Apsara Beachfront Resort and Villa — Hotel in Phang-nga Province

We stayed at the Apsara Spa Hotel in early November. This marked our first visit to Thailand. Originally, we had planned to revisit Mexico, but our holiday was canceled. We discovered this alternative trip to Thailand at a similar cost and decided to book it.

Upon our arrival in the country, we easily found a taxi. The service from the driver was a pleasant welcome to the country. He promptly offered us a lift in an air-conditioned minivan, handed us chilled water, and was very polite. The drive was beautiful; we admired the scenery as we headed to the hotel. While my husband was excited to spot an elephant at the edge of the jungle, I missed it as I was taking in the scenery on the other side of the road.

The staff at the hotel were accommodating from the moment we arrived. We were seated with Thai tea while they arranged our room. With relaxing music playing and the reception in the open, we enjoyed the view of the infinity pool and the sea. The room was unique, equipped with a mini-fridge, slippers, and a robe for both of us. Additionally, there was a book on Buddha in the bedside drawer that I thoroughly enjoyed reading.

The food was delightful, offering various options and a deli chef. As you were seated, they came over to take your drink order. My husband and I often utilized the bar seating area, finding it comfortable and a great place to make friends. There were two other places for beverages – the Italian bar/restaurant and the snack bar, both equally enjoyable. Although the beds around the infinity pool were not always free in the second week, the beach was a great alternative.

We booked a few excursions from the hotel, including trips to Pipi Island, Simian Island, and The Three Temple Tour. The Echo Tour and the Temple Tour were unforgettable experiences. The Pipi and Simian Island tours offered pleasant days out, with beautiful beaches and provided lunches.

We visited the Tsunami Museum in Bang Yang, learning about the strength, resilience, and hard work of the local people during that devastating time. Bang Yang Market was popular, worth a stroll, and I purchased quite a bit from there. Further down Bang Yang, there was another street market with street food at the front and clothing stalls behind. This market was more affordable, and I treated myself to a few nice outfits. Both markets even offered creepy crawlies to eat if you fancied trying something new, haha.

Towards the end of the holiday, we both booked bamboo tattoos from Thai Smile Tattoo. Our first massage from the hotel was a beautiful experience. I had the oil massage, and my husband had the Thai massage. The beds were outside, with a separate bed for each, relaxing music lightly playing, the sounds of birds and other wildlife from the nearby forest, and the sound of the waves from the sea. Towards the end of the massage, as I was falling asleep, the thunder and rain started. Wow! This was the most relaxed I have ever been, and I didn't want the moment to end. So, we booked a few more massages before the end of our holiday. We highly recommend treating yourself while you are there.

The storms we experienced didn't last long and were quite spectacular to see.

During one of the storms, while sitting on our balcony, we looked down and saw one of the staff members walking between an elderly couple, holding an umbrella to prevent them from getting wet. The staff at the Apsara were kind, helpful, and respectful, and I didn't want to leave. In fact, as we bid goodbye to the staff, I was very tearful.

My husband and I felt very connected to the people and the culture in Thailand, and we are booking to go back in 2025. Without a shadow of a doubt, we will be staying at the...

we had great and unforgettable holidays at the Apsara Beachfront Resort. We occupied a pool access room. This was our first vacation in Thailand and we must say, we are overwhelmed by the kindness and loveliness of the Thai people. Thailand we will definitely come back.

we booked with breakfast only, because we thought that food in general is quite affordable in Thailand and that we would make a better deal with breakfast only. Afterwards we would say it was a mistake. The first two evenings we ate at the Kinnaree restaurant buffet, the offered food was good, but honestly not overwhelming. When we aggregated our costs it was clear that we need an alternative for our dinner and we chose the memories bar right next to the Apsara. The memories bar was a real life saver, not only from the cost side. The food was authentic, delicious and the ambient of this surfer bar was stunning, this bar was really our highlight, the people there were so nice.

The whole service situation at Apsara ruined our whole experienced we had on the duration of our stay. It started with the unreliable room service (even though we tipped very good), but we were fine with that, that didn’t bothered us, we just found it strange. I ran out of T-shirts and decided to take advantage of the laundry service. I checked the pricing sheet and thought “Uh expensive” They charge you the same amount of money for one T-shirt that a shop in Khao-Lak wants for 1 kg. of laundry, but getting to Khao-Lak and back costs also money, that was frustrating, but nevertheless I decided to get only 2 T-shirts cleaned. 1 shirt costs 60 THB and two shirts 120 THB. I received an invoice for 160 THB, a small calculation error. I went to the frontdesk, they looked at it and were like “and where is the mistake?” I explained the calculation and they corrected it in the copy and promised it to do the same in the computer system.

