Phulay Bay, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve — Hotel in Krabi Province

It’s rare that a hotel review comes with a spoiler alert, but with all the incredible surprises at the Reserve Phulay Bay, I feel the need to give one here. If you’re someone who loves the thrill of those little surprises, just know this is a spectacular property with the highest level of service and go book your room. If you want to know the detail, keep reading.

I’ve been a big fan of the Ritz Reserve series, as they always do an incredible job of marrying local heritage with refinement that creates a new brand of luxury. This is what ultimately led to our decision to get married at a Reserve, but we were split on which property to choose. In the end, Phulay bay provided us the opulent Thai experience we felt we needed for our wedding.

-Arrival and the grounds: The name Phulay is a reference to where the mountain meets the sea, and every design choice on the property evoked the grandeur of the mountains or the mystery of the sea. The entry and the rooms are immense, while on the grounds, there is always some new secret to explore and discover. Every time you wander through the property, you’ll find some new view or frame or feature that always keeps you surprised. One second you’re in a lotus pond that feels like a Balinese temple, while a few steps later you’re on the set of lord of the rings in New Zealand, and then suddenly you’re in Pebble Beach, right next to a horizon of oceanic mountains. I am not overstating when I say there is always a new detail to explore, to the level that you could spend an afternoon exploring all the restrooms on the property to see the unique design of each one.

If you’re looking to get married here, you won’t have any shortage of venues. It’s rare to find an Indian wedding venue where you feel like you want to have even more events to use all the perfect spaces, and Phulay Bay hits that bill. Our plan is to have the wedding at the sunset bar, and we could not be more excited for that backdrop.

-Service I have a very large, very ornery family that can be almost impossible to manage. Thank god for the Phulay Bay staff that supported us and let me and my finance relax. The staff is attentive yes, but that’s a given at a luxury property. What sets Phulay Bay apart is the level of attention the staff pays and how they adjust to every single persons preferences.

Every room has a personal butler, and my fiancé and I had Habib. Habib had previously cared for my parents when they stayed at the property, and he remembered that they absolutely love being doted on. However, he immediately recognized that my fiancé and I preferred independence and space, and he adjusted to fit just that. After few hours, it was almost as if he knew us better than ourselves in how he set up transports, offered suggestions for food, and set up activities. Between Habib taking care of us, and my parents butlers, Mo, taking care of them, somehow the entire process of wedding planning was relaxing.

-Food and drinks I generally believe Gordan Ramsay is correct in his rule that large menus lead to bad food. The executive chef, Christian Hergesell, is an exception to that rule. He set three different cultural tasting menus (Italian, western, and Thai), and each of them was best in class. I love food, but the rest of my family is exceedingly picky with a puzzle of complicated dietary restrictions. Christian won every single one of them over. His vegetarian menu left everyone satisfied and questioning their tastes. My dad hates eggplant, but he loves Christian’s. My mom hates mushrooms, but she loves Christian’s. My sister hates crème brûlee, but she loves Christian’s. Every culinary prejudice was wiped away by Christian’s menu.

I’m out of characters but I’ll leave you with this: if you’re looking to stay here, don’t even hesitate. Your stay will be exceptional. If you’re looking to get married here, do it, you won’t find a better venue with a better team. Everything about this property is majestic and refined, and we can’t wait to get married here in November, and add it to our list of...

