Hotel Recommendations: Metropole (Phuket Town)

Note added 2009: Checking the reviews recently seems this place may not be the best in town! Gone a bit downhill. (see link below) - I would say based on these recent reviews I can't totally recommend this hotel now!

Online booking with Agoda for some better Phuket Town Hotels:

• The Taste Phuket Hotel
• Pearl Hotel
• Phuket Merlin Hotel

Most visitors to Phuket naturally want to stay by the beach, which tends to make the beach areas rather overpopulated in some areas (Patong in particular). Now, there are many quieter beach areas, but some of the quiet beaches have very limited accommodation choices. The town (now officially called a city) of Phuket has a number of good value places to stay, where you are a short bus ride from the beach, but out of tourism central. Phuket town is where normal local life goes on, and is for example a great base if you come for the Phuket Vegetarian Festival, or if you're just stopping over a night before traveling on to Phi Phi, Krabi or Koh Lanta by ferry. Also, since it's not by the beach, you get a good hotel for a good price.

• A walk around Phuket Town

Leaving aside the backpacker places such as On On (a miracle it doesn't fall down) or the Backpacker Hostel by the market, there are many good mid price hotels such as the Merlin, Pearl, The Taste and more.



The Metropole Hotel is located in central Phuket Town (see on Google Earth), and has 248 guest rooms. Dining options available to guests include the Fortuna Pavilion Chinese Restaurant, the Metropole Cafe serving International and Thai dishes, the Lobby Lounge with live entertainment, the poolside bar, and the executive cocktail lounge. You're also close to plenty of local restaurants, bars and shopping centers. Recreational facilities at the Metropole Hotel include a swimming pool, traditional massage center, and fitness center.

Metropole Hotel - Booking Links

• Metropole Hotel Reviews on TripAdvisor
• Metropole Hotel Rates and Reservations at Agoda.com

• More Hotels in Phuket - Phuket Hotels at Agoda.com
• Last minute Phuket hotels - LateStays.com
• More Phuket Hotel Recommendations

Views from the air

Well, time to get blogging again. I've spent a week away in Malaysia, diving at Sipadan with the turtles. It's worth getting your camera out on the flight, and if you fly these local routes with Malaysia Airlines, try to get seat 14A or 14F which are behind the emergency exit and have extra legroom, and are window seats so you can get some great views. Here's a few below...







Back on solid ground now, back to work and not much time for blogging. Hopefully we'll go exploring this weekend. On the photo above of Northern Phuket, in between Bang Tao and Naithon, is another beach, which I believe is called Layan beach. I want to go there....in the meantime, I'll try to add on a couple of hotel recommendations. We're in peak season now, and the weather is great. But a week of travel and diving has left me tired.

If you get the chance, I do recommend a stay at Borneo Divers Resort in Mabul. Air Asia has some great deals from Phuket to Kota Kinabalu at the start of next year, and from there it's just a short hop to Tawau, from where you are looked after. I'd like to go back with my wife.

Update November 2008...

More views from the air here... we took a seaplane flight to Phi Phi and back..

• Flying from Phuket to Phi Phi Island

Hotel Recommendations: Evason Resort and Spa

We drove past the entrance to the Evason a few days ago while on the way to Laem Ka Beach. In fact, unsure of where to find the small, unmarked road to Laem Ka, we drove up to the entrance of the Evason, where a friendly security guard told us where to find what we needed.

The Evason is another well hidden resort. Located near Rawai beach, away from all the main beaches, it has it's own private sands. The rooms are open and airy with open style bathrooms. The idea is that the rooms are open to the views rather than being a box with a window! It's not a cheap place, and has the facilities to back up the price - everything from high speed internet in the rooms to tennis courts to half a dozen on site restaurants and bars. One of those resorts you don't really want to leave!

The location (see on Google Earth) is great. You're close to many of my favourite parts of Phuket down in the SW corner of the island. You can find quiet beaches, great views, temples and more within 15 minutes drive. The airport is about an hour away, Phuket town about 20 minutes.

Evason Resort - Booking and Reviews

• Evason Resort Rates and Reservations at Agoda.com
• Evason Resort - Reviews


Evason Resort Photos








• More Hotels in Phuket - Phuket Hotels at Agoda.com
• Last minute Phuket hotels - LateStays.com
• More Phuket Hotel Recommendations

Quiet Beaches - Laem Ka Beach

Another small, quiet beach in Phuket, not very well known and mainly only visited by locals is Laem Ka beach. It's just north east of Rawai beach, between Rawai and Chalong and is not well signposted at all. We had never been there before today despite countless drives around the Rawai area. We first started to drive up the road to the Evason resort, but this only goes to the hotel. The friendly security guard told us to carry on towards Rawai and turn left after the 7-11. There's no sign to Laem Ka beach, as it is undeveloped and basically off the tourist radar.. but you can find it on Google Earth now :)

Its a small road which goes across the headland (the word Laem in Thai means Cape or headland) - very nice area full of coconut trees, but is mostly private land. Owned by who? Whoever it is has put up a rather odd scarecrow at one point to make it quite obvious that you do NOT want to go this way:



Just above Laem Ka beach is a small parking area, and one small building selling some drinks and BBQ pork with sticky rice. You have to go down a few steps to the beach which has some sandy areas separated by rocks and stretches for about 400m I would guess. There were only a few people there, so we found ourselves a little private beach!