The evening before our check-out we wanted to pay our final invoice, the laundry sum was still incorrect, they said “Uh that's complicated to correct in the final invoice instantly, I have to remove it from the main invoice and you have to pay it separately tomorrow”. The next thing we were accused that we broke a glass and they tried to charge us ridiculous 300 THB. We said we definitely didn’t break anything and we’re honest enough to say it if we did. They canceled it gladfully from our invoice afterwards, but I felt betrayed anyways because of the false accusations.

The check-out process topped our experience, because the other guy on the frontdesk was again talking about a broken glass and the wrong laundry bill. They took again 20 min. to get this freaking simple calculation right. Then you have to wait on a couch whilst one of the cleaning staff is checking your room, that you didn’t steal something or broke even more glasses, the man at the front desk is connected to the cleaning staff via radio and you sit there and hear only the radio chattering. The whole check-out scenario felt like a military operation, we were really uncomfortable, even though we didn’t do anything. Regarding the false accusations and the false laundry invoice there was not a single sorry or something like that, from the first complaint I felt we were marked as “trouble guests”.

When our check-out was finished I asked them if we can wait on the couch on the front desk area and he said it would be better if we walk around until our shuttle bus to the airport...

This resort is truly exceptional. Stayed in Apsara for 5 nights, after a stay in busy Phuket (and in even busier Bangkok prior) we are looking forward to a tranquil and more relaxing stay for the last leg of our Thai holiday. After a 2 hour drive, we were welcomed by lush, landscaped greenery in a rather rural setting. Checking in was quick and easy with the reception staff sorting out all paperwork as we are offered a delicious drink (we later found out to be Bael tea, which I never heard of but found it in the night market and bought some to bring back home). We are then ushered to our room - very spacious with a balcony - nice and bright interior with 2 umbrellas and a beach bag for use. I particularly love the bathroom with its glass walls as I can see through the room, through the balcony and out to the trees while having a shower! We accidentally broke the soap dispenser (which looks plastic but is actually ceramic) and told reception, when we came back to the room the broken bits has already been cleared up. Kuddos to the housekeeping and reception staff for their efficiency and commitment to safety. The breakfast spread is amazing with a combination of Western and Southeast Asian- so there’s everything for everyone. Again, the staff are excellent, always willing to help. The location of this resort is excellent for beginner surfers - hotel has equipment for both surfing and paddleboarding. Although having done SUP, I was quite reluctant to do paddleboarding as the waves are more for surfers. This hotel has a main pool overlooking the sea and a quieter pool amongst the rooms and trees (some rooms has direct access to the quiet pool). The library has a considerable collection of books in various languages and genre. Food in the beach bar was excellent and reasonably priced- loved the Parmesan and truffle fries!!! And for £5 is a good deal. Going to the night market and town proper, it needs to be booked a day prior for 100 Bhat/person which is a good price as a taxi/Tuktuk costs 350 bhat which is only cheaper if you’re a group of 4. It has been raining on and off on the last days of our trip. Unfortunately, our ride to the airport was scheduled for 2140 hours and check out was midday. We asked the staff if we can borrow a brolly to go to town even after checkout. And continuing on their customer orientated practice, not only did they lent us the brolly, having found out that our pick up is not until the evening, they offered for us to keep our room until pickup which is very very generous indeed. Despite the crazy weather, our stay at the Apsara was nothing short of exceptional. The place itself is beautiful, but having travelled and stayed in quite a few places/countries, it’s not only the hotel/resort that makes a trip memorable, It’s how the people you encounter makes you feel. Everyone in Apsara, from the reception, concierge, housekeeping, bar and restaurant staff, everyone made us feel welcome and relaxed. For them nothing is a bother and their willingness to help goes way and beyond. Their commitment to customer service is one of the best I have seen in my travels so far. Should I decide to learn to surf, I would gladly stay here again. And to everyone in Apsara- a very well done job, indeed. Thank you so so much for a...