Blu Monkey Hub & Hotel Phuket — Hotel in Ratsada

Check-in Experience: 4||The check in was smooth with no issues. We arrived early but unfortunately our room was not ready until the scheduled check-in time which of course is absolutely fine. The staff were in general not the most welcoming however I wouldn’t go as far as to say rude. Overall the check in was as expected. ||||Room Quality: 4|| • Cleanliness: For a city hotel that’s a mid-range price the cleanliness was as expected. It was clean however the room was a little tired and in need of some fresh paint. Curtains were dirty as well as around the sink area. || • Amenities: Very basic coffee/tea making facilities. Kettle included so you can bring your own tea and coffee which I would recommend if that is important to you. We were on the top floor (7) and the WiFi was decent. || • Comfort: The bed was huge for 2 people which was an absolute bonus. The air con was very effective however it was loud so not too good for sleeping with it turned on (not really an issue for me but my partner struggled with the noise). The balcony was small but it is a city hotel and not designed for chilling on the balcony. The room was quite spacious. ||||Facilities & Services: 3.9|| • Dining: We did not have breakfast included and paid 200baht (£5) per person for breakfast. There was a variety of Thai options as well as western. The quality of the food was good. The breakfast options were pretty the same each day but there were enough there to mix it up. Tea/coffee and juice was available all day at no extra cost. || • Pool, Spa, Gym, etc.: The pool was tiny and the area around it was not very pleasant. It looked as though it hadn’t been cleaned or used much. We didn’t book this place for a pool so this didn’t bother us much. Just be aware that if you absolutely will want and use a pool I would not book this hotel. There was a gym but we didn’t use it so I can’t comment on that. There was a communal area with a very large table suitable for chilling and playing games. ||||Staff & Customer Service: 3.9||I can’t really comment much about the staff as we were in and out most of the time as this part of our holiday was for ‘doing’ as opposed to being in the hotel. The general vibe was good though some of the younger staff were typically grumpy teenagers. All in all I will mark it ever so slightly down from good. ||||Value for Money: 4.6||Overall value for money was excellent. We paid £152 for 3 nights. The only reason I have marked it down from perfect is due to the pool area being somewhat unusable. ||||Location: 4.8||As a base location in Phuket city this was great. You can walk to Old Town Phuket which seems to be on most YouTuber’s bucket list (worth a walk around but nothing special and you’ll find over inflated tourist prices). There are a couple of areas you can walk to with viewpoints that are a 20-30 minute walk away. Chillva market is only 240baht via taxi using the Bolt app. I highly recommend visiting this market for street food and drinks. Island boat trips will depart from the Royal Marina which is only 20-25 minutes away. There are also a few banks very close by for using their ATMs. ||||Overall Experience: 4||Overall I was more than satisfied with this hotel. We did our research before we came and this one was the best value for money and location we could find. As I said before you can forget about the pool but that’s fine if this is just being...

Check-in Experience: 4||The check in was smooth with no issues. We arrived early but unfortunately our room was not ready until the scheduled check-in time which of course is absolutely fine. The staff were in general not the most welcoming however I wouldn’t go as far as to say rude. Overall the check in was as expected. ||||Room Quality: 4|| • Cleanliness: For a city hotel that’s a mid-range price the cleanliness was as expected. It was clean however the room was a little tired and in need of some fresh paint. Curtains were dirty as well as around the sink area. || • Amenities: Very basic coffee/tea making facilities. Kettle included so you can bring your own tea and coffee which I would recommend if that is important to you. We were on the top floor (7) and the WiFi was decent. || • Comfort: The bed was huge for 2 people which was an absolute bonus. The air con was very effective however it was loud so not too good for sleeping with it turned on (not really an issue for me but my partner struggled with the noise). The balcony was small but it is a city hotel and not designed for chilling on the balcony. The room was quite spacious. ||||Facilities & Services: 3.9|| • Dining: We did not have breakfast included and paid 200baht (£5) per person for breakfast. There was a variety of Thai options as well as western. The quality of the food was good. The breakfast options were pretty the same each day but there were enough there to mix it up. Tea/coffee and juice was available all day at no extra cost. || • Pool, Spa, Gym, etc.: The pool was tiny and the area around it was not very pleasant. It looked as though it hadn’t been cleaned or used much. We didn’t book this place for a pool so this didn’t bother us much. Just be aware that if you absolutely will want and use a pool I would not book this hotel. There was a gym but we didn’t use it so I can’t comment on that. There was a communal area with a very large table suitable for chilling and playing games. ||||Staff & Customer Service: 3.9||I can’t really comment much about the staff as we were in and out most of the time as this part of our holiday was for ‘doing’ as opposed to being in the hotel. The general vibe was good though some of the younger staff were typically grumpy teenagers. All in all I will mark it ever so slightly down from good. ||||Value for Money: 4.6||Overall value for money was excellent. We paid £152 for 3 nights. The only reason I have marked it down from perfect is due to the pool area being somewhat unusable. ||||Location: 4.8||As a base location in Phuket city this was great. You can walk to Old Town Phuket which seems to be on most YouTuber’s bucket list (worth a walk around but nothing special and you’ll find over inflated tourist prices). There are a couple of areas you can walk to with viewpoints that are a 20-30 minute walk away. Chillva market is only 240baht via taxi using the Bolt app. I highly recommend visiting this market for street food and drinks. Island boat trips will depart from the Royal Marina which is only 20-25 minutes away. There are also a few banks very close by for using their ATMs. ||||Overall Experience: 4||Overall I was more than satisfied with this hotel. We did our research before we came and this one was the best value for money and location we could find. As I said before you can forget about the pool but that’s fine if this is just being...

They have a small but very clean pool with a ledge along its side where my 4 yrs old daughter could walk up and down and play with the water. Since it's open 24 hours, because it's well lit, we used it at night too. My daughter was really enchanted by the deep blue pool lights.

One of the waste water canals flow just behind the pool area, but it didn't smell at all surprisingly, unlike in other parts of the city.

The staff is very attentive and speaks English well enough to discuss important matters.

The rooms are very spacious and the whole monkey theme of the hotel is very consistent, fun and lends a great ambience up the place.

The sound isolation could be better, because we could hear the neighbor listening to the TV and people talking on the corridor.

The cleaning lady didn't silence her phone and I could hear her notifications all morning. It was not particularly loud but the corridor has a strong echo. Other guests also made a lot of noise because they didn't close their doors silently and they talked often.

The floors are cleaned very well too, but as a consequence they are also very slippery, to the point it could be dangerous for young kids who carelessly run around and for older ppl who are not so agile anymore.

While there is a no smoking rule in the rooms, you can smoke on the balcony; at least that's why my neighbor deduced from the provided ash trays, we both had.

The breakfast is simple but it had a decent and consistent quality over the 3 nights we stayed.

Location is also great. The whole Phuket town area can be explored just by walk in an hour. The Robinson mall is 10-15 minutes walk away but the hotel provides comfortable bicycles for free. The relatively famous Chumthong (chum=plate, thong=gold) restaurant is just over the corner, where you can eat very well prepared local food in a hygienic environment.

WiFi speed was fluctuating often, but worked well enough to book hotel and flights and watch YouTube at least at 360p. At night you could get 30+Mbit/s.

Overall we had a great time and we could sleep well, despite the...