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Use our Travel forum for recommendations on everything from day trips to the best family-friendly holiday destinations.

Original poster

Thailand recommendations please

19 replies

KTB1234 · 05/07/2011 18:47

dh, myself & 3 yr old dd are going to Thailand in December but I have no idea where to look to stay. We want to go to Phuket for a chill out time (husband may like to play a little golf...) - we will be there for 2 weeks.
All advice is Really welcome :)
thanks

OP posts:
Original poster
KTB1234 · 06/07/2011 21:48

Have just been looking at the Outrigger villas - has anyone had experience of them?

OP posts:
kreecherlivesupstairs · 07/07/2011 09:42

No experience of the Outrigger villas I am afraid. We used to go to Phuket for the weekend a lot when we lived in Bangkok.

kreecherlivesupstairs · 07/07/2011 11:46

What area are the villas in? Some parts of Phuket are less salubrious than others.

Sarsaparilllla · 07/07/2011 12:03

Koh Phi Phi is stunning :)

notserp · 07/07/2011 13:38

Try Karma Samui (that's in Koh Samui, not Phuket, but plenty chilled) which would take your dd in its kids club, plus there's golf too...

Original poster
KTB1234 · 07/07/2011 21:51

Thanks for the feedback and thoughts. There are so many areas to possibly visit i am rather unsure where to go... notserp - I will definitely take a look at this area. Someone told me the weather was best in Phuket in December but what do I know?! kreecherlivesupstairs - the villas as in the Laguna complex but not directly on the coast. Someone indicated it may be a 20 min ride to the sea :(

OP posts:
kreecherlivesupstairs · 08/07/2011 05:47

It does look a long way away, but I saw on the hotel's website that they do have a bus service. Much better than using a local taxi. You could always hire a car, the driving is pretty awful but predictable.

Pussinglads · 08/07/2011 16:18

Have been looking at offers with Virgin Atlantic - phuket and cha am on offer. Very tempted...

kreecherlivesupstairs · 09/07/2011 06:21

Cha Am is OK, but nothing to do there. It is pretty industrial arond that area.

4pinkbabies · 09/07/2011 15:01

We got home to Shanghai just yesterday from a wonderful holiday at the Outrigger villas. They are simply amazing. We had a 3 bed pool villa. It was huge and the pool and garden superb. My 4 girls loved it. We were there for 2 weeks, 'out of season', so very quiet but still amazing weather. The beach, private to Outrigger, is a 5 minute free minibus drive away, you just call reception and they pick you up and take you home when ready. There are loads of Laguna resorts to choose from..the Laguna Beach is on the beach, but you can get there from Outrigger. We weren't that bothered, as the villa and pool were so gorgeous. To go further afield, we used one of the resort's drivers, with a huge Frontera. We need a villa with our millions of kids and like to self cater, so outrigger was the best choice for us. There is a daily maid service and the hospitality is wonderful. Nothing is too much trouble. We think we may go back for Christmas, or Chinese New Year. There is also a free shuttle open bus to the Canal village, which has lovely shops and links the resorts, on that bus I passed the golf course, which was in the Links villa complex, but it was literally 5 mins from Outrigger. Hope this helps.

acatcalledbob · 09/07/2011 15:10

Don't do Samui in December as it's monsoon season in the Gulf of Thailand - Phuket will be fine. We love the Indigo Pearl in Phuket - gorgeous funky hotel, lovely beach with little restaurants on the sand, kids club, great pool, not far from airport, good snorkeling in the marine park. We stayed there in December 2009 (in a suite as their family rooms weren't open yet) and had a fantastic holiday.

Original poster
KTB1234 · 10/07/2011 10:01

Thanks everyone! Phuket it is and for 2 weeks at the beginning of Dec to co-incide with my neices holiday time (they are in oz).
4pinkbabies - thank you so much for the background. it is always useful to hear from real experiences. Did it have a children's club or facilities and did you use them at all? Did the villa have a washing machine? i could not make out whether the resort has a pool complex or whether you need to have a villa with a pool to be able to swim (surely not?).

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4pinkbabies · 10/07/2011 11:31

There is a kid's club, but we didn't use it, my girls are pretty good at making up their own stuff and just lived in the pool. They were building a new kid's club and it looked amazing. The villa had a washing machine outside and a large laundry area..we never go anywhere without a washing machine! The resort has a large pool next to the Bites cafe, we didn't use it as we had a pool villa..honestly if you can stretch to a pool villa it is so worth it. There are little golf carts, which pick you up and take you around the resort complex whenever you want. The Golf course also looked lovely, not that I know a lot about golf. I enjoyed getting on the free open bus shuttle to Canal village, where there was a baby elephant wandering around and a trampoline and bouncy castle and some lovely shops. You can also get a boat to another beach from here and just go on a tour around the resorts. This holiday is not for people who like noise and tourist crowds, although Patong is not too far. It is a total chill out with the family and swim/ soak up the sun and surroundings holiday. My kids loved every second, as did we. You will not be disappointed with the villas..total luxury. Our house here in China is huge and it felt tiny when we came home!!

ihatethecold · 10/07/2011 17:36

is there a link to where you stayed 4pinkbabies? it sounds stunning, have always fancied thailand

Original poster
KTB1234 · 10/07/2011 19:35

ihatethecold - here is the link i have been using...www.outriggerthailand.com/phuket/resort.php i hope it works for you

OP posts:
hifi · 13/07/2011 17:44

we go to the meridien in khao lak, its beautiful. dont forget nearly all room prices double fron the 21st december. Phuket is the most expensive area of thailand now, we were paying £10.40 per glass of wine and spend around £220 + a day on food and drink. we would have lunch at a beach shack 3 years ago for £15 now its more like 45.00. the weather is normally great but we were there for a month last december and it was torential rain the first week. very few airlines fly direct now,look at EVA air as they have newer aircraft and you can get premium economy for the price of economy on thai air.thake all toiletries/nappies /wetwipes as losts more expensive out there.

4pinkbabies · 15/07/2011 07:52

Ah, but we would never think of spending that amount on a glass of wine or £220 a day on food..we just never, ever would. We self catered and ate out once, maybe twice as a treat and it never cost that much - maybe £30 for 6 of us. There is a Tesco a car ride away, we found a lot of things cheaper there and we are used to the crazily cheap prices in China. Even though we self catered, it still was a luxury holiday. Obviously prices rise in 'high season', but it is very much up to you to make the choice of how much you want to spend on food and drink.

acatcalledbob · 16/07/2011 02:40

£45 for lunch in a beach shack? Hmm

I have lunch in the shack next to my house on samui for £2-£3 a head.... The bhat rate is terrible at the moment and the gulf monsoon season is November so stick to the west coast (Phuket) for winter months.....

Romilly70 · 30/12/2011 20:18

Just resurrecting an old thread; as I wanted to ask acatcalledbob about the monsoon season duration in the gulf of Thailand. DP and i went to Phuket and Phi Phi 2 years ago in January and had fab weather; but when we go next, prob Jan / feb 2013, with DS who will be about 2 1/2 we would like to try Koh Samui.

Is the monsoon just a really heavy shower in the afternoon (we used to have that in sri-lanka) or just grey and miserable all day.
If we waited till end feb, would we miss the worst of the monsoon?

TIA for advice!

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