Phuket Graceland Resort and Spa — Hotel in Patong

First the good - they upgraded us on arrival (having ignored 2 email requests regarding our preferences however).Fast forward to the conclusion - though I was determined not to let any negatives spoil this first vacation in 3 yrs, I would not return to this hotel. It's well located across the road from the beach (not that Patong is a particularly nice beach, so we didn't venture onto it). It has a bowling alley (at a small extra cost), snooker room, pool tables & gym (didn't see any of these being used more than once in the 5 days). The buffet breakfast was ok, but one thing I missed was any adult cereal/muesli/granola - not come across this before. Only kids' cereals and a limited fruit selection, so to eat healthy on some days was a challenge.There wasn't that many sun beds, but people were pretty good at not reserving them, and it wasn't particularly full, so we had no issues. Pool's a nice temperature and there's a swim up bar. No happy hour, instead all-day promo. E.g. 180 bht for cocktails instead of 230-250.Biggest issue for me was the generally unwelcoming staff. Despite travelling with my daughter that staff usually gravitate to and fuss over, here there were few nicities. I found this surprising given the slow return to tourism post-Covid. For example, I'd walk past the barman I'd just spoken to and bought cocktails from, and not even a nod of a hello. The last day summed up the service. I asked if we could have a slightly later checkout. No problem if the hotel was full, they needed the room back on time and couldn't accommodate. However, it was the completely off-hand the way the receptionist immediately refused. "We're fully booked", she said, and just left me standing there. They weren't fully booked and I went online and saw I could book every room type for the next night. I asked the other receptionist which room I'd be allocated if I booked the extra night available online. There was some chat between her and the unfriendly one, and then they agreed to a 2 hr extension. I should add, as I mentioned to the receptionist (met with total indifference), that every single day I had been woken up early in the morning (or middle of the night in one case). As it's all tiled, with no soft furnishings, every day I was woken up by people closing doors, talking in the hallways, or by the inexplicable phone in the hallway. Some of this is down to other guests, which isn't the hotel's fault, such as the guy next door leaving with his suitcase at 4am, and making sure everyone else knew he was leaving. But generally the noise is more of a problem than other hotels.Another niggle was the shower... It fluctuated between too hot and too cold, meaning a relaxing shower was impossible. I've stayed in cheap hostels and not had this issue.Back to the receptionists and final check out. Not asked how my stay was. Not even a "hope to see you again soon". Nothing. Really surprising from a resort at the best of times. Again, more unexpected given the lack of visitors for the last 2+ years. I told them we were planning to order lunch from the hotel restaurant (Grace Grill). Since we'd have then checked out (& couldn't charge to the room), I confirmed that I could pay by credit card. When it came to it, the service here wasn't any better. Me: "Can I order here, have our food at the pool & pay by card?". "You can pay by card but must eat here" (just a few steps from the pool). Me: "Oh, I ordered here for lunch by the pool no problem a couple of days ago". "No, need to order at the pool bar". (Swim over to pool bar, which has the same menu that is brought to you from the same place). Me: "Can I pay by card here?" "No. Must charge to the room. We don't have a card machine or cash payment." (Go back across the hotel to the Grace Grill). Me: "I can't pay at the bar. Can I order here?" "Yes, what do you want? We'll bring it over to you". Argh, they had no other customers! Just unnecessarily unhelpful &...

