The Shore at Katathani Resort — Hotel in Karon

I just returned from my trip. Instead of talking about the same stuff as others, here are things not mentioned. Particularly, the items I couldn’t find the answers to before I booked…

NEAR THE RESORT - Within walking distance (1-5 minutes) are restaurants, 7-11, Family Mart, etc. My concern before going was that you’d be landlocked and only have the hotel’s facilities. Not the case. Lots of things to walk to and we just enjoyed the local options and it worked well for us.

More options? The resort is a 200 Bhat ($6 USD) 5-minute taxi ride from Kata Beach. Taxis are easy to get; only minutes. In the Kata beach area, there are loads of more restaurants, shops and a market. Check YouTube videos for more info on what’s there; a few people have posted content out there on Kata Beach.

VILLA SELECTION - In other reviews, people recommend specific villas to request of the hotel to stay at. “Villa In Love”, etc. After being there, honestly, all the villas were positioned so each one has its own privacy. They all are very nice. I’d suggest, and would personally be happy with, any of the sea view pool villas.

FOOD - As for breakfast, I saw some other commenters complaining about the breakfast quality and not having enough selections. Guessing that has changed since they visited as it’s a nice variety. Eggs/omelets to order, fruit, breads, meats, cheeses, fresh juice bar, and some local dishes. However, it is the same day-to-day, so that would be a recommended change to the staff (bring in a few rotating dishes). As for the breakfast dining area, it’s a mix of outdoor and indoor seating. You can also opt for breakfast in your room, but it’s more limited food selections; about 5 set menus to choose from. This is the same options for the floating breakfast you see in some photos; which is an extra fee (about $15 USD).

The resort restaurant is also really good for lunch / dinner. Also, the menu and food for in room dining is good. The prices were also actually reasonable.

BUGGIES TO ROOM - People complained about the ‘buggies’ to the room; specifically their low availability and waiting. So, to clarify, all the villas are on a large hill facing the ocean. The resort has small private roads built for golf carts to bring you to/from your room. At busy times (breakfast/dinner), there may be a wait. When I was there, the resort was totally sold out. And even with this, the most time I waited was about 8 minutes. There was a mistake where I was waiting for longer and I think they forgot me waiting in the lobby…. Recommendation to staff - have more of a process for front desk to communicate to drivers that people are waiting in lobby (a “buggy light” out front of the lobby signaling to drivers people are waiting, for example).

POOL - There are 2 pools and the comfy seats are limited. People tend to wake up early and run to claim a seat. This consists of bed style loungers and other 2-seater seats. I noticed a few non-hotel guests sneak in and would suggest the staff do a better job of checking you’re actually staying at the resort. Regarding availability, that is one of the most annoying things at any resort; the need to rush to claim a space. The upside is, each villa has its own private pool, so worst case, you go to room. There are also beach chairs. However, these are shared with the neighboring resort and not as nice. Note to management; add more lux chairs for The Shore on the beach. Do make them only for the Shore (with drink/food service).

SUM UP - My points are intentionally being overly critical. This resort is spectacular. There is not a lot to complain about. It’s one of the best resorts I’ve been to.

PRO TIP - For dinner on one of your nights, in advance of your trip, book a “1st row” ocean view table at “Mom Tris Kitchen”. It’s 5 minutes taxi from the hotel. Epic view and food.

I never go back twice to the same hotel/resort, however, this is now my exception. I hope to go back annually. The staff are all incredible. The rooms are all new...

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at the Shore. I've never felt so relaxed.

Rooms: comfy, clean and spacious. They are well spaced and you feel as if you are alone. No issue of neighbours looking in/ hearing them. The pool within the room is about 1.3m deep. They have a cute system of letting them know if you want sheets/towels changed. The aircon is great in the humidity. The beds are so comfortable and huge that you don't feel like you need to share. The high pillows are good and plush. There are requests you can make via the app to request for bedding/games/toiletries. There's a Bluetooth system within the room too if you want to blast some music. One thing that could be better is the water pressure in the shower.

Staff: command of English is great. No problem communicating and asking for what you need. The app is also useful for calling buggies when you are out of the resort and the staff are quick to reply and accede to your request.

Spa: it was clean and relaxing. But I do think the therapist are a bit gentler than what you can get outside. Do explore the places that are outside which is a fraction of the cost.

Food: we visited Param Para and The Harbour (restaurants within the resort). Param Para is a feast for the eyes but it's not as spicy as I would like my Thai food to be. The Harbour is where you go for breakfast. The food can be a bit repetitive. So my suggestion is to go for the warm food like freshly-cooked eggs. Do get their coffee. I really enjoyed my daily iced coffee. The room service comes from the Harbour restaurant. They do pretty decent for their western food but again, if you want Thai food, I'd go out. The cocktails are generally very sweet and not balanced. So you're safer getting a beer instead. Read on to see what else is nearby.

