Panan Krabi Resort — Hotel in Krabi Province

We stayed for 8 nights in a pool access room. The room is spacious with a large king size bed, Hardish but comfortable. Decent linen and towels. Two beach towels for use in the pool. The bathroom has a large walk in shower with a wide bench seat and removable shower head for hand held washing. All decent toiletries provided and three bottles of water each day. Outside is a circular day bed and cushion for sitting outside and swimming. There is a three tier towel rail outside to dry swimmers etc. there is a swim up bar, with happy hour from 11-1pm each day. Plus a rooftop pool and bar with happy hour from 5-7pm each day which looks over the gorgeous cliffs of Ao Nang and Krabi.

Things I love about this hotel Location - at the top of the driveway you have RCA night market food, plus bars if you want. There’s massage shops, restaurants, pharmacy’s, dress shops all at the top of the driveway. It’s about 5 min walk down hill to the beach, but obviously an up hill walk back. Anyone traveling with elderly may wish to have a walking stick for them, as the side roads have very high gutter steps up and down.

The pool - it’s a really lovely pool and the feature of the hotel, with all the rooms built around it. Lots of trees, giving shade for those that are sun safe. Plenty of sun for those that aren’t.

The rooftop pool on level 5 - it’s a much more chilled vibe to the main pool and the view is spectacular. Not really a suitable pool for kids, more of an escape for adults.

Good sized rooms and air cons - we had one of the larger pool access rooms, you want either 3102 or 3103 as they have more space than the others.

Breakfast - is a buffet and great offerings when going by thai hotel standards.

Things that weren’t amazing house keeping - without fail, house keeping would come when we were napping between 4-5pm. Tried calling housekeeping a few times to get them to come earlier, they would say no problem, then still not come for hours. We’d go out for late lunch and massage after requesting the room to be cleaned and it still wouldn’t be done by the time we got back. Frustrating, as you never knew when you were going to get interrupted if you were in your room, or how long to stay out for if you weren’t. Even if you had the do not disturb button on, they would then call you on your room phone to see if you wanted your room cleaned.

Thin walls between rooms - you can clearly hear your neighbours on either side of you and also outside in the walkway.

Gym - No towels (cloth or paper) in the hotel gym, which isn’t hygienic

All the hotels set activities - (rock climbing, kick boxing, yoga) are performed next to the swim up bar and in a main walkway. Anyone at the pain pool or on their balconies has to listen to the rock climbing bell going off, people grunting and groaning from kick boxing. When yoga is on in the morning, you can’t get past all the people on mats in the walk way in order to get to breakfast. You also have water aerobics in the main pool performed over a loudspeaker.

The balcony circular lounge/arm chair - they look great and inviting, except they’re really only suitable for one adult, not two which is the normal attendance in a room. My husband would lay on ours and I’d be left sitting on the step to the pool or having to go inside the room to relax. They need to switch these out and provide something that is suitable for two people. Two deck chairs would be much better

All in all, it’s a lovely hotel, with a decent breakfast. Great for families or those looking to party. If you’re chasing peaceful or serene, there’s probably other more suitable...

We stayed for 10 nights at Panan Krabi in April 2023 and we lovely every day of it

●Hospitality ✈️We booked in advance a private shuttle to collect us from the airport (through the hotel) which was great and we arrived hassle free. The driver was very kind and helpful.

We arrived to the hotel and were presented with complimentary pineapple juice which was much appreciated on the hot day.

Our room was 20mins from being completed but we were offered to wait in the lovely shaded and tropical pool bar until it was finished.

✨️A huge shout out to Aek, Tey & Pim at the bars for going above and beyond for us, learning our names and having great conversations each day.

Nothing was a hassle for the hotel and as previously requested, they did a lovely cake and balloons for my partners birthday during out stay.

🚐Additionally, very very last minute the hotel helped us book a private shuttle van to the Tiger template and emerald pools. This was very reasonably priced for a private driver and first class vehicle for 7 hours. Within 20mins the driver and van were ready for us.

●Hotel Room We booked an ocean view room and loved the views from level 7 across both the cliffs and the bay with the islands.

The room is very spacious with a huge bed and lovely outdoor circular lounge for relaxing.

Our rooms were refreshed each day which was greatly appreciated with all complimentary items restocked (including bottled water which we kept cold in the fridge in the room).

