Help me make this decision!

Hey all,

I%26#39;ve been forum stalking you all from afar, but the time has come for my own (FIRST!) trip to Thailand. I%26#39;m a travel agent and as such have been offered some nice deals at a few different hotels in phuket. Having no real frame of reference (besides the hundreds of reviews I%26#39;ve read) I%26#39;d like to enlist y%26#39;alls help with picking one.

So far, I have it narrowed down to the Deevana Resort Patong (in one of their spa wing jacuzzi rooms) or the Courtyard Phuket at Kamala Beach (one bedroom king suite) Of course I%26#39;m also really interested in the Marina Phuket, but it%26#39;s double the price of the others and I%26#39;m not sure it%26#39;s worth it.

We%26#39;re two couples in our mid/late twenties and we like nightlife as much as the next folks, but we also love a beautiful beach and a clean hotel. We don%26#39;t mind travelling for the nightlife either (so short distance from Patong, such as Kamala, doesn%26#39;t bother us).

Thoughts? Comments? HEEEEELLLLP!

Help me make this decision!

Hi, I can%26#39;t comment on the other 2 properties but we stayed at the Courtyard Kamala and it was wonderful. The king suite was great, lots of room and very clean. The restaurant was perfect and the service was fantastic and the pool and swim up bar was out of this world!. However, there is nothing to do at all around the property. The beach was not that nice, no beach chairs, actually there wasn%26#39;t another person on the beach the whole 7 days we were there. You are forced to eat at the restaurant ( which we didn%26#39;t mind) because there is no other restaurant or nightlife within a reasonable walking distance. It%26#39;s about 300 baht to Patong (15 min tuk tuk drive), which we did daily. If you plan it right and make it one trip a day when you go into Patong then Kamala is great, but if you%26#39;re making a few trips a day then it could be expensive! Good luck!

Help me make this decision!

Excellent advice there.

Might also depend on how long you plan to be there. We stayed miles away from Phuket, and after a week the travel (which was an hour mind you!), got really really old and I felt took up valuable travel/relax time.

There%26#39;s been some nice feedback on the Deevana lately (just not the Garden rooms?).

Unless you%26#39;re after a really lux holiday (like a lot of honeymooners seem to want to do), save your money for shopping, massages, trip out on Phang Nga Bay, eating out, shopping (!!!).

Patong is still a gorgeous beach!

Ive stayed at the Deevana twice, i love it . There are nicer hotels out there but like you said at twice the price.The Deevana has beautiful pools and gardens and a lovely resteraunt and is close to everything.

From what you%26#39;re saying: Kamala.

Have fun.

i think I%26#39;m going to stick with the Courtyard at Kamala. A 15 minute tuk tuk ride to Patong is not bad at all, and I%26#39;m a sucker for a good swim up bar!

thanks for all your help!

-kel

We live in Kamala and rarely go to Patong. There are many restaurants here in kamala and Surin is very close with lots of good places to eat. Also, there are lots of lounge chairs on the beach now and many smaller snack type restuarants are opening up all over. It%26#39;s been very quiet here over the summer, but we are starting to see many more people, shops and restaurants that have been closed for months are reopening.