Hello readers! So.. this time we decided to spend my birthday holiday trip at Phuket!
I have been to Phuket two years ago on company retreat, but it was a short 2D1N and i didn't really explore back then. This time round, i decided to visit Phuket again with Jeremy! It was a 4D3N trip.
Us at the airport, taking a wefie before boarding the plane.
In case you have not heard of Phuket before, Phuket itself is an island, it takes only one hour plus from Changi Airport to Phuket Airport and probably another 30-45min to reach your hotel destination. It can be consider as one of the fuss free travelling destination if you are looking for a quick getaway from Singapore.
There are many activities to do in Phuket such as going on a one day island tour on Phi Phi Island, James Bond Island, other activities such as Kapong Tubing Nature tour that offer elephant trekking/bathing, visiting the three level waterfall and ATV Tours, rafting and so on.
If you are not a beach lover, or enjoy the sea sports activities, you can go for their shows, Siam Niramit Phuket, Phuket Simon Cabaret or even FantaSea Cultural theme park. For the less adventurous traveler, you can opt for city tour where you can visit the famous big buddha, Chalong Temple, visiting Cashew Nut factory, fruits market, monkey show, honey farm or visiting the Phuket town to check out their heritage buildings, trick eye museum, upside down house and even the premium outlet Phuket.
There are many beaches in Phuket, such as Patong Beach, Surin Beach, Karon Beach, Rawai beach, just to name a few. I decided to stay near Patong Beach because i wanted to go back to the same shop and find the hand carry luggage that i bought 2 years ago. Patong Beach is the most famous beach on Phuket, widely known for its wide variety of activities and nightlife, it is an ideal place to party and can be considered as a tourist beach. If you want somewhere that is quieter with more privacy then it's wiser to choose other hotels that is located anywhere but Patong beach. The exception that i can think of is Amari Phuket due to its uphill location and very different from the other hotels located at Patong Beach after my research. Well, that was where we choose to stay and we simply loved it!
I started my research on the hotels around Patong Beach and was told to be careful if i am looking to book the hotels that faces the sea as many of the hotels has been hit by the Tsunami in 2004, some of the hotels have changed their name so it's difficult to track and avoid. For me, beside checking on the hotel website, i will check on the blog reviews, photos of the hotel rooms, because a 4 star hotel doesn't mean its still considered a 4 star after so many years if there were minimum maintenance done, a good example to compare is the baumanburi hotel at Phuket that i stayed during my company retreat, also a 4 star but looks more like a 3 star to me. I was quite particular about the hotel interior design. After shortlisting several hotels, i decided to book Amari Phuket because its a new hotel and looking at their rooms, facilities, i think this would be a good choice. Don't ask me how much it cost, what you pay is what you get. If you are looking for cheap stays, Amari is out of the picture.
I was so tempted to book the room type that has the bathtub because the suite looks so awesome, but i manage to keep myself in tab. Phew. So, i book the ocean wing one bedroom suite with balcony instead. For the suite that we booked, we had the complimentary access to clubhouse, breakfast and cocktail reception daily.
This time round, i email to check with the hotel reservations first to confirm the room type for this promotion before making the reservations. Click here for Amari Johor Bahru Saga where i had to explain to the staff so many time before getting my late check out during my last staycation at Amari JB.
Though I was glad the experience were so much better at Amari Phuket. I will definitely stay back Amari Phuket when i visit again, probably the room with the bathtub next time. (teehee). We took an early flight and instead of purchasing the sim card at the airport like what we usually do when we arrived at Bangkok airport, online reviews was mentioning how pricey it cost if you buy a sim card in Phuket international airport ranging from 199- 599 baht. There's one that cost 45baht but the data given is too little.
Eventually i purchase a thailand sim card through changi recommends before we even reach Phuket for $5.50! Link to purchase >> Thai Ais Tourist Sim card Upon purchasing it online, just pick it up with the confirmation slip before your flight by visiting the changi recommends booth. It works well for us for a 4D3N trip.
There are several different network providers such as DTAC, AIS,True Move H but based from other reviews, they mentioned AIS works well if you are planning to visit the forest or remote areas in Thailand. We went to Phi Phi island tour on one of the days and i was still able to receive the signal despite out in the big sea. So i guess you can't go wrong purchasing this AIS sim card!
By paying just $5.50, the package as follows :
7-day unlimited Internet with Free 2.5GB High Speed Usage*
100THB (Equal to 60mins talk time to Singapore)
We change it to our spare phone and it was activated automatically once we reach Phuket Airport, so it was a hassle free process for us.
