phuket holiday

[toddleroo]

Hi, we have an 18 mth old toddler and are planning a trip to Phuket. Any toddler friendly resorts? we;d like something on the beach and with an indoor kid play area, and something which is close by (10 min drive) to other restaurants, shopping etc...any recommendations would be so welcome...have already checked the JW Mariott but it seems tucked away from everything else. Thanks!

[Andy&Cass]

Heard from another family on plane up to Thailand last weekend, that new marriott courtyard at Suni (?) beach is very good for kids.

[NMS1]

We've just booked at the Katathani on Kate beach - don't know if it's any good but they have a children's play area, swimming pool, almost private beach and it's walking distance to some of the local restaurants etc,

[Just noticed]

A 7 day holiday at Club Med Phuket is priced at S$ 7,200 if you book from theur Singapore web site but at GBP 2,091 if you book from their UK web site (both excluding flights!).  Amazing rip off for the Singapore based customer who has to pay 2/3rd more. 

Sadly, I no longer have a UK address so cannot book.

[been there before]

We've just booked at the Katathani on Kate beach - don't know if it's any good but they have a children's play area, swimming pool, almost private beach and it's walking distance to some of the local restaurants etc,

Kata Thani is nice.  It is not walking distance to anywhere much though but only 5 mins in a cab or tuk tuk to places that are pretty good around Kata Yai.

Beach is great (though be careful, rips are dangerous this time of year).  Also pleasantly free of people trying to sell junk.

[going]

we are going to Khao Lak 80km north of phuket airport this wkend. JW marriott is great there but quiet and far from phuket town if you want night life.

[heard]

Holiday Inn seems to be a favorite for families too since they have pirate themed adjoining bedrooms for kids. 

[love to]

Hi there, I recently took my 6-year old along on a cruise and he had such a good time! The ship docked at Phuket, so we went to the beach, just to relax and play. It wasn't very crowded, so we had quite a lot of fun there.
When the ship was cruising, there was an activities center for the children, and they have experienced staff to look after the kids and keep them occupied. My son kept wanting to go back! Aside from that, there're other activities you can do with your kids like mini golf, indoor/outdoor jacuzzi/swimming pool, and of course the food! They also put really cute towel animals in your room after housekeeping, i think the kids will enjoy that. my boy was very excited to return to the room everyday to see what animals were visiting!

I'd love to go on a cruise but aren't they really expensive?  Do you mind sharing what you paid?

[To NMS1]

You asked me a while back to tell you how I found Katathani. Here's the ins and outs!!

The overall experience was very positive (althought not having been to Thailand before, I cannot really compare with other establishments).

Good things: The direct access to beach (for most other resorts, you have to cross a road to get the beach). The staff were friendly and helpful and the resort was well-maintained and clean.  The buffet breakfast was (like most of the region) very good.  The immediate area around the resort is nice and quiet compared to most of the rest of Phuket (as Katathani is a one-hotel bearch.  A very large hotel). The kids' club seemed very much to my kid's liking although I was a bit worried because the staff there spoke no English.

On the down side: The restaurants are overpriced and the cooking, even in the posher ones, wasn't that great.  The resort is relatively remote from the rest of Phuket although there are plenty of taxis and tuktuks available.
You could also walk quite easily to the much busier Kata beach where there are lots of shops and restaurants available (or a cheap taxi ride).  I didn't like the pools very much as they had a lot of small pools which did not conect to each other (this is on the ocean wing).
If you have booked on the ocean wing (with a seaview), then request a room on an upper floor.  Ours was on the ground floor which meant that you had to stand up to view the sea.  BTW, strangely, the beach is not part of the hotel and you have to pay extra to the deck chair owners to use them (but you can get a slightly cheaper massage than those offered by the hotel).

The bottom line was that I de-stressed a lot and my five year old did not want to come back (and for the following two weeks made a mantra of "Katathani" where she wants to go and live "forever"). So, it was a success :-)

[snorkel family]

does anyone know if you can snorkel in October in Phuket or Krabi. It doesn't have to be the best ever but my kids always get more out of a holiday if it includes a snorkeling trip.

[globetrotting]

Does anyone know anything about the JW Marriott or the Sheraton Grande Laguna in Phuket? We're thinking of a long weekend with a 6 year old and a toddler.

[Renaissant]

Marriott Renaissant is new with kidz club. Laguna is a bit old.

[err right]

Sheraton also has a kids club. It doesn't have the circus training though.

Both on the beach, one at Sheraton is nicer.

Laguna has its own shopping village, more in it than the new one near marriott, kids might find getting around laguna on the boats a novelty.

Laguna can cross sign to other hotels and use their facilities (for a small fee), laguna beach has a waterslide which would be about the only reason to do this.

Laguna can do pony trekking on the beach and also elephant rides.

Both in the middle of nowhere.

Pretty much even I'd say, for longer than a weekend I'd likely go with laguna but pretty even.

[Hate Laguna]

Cannot comment on the Sheraton specifically but did stay at the Banyan Tree at the Laguna.  HATED the whole area.  Most of the hotels seemed really dated.  Shopping centre was horrific and were constantly pestered to look at properties.  Had to cross the road to get to a pretty awful beach (may have improved now as this was about 18 months post tsunsami).  Sheraton may be OK, but the resort is very Butlins-esque.

We wouldn't normally stay at a Marriott (hate large resorts ) but went the the Phuket Beach Club to meet friends for a long weekend and the children just loved it and we were pleasantly surprised by how much we enjoyed it.  Defintely a long way from Phuket town etc, but if you just want a family beach/pool holiday, it fits the bill.

[utter garbage]

Cannot comment on the Sheraton specifically but did stay at the Banyan Tree at the Laguna.  HATED the whole area.  Most of the hotels seemed really dated.  Shopping centre was horrific and were constantly pestered to look at properties.  Had to cross the road to get to a pretty awful beach (may have improved now as this was about 18 months post tsunsami).  Sheraton may be OK, but the resort is very Butlins-esque.

We wouldn't normally stay at a Marriott (hate large resorts ) but went the the Phuket Beach Club to meet friends for a long weekend and the children just loved it and we were pleasantly surprised by how much we enjoyed it.  Defintely a long way from Phuket town etc, but if you just want a family beach/pool holiday, it fits the bill.

Laguna is nothing like Butlins (with the exception of Laguna Beach maybe).

Dusit and Sheraton are on the beach, no roads to cross.  Allamanda you get a boat.

Banyan Tree is up itself, overpriced and full of knobs.  It is however undermaintained, I can well understand why someone would be fed up shelling that money and then getting there.

If you really want a villa there are new ones on the golf course, this is far from the beach though (but still just a boat ride).

Marriott tries to sell you timeshare as well, half the resort is one, it is no better or worse in this respect, you get invited to a presentation, you say no and they leave you alone.

As for beaches, PP clearly went at the wrong time, Bang Tao is way way better than Mai Khao(?) which is I think where the Marriott is.  Even if I got the beach name wrong the one at Laguna is better, have stayed at both several times.