This resort was so spectacular that I don't know where to begin. Now I see why others gave it a 5/5. Walking into the front pagoda on arrival was incredible-so serene and calming. Never seen anything like it. We were met by our butler Habib who treated our family like royalty. Loved the in room check-in-made it feel very quaint. Habib told us about all of the resort activities. We couldn't believe our rooms which were upgraded to ocean front view beach villas with private plunge pools. May have been the most beautiful view I've ever had in a room/villa. We arrived in time to make the nightly beach dancing at the bar. So fun. Once there, we were greeted by Seen, the director of rooms and many of the other staff. Everyone was so lovely. We had a drink, watched the sunset and made new friends. We had a quick dip in our plunge pool before getting ready for dinner. We ate dinner at Jampoon because Sri Trang was closed due to renovations. Luckily, you could still order off their Thai menu. The food was delicious though a bit pricey for serving size. The next day my son and I went to the gym which was great. The gym attendant always asked me if it was ok-so cute. Breakfast was amazing-great buffet or you could order off the menu. Lots of southeast asian dishes such as indian which we love. Favorite dishes were french toast and pancakes. Sadly my family's breakfast was cut short because of the trip to Hong Island. They loved their trip to Hong Island. They provided towels, water, snorkel gear, sunscreen. I skipped the trip because I'd read that there were monitor lizards on the island. I did the right thing as my family saw 2 huge monitor lizards while there. They came back and Habib had mentioned we could eat more off menu since rushed for breakfast. We had a leisurely lunch that was so delicious. Next it was time for our mojito making class which was so fun. We hung out on our private deck and went in plunge pool and also saw a pretty good size monitor lizard in the bushes by our plunge pool. The kids and my husband loved this. We ended up seeing 2 more on our deck and our kids deck. Funny because I emailed the resort asking if there were any monitor lizards onsite at the resort and they responded no but we ended up seeing 4 of them in 1 day at both of our villas. The staff said they're always around. We wanted to play cards on our deck and swim and wanted some local beer which was a bit pricey at the bar. Habib filled a cooler with beer and pepsi for my husband and put it on our deck. So kind. We asked Habib to recommend a restaurant in town so he did and we got a grab and went to town. The restaurant was so good-very local, crowded with fantastic food and good prices. We'd go back. Came home to a goodbye note from Habib and some gifts. He noticed I didn't have a bookmark for my book so he gave me one with my name. He gave of us passport covers. So special. A quick dip in our plunge pool before bed. The next am we were all sad to leave. Went to breakfast and everyone was there to say goodbye including Seen. The staff had made our favorite french toast with a special goodbye on it. We drove away with the staff waving goodbye. We cried all the way to the airport. We knew we'd be back but weren't sure exactly when. Our son is coming to Krabi for a wedding at another resort in March so he's going to try and bring his fiance to the Ritz for a night beforehand. There was a saying that I read on trip advisor about this resort and it really resonated with me. It said "you don't just stay at Phulay Bay Ritz but you are truly looked after." That is right on. Everywhere you go, the staff is interactive and you are made to feel like they are family and this is your 2nd home. We travel a lot to nice resorts all around the world and I've never seen anything like this place. It's in your heart and will never leave. Already trying to get back because 2 nights wasn't near enough. Thank you everyone for making our stay so special and Seen for giving us such beautiful villas....

As an Ambassador Titanium lifetime member who has been with Marriott since 1997, I was blown away by the service at the Ritz-Carlton Reserve. My wife and I have traveled to many of the top hotels in the Marriott chain, including St. Regis in Bora Bora where we spent our honeymoon. Like St. Regis, the Ritz Reserve comes with your own personal butler. Our butler, Khun Busaya also known as "Boose," is simply amazing. I picked the Ritz Reserve to spend my 50th birthday and my wife worked very closely with Khun Boose behind the scenes to plan the perfect birthday. The moment we stepped foot onto the property, you are greeted by many. They ring a bell that sounds like something you would hear at a buddhist temple -- something that feels very calming -- when you arrive and walk on the steps through their reflective pool to their postcard-like outdoor lobby. The hotel's GM, Vidya Sagar, personally greets you along with other management.

The Ritz Reserve upgraded us to an incredible villa with a view of the ocean above the trees, a large wrap around deck. Upon walking in to our villa, there was a birthday cake for me and a birthday message laid out on our bed. Khun Boose wasn't done. Every day, she either personally picked us up or sent someone in a golf cart to take us anywhere we wanted to go on the sprawling property. She and my wife not only worked on getting me a personalized birthday cake that was designed as an old school cassette tape because I love old school music but we had a romantic dinner for two in a private room on the edge of the property by the ocean and Khun Boose even had a bluetooth speaker so we could listen to my old school music during our dinner which also came with the biggest seafood feast I've ever had. She also had a daily hot bath waiting for us when we returned to our room.

On top of that, my wife told Khun Boose knew that I had been looking for a Thai dessert known as eclair which are Thai cream puffs that are hard to find. She had one of the chefs on site make some for me from scratch. Incredible.

We went to the spa -- something we do on almost all of our vacations around the world at some of Marriott's most luxurious brands -- and The Ritz Reserve's spa massage was so good we went twice in three days. The first outing was on my birthday and they gave us a private couples room where they spelled out Happy Birthday to me upon our entrance and had a private hot tub for us looking out at secluded pond area.

The massage though was the best we have ever had. And my wife and I both agreed, it was hands down the best massage we both had ever had. We STILL talk about our massages at The Ritz Reserve and it's been a month since we were there.

The service everywhere -- the restaurants and especially at the pool and bar -- were top-notch. Everyone that works at the pool area, from the pool bar to the restaurant to the fellas who set up the cabanas -- were incredibly nice and always ready to help. As a Thai-American, I don't often order Thai food at hotels but the chefs at the pool bar serve authentic Thai food. We ate at the pool bar several times. Also order their Mango Sling drink. It's so good.

The Ritz also offers a daily boat ride over to Hong Island. Definitely worth going and checking out! They have social gatherings every other night on the beach for people to mingle, have drinks and cocktails and even watch a Thai traditional dance show.

The GM explained to us that there are only a handful of Ritz Reserves around the world. We see why. They are special. The service is exemplary. And the sunsets with the scenic rock formations popping out of the ocean feels unlike any other place I have been to in the Marriott chain.

Thank you Khun Vidya, Khun Boose and the Ritz Carlton Reserve Phulay Bay for an unforgettable 50th birthday celebration. We already are talking about returning...