Phuket Elephant On The Beach (private entry to te Beach) — Attraction in Patong

We, AARAMBH Photos and Films from Pune, India, recently visited Phuket Elephant on Beach for a pre-wedding shoot. We booked a one-hour slot, paying 1500 Baht per person, but the experience was extremely disappointing due to the uncooperative staff and poor service.

As professional photographers, we had clear expectations and specific instructions to capture creative shots. For example, we requested one of the caretakers to have the couple sit on the elephant while the elephant splashed water—an essential moment for our shoot. However, the staff ignored our instructions and instead repeatedly interrupted, saying, “Time finished, time finished.” Also we gave that guy 100 baht for the shot we required still they didn't do as expected. Within a minute their staff started saying give more 3000 baht for your expected shots.

Moreover, several staff members stood in the frame during our drone shots and videos, completely ruining the planned aerial footage. Their unprofessional behavior made it impossible to execute the creative vision we had promised our clients.

This lack of cooperation and understanding from your team not only wasted our time but also compromised the quality of work we deliver to our clients. Given the premium price charged for this experience, the service was far below expectations.

And I have uploaded a video below of the foreigner couple who came here after 06:05pm and they allowed them everything we expected. Literally we are disappointed, what's the use of travelling from India to here

We do not recommend Phuket Elephant on Beach for professional photography or videography purposes. Improvements in professionalism, cooperation, and time management are...

There is a reason this place has 2.0 stars and in sure eventually there will be less. What they say about the treatment of the elephants is true. I even bought the concern up to stay and provided them evidence of the fact that Thailand’s wildlife foundation and the green elephant sanctuary advise against allowing tourist to ride on the backs of elephants as it is bad for their spines and is therefore inhumane. These people did not care and have bad attitudes because they are more concerned about partaking in profiting from these animals. Of course many tourist will not care because they want a cute picture at the sake of the animal but this is a disgusting practice.

Edit: I absolutely do not need to spend my money here in order to leave a review as I planned a visit but reached out to staff in advance about my concerns. Thankfully I did as I was met with rudeness. Apparently my concerns were valid as others are saying the exact same thing I said, after having visited themselves. In addition the owner still hasn’t addressed the fact of the matter that the sanctuary advises against what they’re doing as it’s considered...

Thank you for your response, but we would like to clarify a few points:

Payment and Booking Details: We were informed that 1500 Baht per person was the rate for an hour. If this was incorrect, it would have been your responsibility to clarify or charge the private rate upfront. There was no mention of this during our booking process, and we made the payment as per your stated charges.

Service Expectations: Regardless of the payment terms, the core issue remains the lack of cooperation from your staff during our shoot. Basic requests like having the elephant splash water were ignored, and staff members standing in the frame disrupted our work. This has nothing to do with the rate but rather the professionalism of your team.

We believe in clear communication and mutual respect. If there was a misunderstanding about the rates, we would have appreciated it being addressed transparently before the shoot. However, the uncooperative behavior we experienced still reflects poorly on the...