There are views across the water (which looked nice and clear) to some of the islands just offshore - Koh Bon, Koh Lone, Koh He, and there were sailing boats out on the sea racing from Chalong. Maybe practicing for the well known Kings Cup which starts next weekend.





We had come for a quick look but had a paddle and let the kids play with the sand and splash around. It was very nice indeed and I think we'll go back next weekend with a picnic and more suitable swimwear for all of us! It's peak season and all the main beaches are busy, but here we had all the time in the world, the sun on our shoulders and great views.

Phuket in Bloom

It's now getting into the "high" season in Phuket, with sunny skies, occasional thunderstorms at night and light winds. The "low" season ended a month or so ago. The summer months are also called the Green Season since the rain (while not being so welcome for tourists) is lapped up by trees, bushes, grass and flowers. Even with all the development, Phuket is a very green island (not that you'd believe it if you're walking through Patong). You can find countless photos on this blog showing green hills, palm trees, rubber plantations and forests. There are also lots of flowers. People here love to have plants around the house and garden and you'll find many garden shops in Phuket selling everything from trees to stones to garden furniture, and lots of orchids...

The variety of orchids is amazing. We have more than 20 species around our garden - sounds like a lot....but it's estimated there are more than 25,000 orchid species! And they sure are purty lil' things. Now I'm no gardener, and my wife tends to buy the plants and make things look nice, but I certainly appreciate orchids. Thanks to Google power, I just found out that orchids get their name from the Greek orchis, meaning "testicle". Not a lot of people know that.

So, without further ado, without any delay, here's some photos of flowers in our garden, some of them being orchids. Enjoy.

 

Hotel Recommendations: Cape Panwa Hotel

Cape Panwa is a favourite quiet corner of Phuket. Despite being home to the Phuket Aquarium and Marine Biological Centre, not many visitors head down to the far SE corner of Phuket. It's a bit of a drive from the main beaches, but if you have time and can rent a car or bike, it's a nice area to explore - lots of backroads. In this area you can also find Khao Khad viewpoint. Panwa is a quiet, mostly muslim area. The main road from town to the cape is well kept and pleasantly rolling, and there are many side roads worth following for the views. There is also a smaller road which runs along the west side of the cape, on the east side of Chalong Bay.

Right at the end of the road, near the aquarium, you can find the Cape Panwa Hotel. A great little hideaway, right on the beach and away from all the crowds on Phuket's main beaches. With all the facilities the hotel has you hardly need to leave. There are no less than 5 different restaurants and 5 bars! You're about 15 minutes drive from Phuket town, but note that its a good hour or maybe more to the airport, which is up in the north of Phuket. Cape Panwa Hotel is one of the Top 10 Hotels in Phuket.

Cape Panwa Hotel - Booking and Reviews

• Cape Panwa Hotel Rates and Reservations at Agoda.com
• Cape Panwa Hotel Reviews


Cape Panwa Hotel Photos










• More Hotels in Phuket - Phuket Hotels at Agoda.com
• Last minute Phuket hotels - LateStays.com
• More Phuket Hotel Recommendations

Hotel Recommendations: Baan Krating Jungle Beach Resort

Phuket has many hidden corners, many quiet hideaways and some excellent hotels can be found on their own beaches, or balanced on the edge of a jungly cliff a million miles from the crowds. The Baan Krating Jungle Beach Hotel is found near Ao Sane beach, which is round the corner and along a tiny cliffside road from Naiharn beach. I've been to Ao Sane beach a few times (read about it here - Quiet Beaches in Phuket), and though that Baan Krating looks like a great place to stay if you want a bit of peace and quiet. See location on Google Earth.

Guests at this resort enjoy a mix of jungle and beach, with the 30 chalets set in the trees above a small private beach. There's also a beachside pool. The restaurant serves the usual Thai-Western mix. If you want more food options, you'll need to get to Naiharn and beyond. The Naiharn/Rawai area has a fair number of expat residents and there are a number of western restaurants such as Don's Cafe and Mimi's.

Baan Krating Jungle Beach - Booking and Reviews

• Baan Krating Rates and Reservations at Agoda.com
• Baan Krating Hotel Reviews


Baan Krating Photos

 

 


• More Hotels in Phuket - Phuket Hotels at Agoda.com
• Last minute Phuket hotels - LateStays.com
• More Phuket Hotel Recommendations