Trip.com are SCAMMERS. The resort is run down and the staff are rude and not helpful. None of the jet spas work they are all broken. The pools all have broken tiles. The childrens activities are not free they are expensive, 200baht per child to have 1 game if bowling. Snooker tables are also at a premium price. In fact nothing is free. You pay for a resort but nothing is included. No water sport activities either. The dinner buffet is disappointing. If you are in the first seating you will get to have food. After that the food is not refilled when wasted it is left empty. Very few options for vegetarians. The salad bar was often empty or had meat in the dishes. Some of the dishes were left overs from breakfast reinvented into a similar dish. Like the stir fry potatoes. Dry and greasy and horrible. The dezsert bar had very little choice and very little amounts. The kids only had icecream and when the toppings were wasted it was not refilled. Often there was no dessert and they would bring some reinvented breakfast leftovers like trifle and custard. Really poor and and bad quality food. I asked for a spoon for dessert and was given a soup spoon that didn’t fit in the tint shot glass dessert. The kids had to attempt to eat with their hands as they said no spoon come tomorrow spoon. I asked for a knife to cut something and they said no knife. The bottles of soft drinks are left out on the bar to go warm and flat. When the pasta bar ran out if sauces bad luck no refills. Kids got bolognese with mince meat no sauce, needless to say it was not nice and dry. The pizza was cold and tasted like cardboard and was a cheap frozen pizza. The rooms never have enough towels, have to argue for more towels everyday. We had a booking 2 rooms, 6 people we got 4 towels only 1 tint conditioner bottle per room. With 3 girls the conditioner was not enough ever. There are no wash clothes. Wasted the first 2 nights and 3 days in a room with a leaking air con pipe in the ceiling that flooded the floor and turned the bathroom door into a waterfall feature. They refused to move us and they refused to clean the room properly. They tried to clean the door and floor with the mouldy dirty towel used to moo up the roof. They water was drained in the bathtub 1st and they didn’t bother cleaning the mould and dirt out. I had to argue at reception to be given cleaning spray so i could clean myself. We didn’t go to bed til 1.30am cause we had maintenance men draining the pool of water in the roof. The 2nd night same thing except then they got a wet vacuum to moo up the water in the roof and on the flooded floor. Reception tried to move us to staff headquarters to squash up in 2 beds 6 people. Reception said what do you want me to do not my problem, badluck, nothing i can do ok, stop being angry. I contacted trip.com hundreds of times and they did nothing to assist they kept changing customer reps and sending me the same messgaes iver ans ocer. Trip are scammers and a waste of time. Trip operate fir a third party agent called GuangDong QIYOUJI. I booked 2 rooms for 6 people and they only booked 2 rooms 4 people. So when i checked in i was being charged again for 2 people again. Trip did nothing to resolve this and the hotel refused to give me keys until i paid extra money. This was the holiday from hell. Save your money go elsewhere and don’t book through Trip they are scammers. I am still waiting for a refund for 2 people for 7 nights and i am still waiting for a refund fir 2 nights for not being able to use the rooms and ammenities we paid for. Trip did nothing to resolve the issue and the hotel moved us on the 3rd day after the sticky tape fix on the leaking pipe didn’t stop the water leaking. Bad hotel with worse service but the worst of all is Trip.com. TRIP...

Room: 2413 Length: 5 days during December 2024

As a seasoned traveller who has stayed in hundreds of 5-star hotels worldwide, your experience may differ from mine so please keep that in mind. In my opinion, the cost-cutting measures implemented here are evident and detract from the overall quality. I will first explain things that I didn't like and then things that I liked.

The Bad: Noisy Housekeeping: The cleaning staff is extremely noisy, talking loudly with at each other in the corridors. I usually wake up to their voices every morning. House keeping always needs to be as silent as possible like ninjas, but here, you hear them from a mile away. Outdated Towel System: The hotel uses an outdated system for beach and pool towels. You actually need to sign papers to pick up and return towels, which feels like something from the 1980s. Additionally, beach towels are only available in the lobby, which is the farthest point from the beach, making it very inconvenient. Limited Pool Seating: Finding a sunbed near the pool area was challenging. On some days, I had to sit on a chair and wait for one to become available. Additional Beach Charges: The hotel doesn’t have its own space on the beach, so you’re required to pay extra for the sunbeds if you want one. Early Pool Closure: The pool closes at 7 PM. With weather as good as this with a constant 25+ degrees, it should stay open until 10-11 PM so people can relax. Lack of Information: We weren’t given any information about the hotel and its facilities when we first arrived, and we ended up discovering some parts of the hotel on our last day. Low-Quality Spa Facilities: Facilities like the sauna and jacuzzi are not included in the room rate and require additional payment to access. (maybe it's normal in Thailand?) I have never seen a sauna charged as an extra in my life but I honestly dont care if it's good. However, the spa facilities in this hotel need a massive upgrade, as they are poorly designed. With dark and narrow corridors without any sunglight, this place needs to be demolished completely and rebuild again in some other part of the hotel where there is more room and natural light. I suggest to look for somewhere else if your main reason for coming here is going to be SPA activities.

The Good: Clean and Comfortable Room: The room we stayed in was nice and clean. Proximity to the Beach: The location of the hotel is excellent, just a 1-minute walking distance to the beach, which was very convenient. Spacious Pools: The pools are quite nice and big, with a bar located inside the pool areas, adding to the experience. Decent Breakfast: Breakfast was okay, though I would have preferred more cheese options, as there were only two, but that’s just my personal preference. Engaging Entertainment Staff: The entertainment staff was quite good, providing enjoyable activities. Location of the hotel is quite nice and its close to pretty much everything that you need.

Summary: This hotel needs a dedicated hotel manager that is more present around the hotel and engages more with the customers to get their feedback in real-time and take action accordingly. Overall, while my stay was above the average, I can say that there is nothing that they particularly excel at compared to other resort hotels that I’ve been, hence my...