Пхукет, май 2010 Phuket, May 2010

Rest time: from April 30 to May 13.2010.

The hotel in general. We cannot boast of a great experience of foreign trips, but we have seen something; ), and I must say right away - we VERY liked it. We have not been to other hotels in Phuket, but judging by the appearance of those that we saw from the outside, none of them is even close. Le Meriden is hidden in a secluded bay between Karon and Patong, in which there are no other buildings, institutions, etc. Therefore, the entrances to the hotel are completely controlled, no random people or cars. The hotel has a good fleet of taxis, which are more expensive than usual ones, but ordinary ones are also located immediately behind the security post, a five-minute walk from the reception. By the way, from the hotel to Patong or back, the red price of an independent taxi is 200 baht, don't settle for more. Travel time to, for example, Jung Ceylon - no more than 10 minutes. The territory of the hotel is well-groomed, landscaped, landscaped, constantly cleaned, washed, or vice versa cleared of water and puddles (after a rainstorm).

Several pools of various depths and purposes, including a children's pool with an awning. Several toilets, full shower. Everything is very beautifully lit at night. Every evening there are events with dinner and some kind of performance in the hotel bar billiards (pool). The staff is courteous, courteous and prompt. There are two (at least)) Russian-speaking employees. Upon arrival, we were offered to pay a deposit of $500, but you can do without it. Guests from different countries, the number of compatriots did not exceed a critical mass, many families with children. We did not notice noisy and walking youth and loud companies (fortunately). Rest can be described as calm, pacifying. What can be attributed with some stretch to the minuses - small (COMPARATIVELY!! ! !
) the territory of the hotel, long walks are hardly possible here, but on the other hand, this is a fee for a secluded location, and, to be honest, its beach repeatedly blocks this minus.

Room: Double superior pool view. The view of the pool did not disappoint, because we could see a piece of the sea, and the territory of the hotel is worth admiring, and this despite the fact that the 2nd floor. It even seemed to me that Garden View loses in terms of the view from the window. ) The room is standard, a large sliding glass door leads to the balcony. Lighting, clock, alarm clock and air conditioning are controlled from a single remote control, a very convenient telephone. LCD TV. An iron and ironing board, a kettle, a set of teas and other instant drinks, drinking water are always in the room and are included in the price. Safe with combination lock. Naturally, the bath is a decent size. In general, very good, except that in the bathroom the lamp in the ceiling dangled. ) Standard refrigerator.
Cleaning in the rooms daily and with high quality, one remark - for some reason, at first we were not left with a Dental Kit, but one remark was enough, we corrected it. What I did not like was the expensive and, most importantly, slow internet in the room. It is very inconvenient for work, but it fits very well into the concept of complete isolation from worries and maximum relaxation. ) (There is WiFi in the lobby, but I haven't tested it there. )

Kitchen. The breakfast did not disappoint at all. Variety of dishes and types of breakfast. Continental, American, Asian, fitness. Hot meat and fish dishes, fresh pastries, Egg Stattion, where you can cook whatever you want from eggs. Selection of chilled juices, always fresh fruits (no exotics, but watermelon, pineapple, passion fruit, papaya were always there). Attentive and helpful staff, including Russian-speaking. There are highchairs for children. The entire range of dishes is stored until the end of breakfast.

In addition, the hotel has several restaurants of various cuisines and cafes and bars (everything is in the official information, I will not repeat, everything is as written there)). Of the restaurants visited Italian - really liked it. In cafes and pizzerias, everything is just as delicious. The service is excellent. Prices are not low, everything on the menu is indicated without a 10% service charge and 7% VAT.

Beach. Deserves a separate mention, because we have not seen such sand anywhere else, neither on Phi Phi, nor on other islands. We didn’t even go to the beaches of Patong and Karon, but I think it’s no better there. ) Sand is not only near the surf, but also further, there are no stones, shells. Sunbeds and umbrellas are in abundance, although, of course, in order to take the sunbeds comfortable for us, we did it in the morning. Towels are issued and changed without problems (if they get very wet). The beach is always clean and there are no strangers, except for the sellers of marine entertainment, which were located on the edge of the beach and did not bother anyone much.
They did not belong to the hotel, but these are apparently Thai features of the business. I didn’t like the drinks that were made at the bar on the beach (more water than fruit), but it also seems to have been given to the local guys, in any case, any order from the hotel cafe was brought to the beach.

Bottom line: if you are looking for peace, bliss and peace, then you are in Le Meriden. Someone, of course, likes the noisy anthill of Patong, but this is already a matter of taste. )

Now about the trip in general. The firm with the letter P. has worked its bread normally, there are no big comments. A few tips on tours that guides will offer on site (all subjective). I liked diving with the instructor very much, we dived on Kara-Mui. Fantasea show is outright rubbish and hack, don't waste your time and money. Gift tours (review and souvenirs) are free, but you have to stay in the company of P-guides for a long time, which is not always pleasant and free to listen to stories about the amazing properties of ginseng and snake liver preparations.
I liked Pi Pi, but it was too crowded there, and the food at the hotel on Pi Pi as part of the tour is so simply disgusting.