Phuket airport has changed so much, i remember the last time i visit, the airport was still under renovation and i still remember having to take a bus to reach their arrival hall and taking a bus to the boarding area. But now their passageway is all linked and has improved so much!
I saw reviews about using Grab to get around in Phuket, so i went to try and check the price, Phuket airport to Amari Phuket will cost us 1050 baht! However when we approach their taxi counters, they were charging 800 baht for 2. So during this trip, i realise it's not worth to take their grab services at all. I tried to use Grab to check the price to get from point A to B, it still cost higher than what i used to pay in Bangkok. Eventually, we didn't use Grab at all, either we take a tuk-tuk, or we took the hotel shuttle bus service or last resort WALK. (which we only walked once and give up. Haha)
After paying 800 baht at the taxi counter and getting a pink slip, we walk to the exit gate number and the driver came for us, after checking with some of my friends/colleagues experiences when they visit Phuket, it can be pretty subjective but some driver do not send you immediately to your hotel, but sending you to the tour agency they probably worked with, to see if you would like to sign up for any tours.
For us, well i am not sure whether it was a slip of Jeremy mouth that it was his first time visiting Phuket when the driver talk to us that he make the decision to bring us to the tour agency. When he first told us he is stopping for a few minute, we said ok, but we didn't get off the taxi while continuing to use our phone, later it was the tour agency staff that came out of their office to our taxi, on the pretence of telling us that she wants to check for us our hotel address because the driver is not sure. (Usually this kind of excuse seems legit, but i know it's not that simple.)
Before she came out of the office, while waiting, i guess i was sharp because i saw the advertisement on all the different tours outside the office but didn't think much out of it, so the moment the tour agency staff told me they need me to get out to check the hotel address, i already know what they were trying to do. For the most obvious reason, they want to promote their tours.
I went down because we do have the intention to go for the Phi Phi Island tour, and i wanted to visit the FantaSea theme park recommended by colleague, so i thought we could give them a chance to listen them out.
The staff started by asking us the hotel that we are staying, before saying Amari Phuket is a nice hotel, 5 star hotel. So it couldn't be possible that the driver doesn't know its way. Afterall we are not staying at those budget hotel that may be challenging to find. Next, they ask how long we are staying, and whether we require the taxi back hotel on our last day. I remember checking Amari airport transfer was 1200 baht, and since they were charging the same 800 baht, i was pretty fine to book with them first for our return trip as this save us the hassle later when we were going back.
After settling the transport issue, the staff began to ask if we had any tours in mind that we would like to visit, the 'promotion of the tours' started at this point. I keep an open mind and mentioned that i am interested to go for Fantasea. FantaSea is a cultural theme park that was highly recommended by my colleagues so i wanted to check it out myself too. Tickets are required for admission to the theme park but don't bother comparing the price because the price is fixed as shown in the website. FantaSea has a strict policy of adhering to their ticketing policy. On their website, it shows exactly the same price on this ticket prices that we checked from the hotel concierge. However i think it's negotiable based on the different tour agency you approach. For transfer trip it was 350 baht and 700 baht for round trip, but the tour agency charge us SLIGHTLY cheaper for round trip instead of the usual rate, so i guess it boils down to how you negotiate. :) We opt for the show + buffet dinner. But i was quite pissed with the pick up for the FantaSea which i will explain in the next separate post next time so i guess i will book directly from the hotel next time.
After which, they was asking if we would like to try their Phi Phi Island tour, i heard about the rave but i recall reading on the news that the Phi Phi island was closed for repairs, so i clarified with them and the staff told me it's only a stop included in the Phi Phi island tour called the Maya Bay that is closed for repairs from 1st of June until 30 Sep 2018. Trust me, for their tours, different tour agency has different rates. For us, we paid 5800baht for two pax.
This include round trip transfer from our hotel to the pier and sending us back to the hotel. Most of their tour package will include the round trip transfer, inclusion of lunch, the basic snorkeling equipment, insurance. However, the tour agency informed us there is an additional charges which they call it the national park fee and we will pay directly upon reaching at the pier.
It cost 400 baht per pax for adult and 200 baht for child.
After clarification that there were no further additional charges except the national park fee, we decided to go ahead and book with them. Because we book the tour plus the fantasea, the staff waive the 800 baht transfer trip from hotel to the airport, they told us they give us 'free'. But nothing is free one la, To me, i just consider it as the charges paid towards our Phi Phi island tour. Initially, i asked if we can make partial payment and pay the rest after the end of the tour, however they require us to pay in full. Well, since this is the first time we book, so it really boils down to trust. Afterall, if this is a scam case, i guess this is the first and last time they can ever cheat us again. But i am glad our trust was not misplaced, otherwise this will be a angsty post and circulating around to beware all the other tourists planning to visit Phuket liao. Haha
We spend total of 10600 baht for one day Phi Phi island tour and Fantasea (with buffet dinner and two way transfer).