Buggies: as the villas are quite spaced out and elevated, there's a fleet of buggies and drivers to bring you from place to place. A special shout-out to Palmy who was very friendly and introduced us to Ta restaurant, that is just outside the resort. Do note, you have to wait about 5-10 mins from the time you call. So do factor that in. If the phone is engaged, you can use the app to request a ride. This is especially useful if you're just out of the resort and need a ride. They can take you up to the Tennis Court. Other that that, you'll need to walk/Grab out.

Nearby: within the limits of the buggies, Ta restaurant had good food. The prices are still tourist prices but they are generous with the amount they give. We also went to Issara. It is within walking distance if you get the buggies to drop you off at the tennis court. But we paid 100 baht per person to get a ride from the lobby to the restaurant one way. Outside the resort there's also a nice banana pancake place called Aisha's. Prices are around 60 baht. 7-11 is convenient for some light snacks (you can't bring outside food in but chocolates/drinks are fine). We also visited Chuleeporn Massage. It is about 400 baht for 60 mins which is a fraction of the price of the spa in the resort which was about 2800+ baht for 60 mins. Mom's Tris is also supposed to be good but we didn't have enough stomach space to try that as well.

Hotel taxi: we didn't use the service but it is about 150 baht per person for a two-way trip to Patong/Phuket Old Town. There's a schedule available at the hotel. It does require a minimum of 4 passengers so you might be better off getting yourself your own Grab/taxi.

Extra: the hotel kindly arranged for our trip to Bangla Boxing Stadium to watch a Muay Thai fight. The price included transport to and fro and was 2000 baht. Which is comparable to buying the tickets online. So do check with the hotel staff to see if they have contacts instead of just booking excursions online which don't include transport rates.

Overall, I had a fantastic rest here. Definitely one of the most attentive places I've been to. Thanks for the amazing...

My husband and I stayed at the Shore for a total of 8 days and 7 nights and overall the experience was EXCELLENT. We were late arrivals, showing up sometime after 11 pm, however, this did not negatively impact our arrival experience. In fact, our check-in experience was almost spa-like (cold arrival drinks, and a quiet spa-like reception area). It seemed that everyone there was friendly and at our service, even at that late time at night. We were provided with an overview/confirmation of all of our pre-arrival requests (i.e. floating breakfast, romantic dinner reservations, etc.) and then escorted to our room via buggy. Upon arrival to our room, (The Sea View Romance) our driver made sure to explain all of the room's amenities, and was out of there quickly and efficiently. We were starving and were able to order room service even at that late hour, which to our surprise consisted of a full table set-up on the pool deck of our room!

The Room was BEAUTIFUL, and the view was BREATHTAKING and worth EVERY SINGLE HARD EARNED PENNY! our room had a private pool that was perfectly heated and clean and views of the beach that left you torn about whether or not you wanted to stay in the pool or just run off to the beach and ocean.

The Shore is actually on the BEACH, so you have direct access to the beach via a little stairway located beside the pool (which is also beautiful). The beach is public and is shared with the mext door sister resort for families with children. The beach is clean, the water is clear and warm and you can actually see little fish right down to the bottom. One thing to note, is that the resort does not provide beach chairs or umbrella's and this might seem to pose a problem for those that love the ocean (like myself). However, this was easily remedied with 2 beach mats (purchased from one of the vendors right outside the resort) and layered with towels provided by the resort. So, every morning, I would call for a buggy, set ourselves up an area by the pool, have breakfast, and then go down and set up my little beach area, so that I could take advantage of both areas!

The food at the resort was fresh and good. We ate breakfast (served buffet style) every morning we were there. I am not a big fan of buffets, however, this one impressed me with the service and quality of the food. You call for a buggy to pick you up (arrives almost immediately) show up to the restaurant and are warmly greeted and asked if you like coffee tea and/or water and are seated where you choose (either inside or outside - both were nice). Once you have your table you go inside to get your food. There was plenty of food to choose from, that included Thai options as well as Western food options (fresh fruit and vegetables, rices, potatoes meats including bacon and sausages, egg dishes and even the availability of made to order eggs and omeletes). Basically, you'd have to be blind not to be able to find something good to eat in there. We did have to opportunity to order a few lunches pool-side and those were fine as well and consisted of regular lunch type fare (wings, calamari, lobster rolls, fries, etc.).

We only ate one dinner on the resort and this was our "Romantic Dinner" at the Kissing Point! It was simply AMAZING. The presentation was WONDERFUL, it was decorated BEAUTIFULLY, and on top of everything, all of our dietary requests were met. Basically you can ask them for what you'd like to eat, and they will do their best to provide it!

The resorts hospitality was second to none. We had a really late flight out the evening of our last day. I requested a late check out and exepected that even IF they could accomodate (because all rooms were reserved) we would probably only be allowed to stay until 1 or 2 pm or so. This was not the case, we were granted a late check-out and did not have to leave the room until FIVE PM!! Basically a whole additional day to enjoy the...