Diamond Cliff Resort & Spa — Hotel in Patong

So when you look at the hotels website one of the first things you read is “nestled in the gentility hills of Patong”, well this is very misleading. as there is nothing “gentle” about the hill on which the resort is built. Any guest is facing a real uphill/steps walk any time you want to get to a room, or the upper swimming pool.|Even when requesting ( as we did ) a room nearer the Reception area, you will find its impossible to avoid steps, you will often find that it’s necessary to face going Up and then down ( or Down then Up ) to get anywhere.|We mainly used the lower of the two pools simply because getting to the Upper Pool involved tackling an Uphill Slope and many steps, then find you needed to go down steps to get to the pool. Whoever set out the Layout of this Hotel, must have been drunk.||Now don’t get me wrong there were many good bits about this Hotel , mainly the staff who in general were welcoming and friendly, however that can be said all over Thailand as it is the people that give it the name “Land of Smiles”|A special shout out should go to Freeze who did try to ensure our stay was the best it could be, we appreciated her assistance..||It should be noted that the Star ratings do vary in different countries, and Diamond Cliff is rated as 5* across many websites, but to me it’s only a good 4. As there are various areas that dont reach 5 standards.|Firstly the Buffet Restaurant for breakfast is disorganised and chaotic, whilst there is a fair selection a lot of it is aimed at non English guests and the items offered are cheap, you cant get any decent Bacon , Ham or any Cold meats. All the meat offering are Salami type processed meats. The Poached Eggs are pre-cooked and the Omelettes only offered with cheap additives.|Getting a Coffee is a nightmare as it’s all self service and the machines constantly are out of Milk or Coffee, then there is a challenge to get a cup as the trays are not replenished enough. The glasses for Cold Juices are usually warm because they put the freshly washed ones on top of the ones that have had a chance to cool down. For me a 5* Hotel should offer served Coffee and Juice with a limited served breakfast menu that can be supported by a buffet for things like Fruits, Pastries. There is very limited Drinks service around the Pool area, guests are expected to order via a QR Code. The Parasols around the Pool are very heavy ( they need to be due to wind gusts ) but there is no assistance from Staff when you want to move them. Now I was able to do this but had to assist some other guests who were less able.|Our Room, on first view was nice enough, a very large comfortable bed with seating area. However the Toilet leaked at the Flush system which I pointed out several times, but it never got resolved. The wardrobe was ridiculously small , certainly not big enough for 2 people on a 7 night stay, so basically we had to dress out of our suitcases which made the room untidy. Unfortunately our room was next to a staff service station, so everyday we were woken up by the movement of trollies and staff chatter.|One of the main down sides for us was the buggy service ( or lack of it ). We have stayed in Hillside Hotels before where the buggy service is 24/7 and direct to our accommodation door. No such luck here as the Buggy service finishes at 11.30, now for some that may be fine, but Patong is a Party area and we would never be back in time for the last buggy service if staying further up the hill which was our intention. |I had initially booked 6 night in a regular room and 3 nights in one of their Pool Villas. I spoke to the reception team about this on the day we arrived, a couple of days later they kindly showed me a villa ( they are lovely ) but couldn’t off a late buggy service. Now these Villas are between £500-850 per night, and impossible to get to without a buggy, the uphill walk would be hard for anyone let alone a pensioner.|Now in fairness they amended the buggy service on day 7 offering a service around the main hotel , but this was too late for us as we weren’t informed until the evening after we were supposed to move. So we missed out on an ability to have a pool villa. We have stayed at other hotels near DC that are built into the same Hillside that offer 24/7 buggy service which is much better. Now of course I don’t know what the ongoing buggy service is, but do ask before you book unless you want to tackle Diamond Mountain.||The Hotel has some great staff and is clean and the grounds are well maintained, but that would not be enough for us to stay again. In life I suppose what you pay for, DC is not cheap but it’s easy to pay more in the area. It’s a good 4* but don’t expect...

DIAMOND CLIFF REVIEW

APR/MAY 2025

I have stayed at Diamond Cliff Resort several times (there's an earlier review below this one), and others around Patong including the Amari, and at Kata Beach including the Metadee and Club Med. Friends also showed me their Family room in the Holiday Inn at Patong.

I must say that Diamond Cliff has the winning combination of the most wonderful facilities and the happiest and most attentive staff of all.

This stay was for 21 nights, as was my previous stay, and something similar the time before that. My partner Youlanda and I have simply had an amazing time here.

It really is a pleasure to be greeted by the wonderful people in the immaculate reception hall, to be shown to yet another beautifully presented suite, and to be part of the relaxation and activity that is the Diamond Cliff experience.

The resort offers choices of dining venue, the Ocean View restaurant (where we had breakfast every day), the Kiko Japanese restaurant, and the Thai Orchid restaurant. All provide exceptional food and service. I highly recommend them.

