Accommodation

This is one of the choicest hotel properties in Phuket. It occupies much of the back of Kata Beach, which is one of Phuket's nicest. The hotel property is so large that it extends to tourist centers both to the north and to the south, so guests are spoiled for choice in places that are but ten minutes walk away.

Pros & Cons: the hotel encourages their guests to stay within the hotel grounds as much as possible, so access to the hotel is in the middle of the property only - but walking along the beach either north or south is much nicer than along the road inland, and there is only a small lane to cross to get to the beach. The Club Med is essentially a French holiday camp, so it does have an institutional feel. The upside to this is that there are lots of staff to keep children busy with activities.

This hotel has 240 rooms in wings around a pool and garden right on Kamala Beach. Not so many hotels in Phuket have locations right on the beach, so with restaurants, bars and shops in Kamala Village barely a 5 minute walk away directly along the beach, this one is exceptionally well located. Pros & Cons: location, location, location. The feel is somewhat uninspiring - it seems typical of hotels for the mass market.

The reception of this place is cavernous, and the hotel garden fronts right onto the beach. The entrance to the hotel is amidst an area full of shops and restaurants and bars. Pros & Cons: the lobby area gives the feel of being inside a massive blockhouse, but the Kata Group have two other hotels that might also suit. Their Karon Beach Resort would seem ideal, and is directly on the beach, but the property is relatively small and its suitability for small children is uncertain.

The rooms are in individual bungalows amidst a palm grove; the hotel pool enjoys a particularly leafy setting. To reach the beach you have to walk down a short stairway, which drops down a few meters to the beach from near the hotel's 'On the Rocks' restaurant. Pros & Cons: The hotel offers lots of lush green space, and the Kata Center lies just outside the main entrance to the hotel. It is located on a small headland, so guests have to go on a two minute walk from their rooms through the resort garden to the main restaurant and the steps down to the beach - it's no sweat really.

Don't kids just love swimming pools? At this hotel they can swim all over the place in a maze of linked pools. Of course you will have to get hotel staff to help out if the kids must learn to swim, but the Laguna will be able to take care of this along with every other possible need. Pros & Cons: The Laguna property is so spacious that you don't need to go anywhere else, but if you do want to go then it is a bit farther than a convenient walk - ah well, cannot have it all, though the Laguna does try to give it.