short flight. Less than a SYD-BNE/MEL.

Sunset Beach Resort in Patong was very nice but I am not sure what it is like after the tsunami.

There is nothing wrong with Patong and has a lot more to offer than other beaches in coughet. Just need to avoid Soi Bangla if you want to stay from the nightlife.

 

[djfuzz]

If you like the HKG Langham Place, I can highly recommend the Langham Place in Samui - an excellent beach resort, and personally I prefer Koh Samui to coughet by a country mile.

They had some great deals in January due to their recent opening, so I'm not sure how you'll go in August - but definitely worth a look in if you're not dead set on coughet. Airfares are very reasonable with PG, who also offer a very decent service in Y for the hour or so flight.

 

[Maca44]

I found this place really nice, and just far enough away from the busy night life area, but not too far if you want to enjoy a walk downtown Patong. They have rooms for $172 including breakfast in August.

coughet Hotel, Merlin Beach Resort, coughet Thailand - Official Website

 

[whoistheg]

+1 for Twinpalms

we spent 2 weeks in a Residence last Aug and it was amazing !

there is also "The Chedi" in Surin as well. We had a beach villa
there literally 6 steps to water

 

[smithym]

If staying in Patong with your GF, one word Burasari . The wife and I have stayed at a few resorts in coughet and this by far we found the best. Easy walk to everything, beautiful room, epic breakfast and staff are always at their best. It is within your budget and you can usually get a special through their website for a pool access room, if it comes in budget get the elite pool access as pool more intimate and the swim upto the bar is oh so nice.
Enjoy

I wouldn’t go for a club med in Thailand as the price of food and alcohol on the streets is oh so cheap which kind of makes the all inclusive side of club med not so attractive when you can get just as, if not nicer, food outside the resort.

M

 

[Cynicor]

I was there in December 09 and have to recommend going to Khao Lak (60min from coughet airport) rather than Patong or Karon beaches (and probably the rest, but haven't been to them recently).

We stayed in the Le Meridien which was beautiful and had very friendly staff and a decent breakfast whereas in coughet the Hilton Karon was a horrible huge hotel with generally unfriendly and slow staff.

The Le Meridien is away from the touts and hawkers of the towns too so is very peaceful, but is closer than coughet to Khao Sok (national park/rainforest), the Surin Islands (great snorkelling) and the Similan islands (diving). You can also catch a taxi to Khao Lak if you feel like some bars or eating out. A real hit with the girlfriend is the resident baby elephant so brownie points ++ with this resort.

Of course, if you like the markets, touts and bars then coughet proper may be for you. I went with my girlfriend and so spend most days diving or trekking and the nights in whichever hotel bar/restaurant had a happy hour on. For this Khao Lak and the Le Meridien won hands down, although my accom deal helped a lot- pay 2 stay 3 plus free breakfast, transfers and 15% discount in hotel. Not sure of their current rates.

I can also recommend an amazing tour reseller- Southern Thailand beaches, adventure sports, honeymoons & holidays (vacations)
I just told them what I was interested in and how long I had and they put together an itinerary and cost and threw in a discount for multiple bookings without me asking. They also showed up on some of the tours themselves to check/maintain the quality of the operators. The best bit though is that it is completely pre-paid and all you have to do is show up at your hotel lobby. Their own taxis/private cars are used and are clean, while their drivers speak decent English too, unlike many of the taxi mafia cars.

Their prices compare very favourable to hotel tour prices but I did not check the street prices. I would assume there is a slight premium but the service was worth it. The manager is also the own and he is a British national with excellent service. They also custom designed a sea kayaking day for us, mixing a few of their other tours together for a private day out.

Good luck, seems like you have a heap of differing recommendations.

Jon

 

[Alanslegal]

I'm there in June and thinking about the Le Flora Resort and Spa in coughet ~$250 mark, which looks like a small boutique hotel. Reviews on TA seems excellent and the candid photos match up with the comments provided. That said, it is alot of $$$ relative to other hotels nearby.

However given you are flying into BKK, why not stay in a luxury hotel in BKK with great resort-like facilities which gives them an amazing relaxing feel.

 

[Batesy]

Try the Ramada at Khao Lak or the Indigo Pearl near coughet Airport.
Check them both out on TripAdvisor.com

 

[sr81]

Thanks all very much for your suggestions.

JohnK, the idea for travel in J was simply a holiday spend. You are right though it is not very economical.

Batesy, Alanslegal, Cynicor, etc. Thanks.

I really like the idea of pre-booking tours. Having to hassle and argue over the cents always gets me going.

To be honest the Koh Lak suggestion sounds pretty damn enticing.

I will also look at the resorts around BKK - had no idea such a thing existed. Does the smog and the city impact?

Djfuzz, I think that the Langham Place is the best hotel in the world. Will certainly with looking at the Koh Samui option.

 

[craven morehead]

Club Andaman Beach Resort is good value and well located. :mrgreen:

 

[Batesy]

Khao Lak is a great little spot without the hectic pace of Patong.
Lots of beautiful rainforest, waterfalls, etc. Easy to hire a motorbike and see it all. Roads much quiter than coughet. It was smashed in the Tsunami so most of the infrastructure is new. Lots of great restaurants.

The Ramada was up there with the best resorts I have stayed in. Beautiful gardens and pool, right on the beach great rooms. Best breakfast I have had in Asia after the Singapore Shangri-La. Its about 1 1/2 hours drive from coughet airport but if you transfer druring the day the scenery is great. Lots of little restaurants on the beach etc...
Saw it on Wotif the other day for AUD $101 per night inc breakfast.

 

[sr81]

To bring you all up to date we have booked at Le Meridien Khao Lak in an oceanfront villa. It breaks over the budget (AUD275 a night inc taxes) but for a villa this is a stella deal.

The stay is 6 nights and using the Z6R code (stay 6 pay 4).

Thanks again for your help. Should be a great stay.

 

[Batesy]

Enjoy. Khao Lak is a beautiful spot. You will see the large police boat that is about 2K's inland from the Tsunami and now landlocked. Hire scooters and go and see the forest and waterfalls!!

 

[greenfrog86]

A few years ago I traveled in Thailand with some friends and one of them suggested we do a beach trip, so I let him organise the details...

In the end I was very happy he did as we went to Ko Chang and had the most relaxing holiday I think I've ever had.

Much quieter than some of the other islands, it was a great way to unwind in a nice resort (ours was by no means one of the more expensive and was still AMAZING).

You have to try to Trat and then get the ferry across - for a small and not so touristy island it was very easy to get around and there were plenty of pools and beaches to see you through the day...

Just thought I'd put the thought out there as there are many great places in Thailand other than the immediately obvious heavily touristy places that seem to be like traveling to Queensland (as an example) given all of the Aussies in shorts and thongs