Please help can't decide Katathala or Twin Palms???

If anyone could give me some feedback i would appreciate it. Going to Phuket in July and was going to stay at one of the above resorts for the first 4 nights then to Patong at the Novotel for the remaider 6 nights with my wife.

Please help can't decide Katathala or Twin Palms???

Katathani sorry

Please help can't decide Katathala or Twin Palms???

Hi aussie beno,

I have stayed at the Katathani twice and the position of being right on the beach is beautiful. They also have rooms across the road in the Bhuri wing but they are not right on the beach, although the road is very quiet.

The Junior Suite rooms, overlooking the beach, are very sound proof, clean %26amp; comfortable but in need of a refurbishment as they are a bit old fashioned.

There are numerous pools to choose from or just step onto the beach and pay a few dollars for a sun lounge from the private vendors, who also sell drinks.

The grounds are immaculate and the staff are mostly very pleasant and helpful. The hotel offer typical hotel food at inflated prices. We only ate breakfast and a few snacks when we were around the pool.

There are a few reasonable but not great restaurants across the road but if you want to go into “Little Kata” you can walk and it will take about 20 minutes but with a couple of hills on the way. There are numerous private cars out the front of the hotel and they will quote 200-250 Baht but you can usually get it for 150, which is still a total rip off as it takes less than 2 minutes by car.

From Little Kata, it is a long but flat walk into Big Kata and probably takes another 20-30 minutes. Both areas of Kata have lots of restaurants. You can also get a bus from Little Kata, just outside the Kata Beach Hotel and you can travel to Karon and Phuket Town for about 30 Baht or so. We caught the bus a few times and whilst it is not as fast as a car, it gave us the opportunity to see a bit more of Phuket.

I would stay at the Katathani again but I am also looking at the Phuket Marina Resort which is situated in the middle of Kata and has everything, including the beach and restaurants on the doorstep. I really hate paying for tuk tuks as they usually rip you off at every opportunity.

I am also considering staying at the Pacific Club for part of my next holiday as the rooms %26amp; suites look fantastic and I have spoken to the owner “Uncle Eric” who believes in giving the ultimate in customer service and has trained his staff to do the same. Whilst this resort is not right on the beach, it only costs 50 Baht to use the hotel car to travel the few minutes down to the beach and shopping centre. This hotel seems to offer a lot more than others e.g. meals at prices that are not typical of the normal inflated hotel prices and really large two bedroom units. If you are not intent on staying right on the beach, I think it is well worth having a look at the Pacific Club.

Now for the Surin end. We originally were going to stay at the Twin Palms but decided foolishly to stay at the Bang Tao Bay Beach Resort, big mistake, read my review. After refusing to stay at Bang Tao, we ended up at the Manathai which is next door to the Twin Palms. I would say that it is slightly poorer cousin of the Twin Palms. When we arrived at the Manathai we were offered a smallish room looking out onto a tip which we declined and paid a bit more for a room looking onto the pool and bar area. It was beautiful and only a few steps to the pool which we normally had to ourselves and we had a nice sized balcony where we spent a lot of time having drinks, as the exchange rate had just plummeted. The room we had was large, clean, comfortable and very well appointed. In style, it contrasted sharply with the Katathani, as it was very modern. From memory it was similar in style to the Twin Palms but not as luxurious. Neither one is a hotel suitable for children as loud noise really echoes throughout both hotels due to the size.

The Twin Palms, whilst not right on the beach is a couple of minutes walk away, just across a very quiet narrow road and through a park. There are numerous restaurants right on the beach and Pla restaurant is excellent. You can also get return transport from Pla to their restaurant in Patong, the K hotel, for about a 100 Baht each. Great value for transport and the K Hotel has the largest menus I have ever seem. The food is wonderful and very reasonably priced.

It is too far, in my opinion to walk up to the Laguna area but you can get a private car for about 200 Baht to take you to the end of Bang Tao and then walk along the sand, where you will find numerous restaurants. The fare back from there was 300 Baht.

There are a few restaurants at Surin a couple of doors along from the Twin Palms but not much to write home about. Although many people rave about the Surin Bay Inn, I thought the portions to be very small and extremely ordinary in quality and not worth the money. Better to walk across the road to the beach and go to Pla or to Catch Beach Club, owned by Twin Palms. I haven’t been to Catch for a couple of years but the food, whilst not the cheapest, was of a very high standard and offered excellent service.

I would probably not stay at Surin again unless I got a fantastic deal, as you would need that saving to pay for transport. The drivers outside the hotel refuse to barter and demand extremely high rates, as in 500 Baht to go to Patong and when the Aussie dollar dropped that meant we would have to pay approximately $50 return to a trip that only takes about 20 minutes. It is better to get a private driver and incorporate a trip to Patong with another outing. If you walk to the nearest corner you can get a tuk tuk to Patong for 400 baht but if you do that often, it still takes a sizable chunk of your money. We did get the bus from Surin into Phuket Town but had to wait for nearly an hour, so we wasted a lot of time.

So whilst I enjoyed staying at the Manathai, the “private drivers” or should I say public thieves, ruined the experience and you are at their mercy. I would highly recommend the Surin area if you want to relax in quiet surroundings and you are planning to hire a car or motor bike or don’t mind paying the outrageous transport costs.

These are just my opinions formed through my experiences. I hope they are of some help.

Michelle

Why don%26#39;t you spend 2 nights at Katathani and 2 nights at Twinpalms. Minimise your travelling while you are at each resort since you will be going on to Patong for 6 days.

Hotel hopping can be quite interesting. Get to experience different hotels and locations.

Thanks very much guys appreciate your opinions

Ben

A very good report, but if the taxi bandits annoy you that much, why don%26#39;t you hire a car. I always do 900 baht a day from the airport, for a nice Honda Jazz. You then have the freedom of Phuket Island.

Hi

Also worth considering if you are interested in te Kata area is The Kata Beach Resort %26amp; Spa.

Its a nice hotel, absolute beach front so you have both pool %26amp; beach options and there are probably about 20 restaurants and a dozen shops outside the hotel. We stay here and in Patong, but whilst here we don%26#39;t bother travelling into Patong as we will be there on enough.

Kata and Karon have lots of shopping and restaurants.

Safe travels

P:)