Phi Phi Island was 5800baht for two, so assuming if the taxi fee was already included inside, the Phi Phi island tour charge is about 5000 for 2, so one pax cost about 2500 baht.
As we didn't have the opportunity to compare along Patong beach because we book it before checking the packages around Patong beach, however if you happen to meet a driver that send you directly to the hotel without stopping at any tour agency, fret not, because there are SO many stalls promoting the tours around Patong beach, but this tour agency do warned us if we ever book along the Patong beach, never book with those vendors simply standing around holding some brochure enticing tourists to book with them, especially those that does not even have any physical store because they have heard past experiences of scam cases whereby vendors simply don't turn up and disappear the next day after collecting the money from the tourists. So just be very careful when you are looking to book the island tours while visiting Phuket. Especially when some package turn out to be so cheap that makes you wonder if such a good deal really exists.
For this tour agency, they had a whatsapp number that they told me i can contact them if we have any difficulties for our pick up for our booked tour/activities. They issue us the receipt for each of the activities so we can pass to the driver on the actual day.
Anyway, after settling our tour package, the driver finally drove us to our hotel - Amari Phuket! Upon arrival, the lobby was pretty crowded with guests checking out at the same time, we were greeted warmly and being directed to the resting area as the polite staff serve us with cold towels and welcome drinks while they handle our check in procedure.
While waiting, what caught our attention was this breathtaking panoramic views of the bay! This is so beautiful! Right in front of the lobby was their Samutr bar that offers an extensive list of beers and cocktails that you can enjoy while soaking up the seaside atmosphere.This seaview bar is simply awesome. The bar also have live band performances on certain evenings as well. This looks like one of the perfect place to relax within Amari resort.
This was how their hotel lobby look like, couldn't take the photo during daytime because it was too crowded with many people and i was so lazy to photoshop all the people away. So here's one at night when there are lesser guests hanging at the lobby.
Over here, all their hotel rooms seems to require buggy service as they are located quite a distance from the lobby to the room. Upon completion of check in, we were directed to wait for our buggy services. Pretty excited to check out our suite and we realised how big this resort is as our room is located pretty far from the lobby. The staff who drove us, bring us to our suite personally and introducing us the room features and a few extension number to take note if we require buggy service.
Some units looking like landed property like the one i took below. If you noticed, the top level should be the unit that that looks like two bedroom suite because it's all connected while the middle level has been segregate into two units.
Anyway our unit was at the ground floor so we had to take stairs to go down, luckily we don't have to bring down our luggage ourselves. The staff send our luggage shortly after we settled in.
Some units looking like landed property like the one i took below. If you noticed, the top level should be the unit that that looks like two bedroom suite because it's all connected while the middle level has been segregate into two units.
Tadah, an area for cooking if you want, they have all the necessary utensils that you require, microwave oven, fridge etc. It will be even awesome if they can provide a washer/dryer. Hahaha. But anyway, this is already good enough for us!
Most of their guestroom are beautifully designed if you check out their website and i really love the design of this suite that we stayed!
This is their one bedroom suite club, ocean view balcony, really have ocean view but not exactly ocean facing but nevertheless, this is still beautiful to admire from our room!
I was busy checking out the view by going to the balcony first before Jeremy went in the bedroom and told me they have decorate the room because it's my birthday month!
I love that Amari Phuket provide their guests with this straw bag because it came in handy when we were going for our Phi Phi island tour day the next day. I used it when we were heading to the clubhouse for a swim, after our dinner too. This was very handy to bring around the resort!
Honestly, i love how they have another mirror at the side because most hotel have the standard one, mirror and the sink and usually the distance between the mirror and your standing position is quite far apart that makes it harder for ladies to put on their makeup. So when this bathroom has a separate mirror and top for me to place my cosmetics stuff, i thought this was very well designed in understanding of their guests needs.
After settling down, i was looking through the services and the map to getting around in the resort.
There are shuttle bus services provided by the hotel to the nearest mall, Juncelyon mall and Kata Beach. But you have to call their front desk to book first, and since we got an early check in, and the next shuttle bus timing is still early, so we went to check out the clubhouse first.
Coffee/tea and biscuits provided daily and it was exciting to check out the clubhouse because they have an infinity pool exclusive for club guests only!
A section of their clubhouse area.
We went a level above the clubhouse area and saw there were plenty of chairs for guests to do suntanning. I guess, over here you do not have to worry anybody coming up to you constantly asking if you need any foods/drinks compared to suntanning at the Patong beach.
