Banyan Tree Phuket — Hotel in Choeng Thale

One word: Marvellous.

As I stepped foot into the hotels lobby, I could immediately see that the hotel was going to be great. The lobby was calming and had many sofas. A waitress instantly bought us some Tom yum coated biscuits, Black sugarcane tea, and some lemongrass scented towels. After that, we were taken into a golf cart and sent to our room. During the ride, I was able to catch a glimpse on how big the hotel actually was. It was just valleys and hills and houses around the place; the garden was full of nature and plants.

Once we got out of the golf cart, a staff member gave us the key and began giving us a tour on the room. She explained it in as much detail as possible, showing us the amenities and how to use the appliances correctly. Once she finished giving the tour, our luggage’s were delivered via another golf cart driven by a staff member.

I was very impressed by how spacious the rooms were. There was a huge kitchen, a living room, 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a jacuzzi, pool chairs, and your own private pool. Also, the television gave us all the information about the hotel, and there was also a room diving service on demand.

If you ever needed to go to the lobby or anywhere inside the hotel, you can use the telephone inside the living room to call a golf cart to take you there. If you need to get to surrounding areas, head to the lobby and ask for a shuttle bus (Sort of like a Tuk-Tuk) to take you to your destination.

Regarding the service, the staff were very friendly and helpful, always willing to take requests from hotel guests. If you are staying at the double pool villas, you have your own telephone and lobby, and you may get certain benefits.

For the room service and how fast it was, if you wanted to order food, again, you could use the telephone and dial 0 to phone the receptionist, and from there, you will be redirected to the restaraunt staff which will help you take your order. The food is delivered via a golf cart, and usually takes about 10-15 minutes to arrive. The food came nice and hot; I ordered a chicken satay and it came juicy and fresh.

We also ordered a private barbecue service inside our villa. Our private chef, Dam, gave us some advice on the portion of food we should eat, so that we won’t be full by the time we get to the main courses. He prepared each dish carefully, and made sure that the portion was enough for everyone. It was indeed a great experience; there was even a surprise birthday cake for us!

Now, for the location. The location of the hotel was located inside of Laguna, a famous resort place in Phuket. It was also not far away from the airport, only about a 30 minute drive.

Overall, I would definitely come back again. It was such a...

I got to stay at two different locations, the one bedroom smaller villas, and then moved on to the 3 bedroom villas when the rest of my family joined in. The one bedroom villas are stunningly, very luxuriously decorated. I loved the look and feel of them more than the larger villas in my opinion.

The breakfast was good, there was a decent selection, service is always great even at the busiest times and they have a huge range of cuisines available.

The resort itself is in a stunning location, not right on the beach fyi (didn't matter to us). We were able to rent bikes, and thanks to the easy bike rental policy and copious paths around the grounds, my son actually learned how to ride a bike on this trip!

The dining selection is very good, but to be honest not all were at the same level of other 5* hotels. Hojo was the standout favorite, followed by Saffron. Tin Tapas and Banyan Cafe were good. The great thing was they were really attentive to feedback and removed an item from the menu when we didn't finish.

There are a few little touches here and there that could be added to refine the experience even more. The kids club could be a bit more robust, there could also be a more child-friendly pool in one of the common areas (e.g. with slides, etc). Also I didn't like that two of the three bedrooms in the villa had no windows at all, which kind of wasn't great for ventilation or letting in natural light.

The most important feedback I want to share is the attentiveness and preparedness of the staff. My son had an accident in the pool and needed urgent care, and the super--quick responsiveness of the staff was a massive relief and support to me during that time. Within minutes, a medical team was at our villa applying first aid, and I connected with Ms. Jinny in the hotel management, who was extremely kind and supportive in a very distressing moment of crisis. It could have ruined our holiday, but thanks to their help, my son was able to get the best treatment, and all the other hotel staff gave him a lot of special attention that he was definitely loving.

At the end of the day, this is the kind of thing that really matters, and the Banyan Tree Phuket staff met that moment with competence that earned my respect and trust.

Overall, it was a fantastic stay especially with kids, even the weather cooperated. A particularly joyful and unique part of every day was watching the lady caddies in their very retro looking pink tracksuits attend to the golfers. I felt like I was in a Wes Anderson movie in the best way. 10/10...

This resort is very overpriced. It is essentially a golf resort NOT a beach resort. There is no direct access to a beach, and NO water or beach activities.

I normally give positive reviews to hotels and resorts but this Banyan Tree is highly disappointing and extremely overpriced compared to what else is available in SE Asia and Phuket.

First the positives: • Resort is spacious and well landscaped. Nice for bicycling. • Everything is in good condition and works well. • Staff are friendly and responsive. • There is a big golf course, for people who play golf.

Now the negatives: • No direct access to the beach. You must take a vehicle to get to the beach, and when there, the Xana Beach club area is packed with Russians, very crowded and loud. Service is terrible. No water sports available, not even boogie boards. If your intention is to do beach activities, this is not the place for it. • WiFi is very unstable in rooms and doesn’t work resort-wide. • Room fitout is boring and uninspired. • Food is mediocre at best, including the buffet (both breakfast and dinner). For a premium 5-star resort, we expect a much high standards of food. • The hotel pool is small for a resort of this size and all of the lounge chairs will have been taken by people who put their towels and books/magazines on the chairs but are nowhere to be found. So if you arrive at say 10:00 a.m., you will have nowhere to sit event though 80-90% of the chairs don’t have people on them. Its just not well managed. They don’t offer any menu with food or drinks, just cold water and wet towels. • The hotel is highly impersonal and crowded. Its lacking the magic of a smaller resort where the staff know who you are. It feels like the kind of place with a lot of package tourists, not exclusive. Although the price is premium, the experience is very mass market. • Although there are lots of activities in Phuket outside of Banyan Tree, there is not much to do at or directly from Banyan Tree. For example, if you want to go boating you will need to drive 35 minutes to the port, whereas if you stay somewhere like Six Senses Koh Yao Noi, the boats depart directly from the resort.

I will never come back here to Bayan Tree Phuket (and I would be cautious about this whole brand now) and not recommend it to anyone. Other resorts I’ve stayed in Phuket is so much better resort experience and value for money (e.g. Amanpuri, Six Senses Koh Yao Noi, JW Marriott Phuket Resort &...