The Boathouse Phuket — Hotel in Karon

Concerned about racial/social discrimination at this restaurant on two occasions in one sitting. I arrived at 9pm, last Wednesday evening - intending to have romantic anniversary dinner with my partner. We had no reservation and asked if we could have a table for two. The table hostess immediately replied they were booked out and nothing available - I could clearly see the entire inside dining section of the restaurant was set up for dinner service ( and 100% empty) plus the outside dining deck had numerous empty tables - some without 'reservation tabs' on them and were clearly at a 50% unfilled capacity at only just 9pm (hostess says kitchen still open to 11pm as advertised.) The hostess was murmuring to another hostess and giving us looks in her native language in which I could not understand , but based on body language and facial expression, im pretty certain it wasn't about tables. After 5 mins of politely trying to understand why we were refused a table due to 'being full' , I began to wonder if she was saying no because she thought I was a 'local entertaining guest ' ( as I had been mistaken by locals as a Thai girl, being petite, dark Asian skinned before) as I was in the company of a very tall European looking man ( my Italian partner ) . I was confused as I could honestly say were both come across mid 30's very neatly, well dressed and polite but I started to wonder if there was indeed a misunderstanding by the hostess - was I being mistaken as paid escort and therefore not allowed to dine ? After a moment she said ' I only have one inside only , but none outside ' I said, no and would Like to wait it out to sit outside on the deck with the rest of the diners. After a little more deliberation she suddenly says- , ' I have a table outside. ' During his time no one left, nothing had changed aside from me persisting. Stunned at the change of pace , we forwarded to take our seat. After we finally sat down and ordered our meal. Around 15 mins into our sitting, there was a situation happening behind my partner- I could see a very upset European man, asking 'how can it be full ?!!' With all these tables free ?' He was with a lady of dark decent. I was observing the couple and The lady looked like a somewhat supermodel like ( alex wek ) and well dressed- he too ... well groomed business man . They were refused service due to 'full house' and eventually left very disappointed and confused seemingly in the same way I was just prior . I could not help but wonder if the same host misjudged her, as a escort as well or if it was possibly racially motivated? There were so many empty set up tables. It wasn't until this incident I wondered about the so called ' full house' policy was a way of subtly managing an unspoken racial/ social policy for this restaurant .My partner and I both awkardly aware of what was happening, then scanned the floor to suss out the crowd -coincidently, we were the only Euro-Asian couple in the restaurant, sitting amongst a lot of 'wealthy older white guests' . The hostesses would serve menus, drinks and even the bill to my partner - Call it traditional if u may, but I had to request the host to place the order with me & even pass the bill to me to sign for instead as it's just normal for us as a couple ( maybe to the hostess's surprise 'the hooker' is paying ;) . Although The food and dining location is great, unfortunately I left with a high level of discomfort regarding how customers were being inappropriately misjudged and perceived during pre-service . I've travelled and dined at many quality resturants and come to Thailand numerous times but this one takes the cake for being racially pretentious and passively sexist, considering such an establishment regards its self as world class, it certainly doesn't service with a worldly eye. THE BOATHOUSE owners need to rid of its ignorant mindset and review its filtering methods, to be more united and less discriminating of race and status. - unfortunately for this I class this...