If you didn't already know, friends who have been to Patong Beach has warned me there is alot of vendors stationed at the beach and coming up to you selling foods/drinks the moment you are trying to suntan/chill at the beach. We experience it once during one of the stopover beach on our Phi Phi island tour, so i can say, it can be quite irritating. We didn't really hang out at the Patong beach because we didn't really need to when we stay at Amari Phuket! There are so many places to hang out within the resort as they have their own private beach too.
We took the hotel shuttle bus service dropping us at the Jungceylon mall to have our lunch first. Settled our lunch at Fuji japanese restaurant before we went to purchase our hand carry luggage!
Jungceylon mall is the nearest and only shopping mall around Patong Beach, They had a Big C supermarket, cinema, bowling alley, retail stores etc.
After our lunch, we walked back the same old streets based on my memory, kudos to my good memory, the store that i visit 2 years ago didn't change, it was still the old man selling the different unique designs of the hand carry luggage that i am looking for. Just that, this time round the design has become limited. Eventually, i decided on this UK design handcarry luggage. When we decided to take tuk tuk back to Amari Phuket, the tuk tuk happen to be matching with my new purchase luggage! Many might find this size luggage to be bulky and not easy for storage, but i find it very durable and very useful whenever i go for staycations and i can use this bag because it's so easy to carry around. The reason i decided to buy another one is to keep an extra one just in case i can't find a similar one when my current one is damaged.
With this luggage, i suggested to Jeremy that we can buy all the snacks that we want in big C first and stuff in this luggage so we don't have to get our hands full! We returned back to our room first to put our stuff and i was telling Jeremy someone entered our room,
because.. i was pleasantly surprised again by the hotel sweet gesture! They delivered a birthday cake and fruits amenities placed nicely when we were out. Wow! A big thank you to all the staff for putting so much effort when they don't really have to!
Shortly, we went for our cocktail reception and by then it was 6pm, the clubhouse was crowded so we couldn't get a good seat facing the seaview. But the awesome variety selection of wines,liquors and cocktails make up for it! Canapes were served as we can order any drink that we want. During our time at clubhouse, their public relations manager i guess went around checking with us if the food/drinks were up to the standard, engaging us in conversation and ensuring we are able to feel their warm hospitality. kudos to the staff. We really enjoyed our stay there!
We decided to have our dinner at the clubhouse too so we asked for the normal menu and ordered the fried rice and pork satay and they are pretty good!
This was my favourite cocktail drink, the only one to my liking. Strawberry something that i couldn't remember.
We spend our evening just chilling and enjoying our drink and dinner at the clubhouse,before going for a swim in the pool. Is this what they call, #thisislife? Carefree, free from worries and simply enjoying the peaceful and relaxing atmosphere~
We had the pool to ourselves by the time we decided to hop into the pool, Jeremy was telling me this funny sight because just an hr ago the clubhouse was filled with guests during the cocktail reception hour,after it ends, suddenly all the guests seem to disappear, and the clubhouse is empty again.From the infinity pool, we could see the jetty and i wanted to check the place out.
We went back to our room to shower and called for buggy service to send us near the jetty, but it was dark by the time we decided to check out the jetty, so it was a bad time to explore the jetty when the night sets in. Hahaha there were nothing much to see except hearing the heavy waves splash sound as we had to walked through a long pavement to the jetty. Then we decided to explore around as it was not too far to the lobby and we passed by Amari own private beach and it was high tide thus the water was reaching the staircase.
We also passed by this Rim Talay Pool bar, and many guests were simply hanging around this area as the hotel has special buffet promotions on certain days. Staying in Amari Phuket can be awesome if you do not like to travel too far because it has almost everything that you need, foods, spa, fitness, swimming pool and they do have some workout sessions according to the schedule for the guests.
This should be the La Gritta restaurant and i think it will looks even nicer before the night sets in. I guess when i visit Phuket again, i will stay with Amari Phuket again. Highly recommended!
After all the exploring, we were back at the lobby and the Samutr Bar, not much guests hanging around here, though i remember there were live band performances starting around 9.30pm and it was probably still early.
Exploring further, we went down the staircase and we found the voyager lounge.This is the place that can also be used for events such as wedding, banquets, conference. Apparently i guess this is also provided for the guests if they are having a late flight, the guests can choose to hang around at this lounge before going to the airport. They have some desktop set up in this lounge for guest usage as well.
Exploring around Amari Phuket has been awesome so far!
Shall end this post for now.
Will update in the next post on our 1 day Phi Phi Island tour.
Till then!