The two large pools, one with a swim up bar, waterfall and water slide cater very well for families and couples, and Patong beach is a short walk away.

I have have stayed in Ocean Jacuzzi Suites and a One Bedroom Villa (an exceptional upgrade), and have seen a Super Deluxe Sea View room when friends were here, and have been shown Grand Jacuzzi and Romantic Suites. All of them have been beautifully presented and are true to the photographs on the website. The wonderful rooms you see are exactly what you get.

It is the people who really make the holiday here an unforgettable experience.

Everyone from security staff to guest relations, catering, cleaning, maintenance and management are truly wonderful to meet and spend time with.

We will definitely be back.

≈================================== APR/MAY 2023

Diamond Cliff is a resort I've stayed at before, and I returned for very good reasons.

Well situated at the northern end of Patong Beach, the resort is just outside the noise and mayhem of Bangla Rd and surrounds but is close enough to allow very quick and easy access.

Across the road is Sea Salt restaurant, and after a short walk toward Kalim Beach you'll find the Amritsr Indian restaurant, both of which offer wonderful cuisine.

I booked a jaccuzzi suite this time and it is just beautiful. The cleaning staff are such lovely people and they look after us so well. We have vouchers for 1Kg of fruit each day of our 20 nights here, and breakfast is included. The restaurant is well run, the staff are friendly and vibrant, and the variety of delicious food on the menu that varies subtly each day is impressive.

My partner and I have made good use of the pools, and particularly love the waterfall pool. A mango daiquiri by the waterfall pool is one of my favourite things to do.

Our adult children and one grandchild stayed for a few days as well and they loved it. The water slide at the waterfall pool certainly featured in their stay.

We loved to start the day by meeting at the resort restaurant for breakfast and planning our days from there. It's a relaxing and picturesque place to be.

Diamond Cliff is actually almost on a cliff. We'll, it's a steep hill anyway. No problem, they have a couple of shuttle vehicles, running all the time, and available on demand via a phone handset at the waterfall pool level as well.

This resort is a place of quality. There are less expensive places to stay, and there are more expensive ones too. Rest assured you'll enjoy everything about this place.

I can thoroughly recommend Diamond Cliff for any time you would like to...

I have not been impressed by my experience here so far. For a 5 star resort, they may check the required boxes, but there is definitely room for improvement, especially considering they are charging resort prices. Please bear in mind this resort is on a steep hill that requires a car to drive you up to your block.

The breakfast is meagre. I had better service and breakfast variety at my recent Holiday Inn stay. The waterfall pool bar and pool restaurant closes at 6pm, in a place with 30 degree heat and humidity, you cannot get a cooldrink past 6pm. I was told rudely by their staff i can go to the main pool if i want a drink after we had just come across the property (we were sent away from the main pool because they were setting up for NYE and I was assured there would be drinks and snacks at the other pool. Poor inhouse communication and coordination. You have a hotel of people, atleast make some accommodations). Staff make no effort to help or see how they can assist. The room service food is overpriced and not very tasty. We ordered fish and chips where the fish tasted old and defrosted and a pizza where the dough wasn't properly cooked and doughy. A damp cloth on the balcony furniture wouldn't hurt anyone. Furniture appears dirty. Trying to book for new years eve took 2 hours at reception, their card machine wasn't working at one point, and then they tried to overcharge us because of our 'late booking', despite us emailing for over 3 weeks and getting no reply. The matter was resolved but it is another case of lack of efficiency and a level of service standard. New Year party closed at 12:30am. I have never been to a NYE party, where you pay a premium and at 12:30am the bar is closed and the music is off. Very disappointing. Be aware of this if you ever stay here for NYE as this was not told to anyone. The room keys on our entire floor stopped working, so multiple people couldn't get into their rooms. They sent someone from reception to open our rooms. We decided to take a walk down to the beach so we stopped at reception to request new keys. They tried to ask us to come back later (please note steep hill), and eventually gave us a key that ended up not working again. All access to room service was shut down from 6pm because of NYE preparations. You cannot even get a bucket of ice. I have been at bigger resort hotels and I have never had this issue. The hotel has continued to serve guests and only stopped room/food service access for about 4-5 hours during main events, with other non kitchen staff helping out. I was charged 100 bhat for an ice bucket to be delivered to my room. Ice! I was told is can come collect it (so I must go down the hill to reception) if i dont want to pay. Absolute joke.

I am not sure if they are not used to dealing with so many people during the busy season but I feel there is a lot of room for improvement especially in regards to quality of service and coordination. Front desk staff definitely need better training and improved management as they can be rude and indifferent. Same for the restaurant staff. The best staff i have encountered are the security staff and cleaning staff who are friendly and helpful. I don't think I would stay here again...