I don't often write reviews until after I have left but although we are still here I have to tell you about this place as I would have loved to know this before I came The location There is direct access to the beach. Forget rows of sunbeds crammed in, the hotel is on an unspoilt corner of the beach with smooth rocks that attract loads of fish which is great for snorkelling. The beach is also shallow and the sea goes out a long way at low tide causing lovely rockpools. There are 2 bars close by, also on the beach, and often there are fireworks or local fire eating displays on the beach. The street behind the hotel also has shops and restaurants and places you can book trips.This hotel has the best location on kata beach The room. We are staying in 501. These are the ocean suite rooms and have direct access to the pool and beach. I'm not sure on how the other rooms compare but these rooms are beautiful and very handy for the restaurant, pool and beach The food Breakfast - this is included in the price and there is a wide variety of choice and is all you can eat. The staff were always surprised that I ordered very little but unfortunately I'm not a breakfast eater. Dinner- A mixture of western and Thai food. I can highly recommend the spring rolls and yellow curry. The head chef is British but suspect he has some talented Thai chefs in his team as the food is delicious. I thought it was nice that the head chef came out one evening to speak to all the tables. Very conscientious 😊 There is a 400 baht daily voucher for food and beverages but it would be better advertised at the pre charges and pre tax rate as I saw soooo many people question why only 374?? Is taken off the bill and takes the lovely goodwill gesture from the hotel and turns it into a negative if people think that have been cheated. So you won't get 400 baht but remember guys it's still a freebie ok? The staff Can't speak high enough of the staff. They don't seem to expect a tip but are always surprised and smiley when you do and they can't do enough to help you. A special shout out to the pool team who bring towels and cold water and drinks even before you realise you need them 🤣 What would I improve? Some local knowledge and tips displayed on the TV would be good. For example we read on the internet that you shouldn't even clean your teeth with the water. Not sure if that is true or not but would be good to know along with other dos and don'ts. Information such as the ice is made with bottled water would have saved me fishing ice out of my drinks. 🤣 And because my business is business improvement, and I can't help myself, then opportunities to generate revenue by offering trips, advertising the merch in the room rather than just reception. Offering room service at additional cost. Pay per view movies because the TV is so limited, or VPN so guests can watch the channels of choice from their own country. Anyway enough of that. Come to the Boathouse....

Breakfast: good range of menu options. Shame there's no buffet. Food is prepared quickly and is nicely presented and tasty. We had the fruit platter, avocado/feta/toast, yoghurt, eggs with toast, muesli, drinks, etc. All staff are lovely and helpful.

Dinner: service impeccable. There are too many menu options, to be honest, just so much choice. Food same prices as Australia. Meal for two with one beer and no dessert cost $121AUD (2735 baht), so very expensive and not worth the price, though food is tasty with good serving sizes.

Hotel: bathroom recently renovated, comfortable bed, good sized rooms. Some rooms are close to noisy road and the noisy restaurant nearby that plays music till quite late.

Pros: • Location on direct beach front can't be beaten. • Staff lovely. Special mention to F&B manager, "Team", and the morning shift waiter, "X". All staff very helpful, considerate and go out of their way to know your names. • Breakfast options limited but nicely served, fresh food and well portioned except for the pancakes which are far too small. • We stayed in room 301A which is one of the best rooms and is nicely decorated (albeit a quite dated) but certainly not worth the price we paid. At least the bathroom felt relatively new. • Beautiful view to one of the best beaches in Phuket. • Great location near food and knick-knack markets. Everything is within walking distance. • Great sunsets from hotel. • Hotel has 39 rooms making it a little smaller than some other places which minimised the number of Russians staying there which was a positive.

Cons: • The sea outside resort has a lot of rubbish. The hotel should really put out nets to catch rubbish to clean up water. The rubbish also litters the beach which isn't nice either. • The top edge of the pool has a rim of green algae growing on it. It appears they rarely clean pool which is pretty gross. It certainly put me off using it and instead I swam amongst the rubbish in the sea. • The pool is far too small and is almost tokenistic. • Hotel is 40 yrs old and it shows. Lots of rust, tiles missing, function areas completely dilapidated and not used. It's in need of major renovations. For the amount they charge I'd have thought they could do a full refurbishment. • Pool Boys vary greatly with some being very attentive while others ignoring patrons all together. Not a great way to drum up business! • Gym is VERY basic and most equipment is rusted and in dire need of replacement. Again, this needs a full overhaul and to move to a better location with a view rather than being in a half sunken bunker. • No water sports provided with hotel which is disappointing. Hiring of equipment must be undertaken through other providers. • Nice bath provided in room but no bubble...