With so many nice hotels to choose from on the island of Phuket, it wasn’t an easy feat narrowing down the options for our very first trip here! My husband’s friend was the one who initially proposed the idea of a short group getaway and our plan was to book a whole villa for ourselves. Alas, a few people in the group couldn’t make it eventually but my husband and I ended up proceeding with the trip anyway.
I suspect I was partly influenced by the good experience we had at Mövenpick Resort in the Maldives, making this hotel option stand out from among the rest. Furthermore, I was drawn to the unique Sino-Portuguese architecture of this property. Spotting a decent price on Trip.com, we promptly made a reservation and were on our way in no time!
- Inclusions:
- 2-night stay in Deluxe Pool View Room
- Breakfast (for Day 3 only)
- Spent: SGD$251.80 + $66.68 in Trip coins
Check-in
After a warm welcome by the concierge the moment we stepped through the doors, we were brought welcome drinks and snacks along with an ice-cold towel, a huge relief from the heat outside. The check-in process was smooth and swift as there weren’t many guests at that time.
However, as it got increasingly crowded later in the day, the staff were visibly more frazzled and service was slow-moving, with many overtly disgruntled guests in line. It generally felt like they were severely understaffed and ill-equipped to handle the volume of service requests from guests, including ours.
Anyway, if you’re headed to Patong Beach or Jungceylon shopping mall, the hotel provides complimentary scheduled tuk-tuk rides to and from these locations. It is recommended to book your seats early as it is on a first-come-first-served basis with a maximum of 7 guests per ride.
Room
Majority, if not all, of the rooms here have balconies that face the pool (except those with direct pool access on level 1) but some have a much better view than others. Our initial assigned room was located on the top floor of the property (level 7) but our straight-on view was of a blank wall, even more drab than the view we had during one of our Fullerton stays. Only by walking out to the balcony and angling steeply to the left could we catch a sliver of the supposed pool view.
After a couple of phone calls and non-existent callbacks, I decided to personally head down to the front desk to ask if we could do a room shift. The manager then helped to move us to a room on level 3 with a gorgeous unobstructed pool view.
Both rooms were similar in layout, furnished with a cosy day bed by the window and a single chair on the balcony. The bathroom had ample space to fit a corner tub and a separate shower.
It was a pity that cleanliness wasn’t quite up to par. In both rooms, I couldn’t help but notice copious amounts of clumped hair and dust bunnies all over the floor. I called for housekeeping to drop by to address the issue but nobody came until the next morning when they did their regular cleaning rounds. Well, at least the sheets and towels were pristine.
When I requested for a firm pillow, the staff informed that all rooms already came with two soft and two firm pillows, and that there were no other pillow options. The latter were of a moderate firmness, which was okay, but the bed was unfortunately a complete marshmallow.
Facilities
The pièce de résistance of this property is undoubtedly the beautiful free-form swimming pool area on level 1. Azure Pool Bar is located in the centre and has a swim-up section too. If you have young ones in tow, there is a Little Birds Club beside the pool that runs programmes and activities for kids.
The hotel’s lobby bar, Barrocco, is situated on level 2 right next to the reception area. From our experience at Mövenpick Resort in the Maldives, we learned that Mövenpick hotels and resorts all around the world have a unique feature called Chocolate Hour, where an array of complimentary desserts is served to guests.
At this hotel, it took place between 2pm and 3pm here at Barrocco, where guests could help themselves freely to some sweet treats. Although the selection wasn’t particularly impressive, at least the chocolate didn’t have a plastic taste like the ones from its Maldivian sister property.
A VIDA is the in-house spa that is also nestled on level 2 across from the reception counters. Spanning two levels, the spa’s reception area is on level 2 while the treatment rooms seem to mostly be on level 3.
On level 3 is where you’ll find a spillover reception area lined with sofas and a gym jam-packed with machines and equipment.
Breakfast is served between 6.30am and 11am at the Art Deco-style restaurant called Átrio on level 1. We only got the breakfast-inclusive room rate for our last day as we had way too early a start for the Phi Phi Islands Sunrise Tour on the previous day.
Despite the buffet’s fairly decent variety, none of the items stood out in the least. Even the omelette from the live eggs station was tasteless and unappetizing. No fresh juices were available but there were some unusual bottled options (rosella juice and butterfly pea tea). Staff were also going around serving chilled juice power shots.
My overall rating of the experience: 3 out of 5 stars. If it weren’t for the stunning architecture and elegant spaces here, this would’ve been closer to a 2-star rating in my books. The interiors and furnishing were undeniably pleasing to the eye, but service was sorely lacking and breakfast offerings were very unmemorable. Callbacks weren’t honoured and requests made over the phone never came. Strangely enough, we observed that there always seemed to be guests raging at the reception while we waited at the lobby for our rides. Even the room cleanliness levels were questionable, although this was eventually rectified when housekeeping did their rounds a whole day later. All I can say is, for the standard rates they’re charging, I’d probably top up a little more to stay at a better hotel the next time.
If this post helped you in some way and you’d like to buy me a coffee, I’d be incredibly grateful (:
Dania Experiences 