●Spa & Facilities At the Spa desk (in the lobby) a lovely lady helped us book a 60min Thai massage which was 20% during 10-1:30pm. Even though we weren't available until 2pm she still offered us the "happy hour" deal.

The Spa is a hotel room that is tastefully refurbished into a spa (smelled amaxing) and we had a private room to ourselves with 2 massage tables. The ladies were very attentive to our needs during the whole massage and the complimentary refreshments were lovely too.

Although more expensive than the street massage shops, definitely worth a try due to the care and attention you receive.

🏝The pool is the wow factor for the hotel. We loved the swim up bar, the tropical trees which provide shade to parts of the pool, the private alcoves and the separate kids pool play area.

We lived in the pool and the pool snack menu is definitely great value for money!

There is visible rusting and aging of the bridge around the pools but did not takeaway from the overall wonderful experience of the pools

The fire show was also very entertaining!

●Breakfast & Food We included the buffet breakfast into our stay and enjoyed the variety each day.

The Made to order noodle bar and egg station was definitely a highlight.

On mornings when we wanted something different and more private, we swapped the buffet for a coupon to the Reeve Beach Club (also owned by Panan) about a 15min walk. WoW!!!! This breakfast was amazing and right on the beach front. Complimentary menu item, juice and coffee (photo below).

THIS IS A MUST TRY!

🍹The happy hour on the rooftop pool was also a great value. 2-for-1 during 5pm-7pm. This is same rate as most happy hours along the street, but we loved being able to enjoy the view and the pool during this time.

●Location Right in the middle of Ao Nang and perfect walking distance to the beach, shops, restaurants - you name it!

》Extra Notes《 We had quite a lot power outages on 2 days because of storms but the hotel had back up generators running promptly to fix this.

Thank you...

We are a family of four with two children aged 17 and 11, living in Perth, Australia. We visited Krabi during our July holiday and stayed at Panan Krabi Resort from the 12th to the 20th. Our experience was a mix of highs and lows, which we detail in this review.

ROOM - 3/5 Our Family Rooftop Jacuzzi room cost around $3,300 for 8 nights and was mostly pleasant. However, the room felt cramped, with limited suitcase storage, and the air conditioning was faulty. The small bathroom was challenging, and the jacuzzi was hard to operate, initially providing only very hot or cold water until staff assisted. On the plus side, the upstairs space with the jacuzzi was lovely, the beds were comfortable, and the view was stunning. Despite limited TV channels, the room overall was decent.

LOCATION - 5/5 Panan’s location was perfect, earning a 100/100 score. It was walking distance from great restaurants like Planterian, Pure Vegetarian Govindas, Spaghetti House, Manana Mexicana, and Madras Cafe. Shops, Sankara Spa, Watsons pharmacy, McDonald’s, Starbucks, and Machorat laundromat were all nearby. This made dining, shopping, and relaxation incredibly convenient and greatly enhanced our stay.

STAFF - 3/5 The staff were a mixed bag. Anda from breakfast was exceptional, friendly, and caring, even bringing cookies for my injured brother. Mah and Noi from the cooking class were fantastic, guiding us through great dishes. Unfortunately, Nook, the receptionist, was rude and unhelpful, and the sky lounge pool staff lacked warmth. The cleaning staff were kind but slow, sometimes missing room service despite the sign. Staff friendliness and English skills could use improvement.

SERVICE - 2.5/5 Service was average with room for improvement. Staff were often unresponsive and lacked English proficiency, leading to misunderstandings. An unpleasant incident involved noodle staff members Sunny and another lady, ignoring a child's vomit and allowing it to be tracked into the breakfast hall. This situation, along with slow responses, highlighted the need for better training and service quality.

FACILITIES - 3/5 Facilities were a mix of good and less impressive. The pool was smaller than expected but mostly clean. The sky lounge pool was a highlight with a beautiful view. The gym was small and could use better equipment. Corridors were frequently wet and dirty from rain, needing more frequent cleaning. Despite these issues, the facilities provided some enjoyable moments.

FOOD - 4/5 The food was generally good with a wide breakfast variety. As vegetarians, we appreciated the options but desired more variety. The poolside mocktails, corn on the cob, and hot chips were excellent. Chef Pichet and Vinod did a great job, making meals a highlight of our stay.

Overall, we would stay in Krabi again due to the excellent location and some standout staff members. However, improvements in service quality, room conditions, and staff training are needed to enhance the overall...