First Impressions:

After a long flight with 2 little kids, we arrived at Phuket Airport. We collected our luggage and headed outside to find our chauffeur from Movenpick Karon Beach ready and waiting with our name on a sign. He took our bags, lead us to the van and we headed to the resort. Its about an hour drive from the airport, but the ride was incredibly comfortable and the van was spacious. They even have WiFi on board!

By the time we arrived it was already dark so I had to wait until the next day to truly get a feel for the resort. However, I could already tell that it was going to be a luxurious and homely experience. Everyone was so welcoming and kind! One of the ways that they welcomed us was by giving us fresh flower bracelets. 

The lobby is very grand and its an open concept— no doors or windows (I later noticed that this was quite a common thing in Thailand). The stairs led us up to the reception area, where we checked-in and handled all of our formalities. They handed us our keys and we headed back down to the buggy that would take us to our home for the next 4 days.

Our Villa:

We stayed in a 2 Bedroom Family Suite. The name is actually quite deceptive because its really so much more than just a 2 bedroom suite. There’s THREE bedrooms— while 2 of them are en suite bedrooms, the third is a smaller bedroom with a bunkbed, desk and some cabinet space (perfect for younger kids).

Also, its a full-on villa, not a suite. The entrance to the villa has a huge porch area, and plenty of space to either sunbathe or hang out. There are also outdoor showers in the back. Our villa faced the pool, which is a spectacular pool for the whole family. The area surrounding the villa has a very ‘jungle’ feel, its all so green and beautiful!

There’s an open-plan living room/dining area and it had plenty of space for my two little kids. This was a huge plus because I have a 3-year-old runner and a 9-month-old crawler. There are TVs the living room and both large bedrooms. The decor is done in an elegant Thai-style, and Movenpick really did a great job of incorporating Thai elements to the overall layout of the villa.

The two bathrooms are incredibly spacious. The bathroom in the King-sized bed’s room has his-and-her sinks, a stand up shower as well as a large bathtub. The second bathroom is quite similar but with a little bit less space and a single sink.

Breakfast:

At the Movenpick Karon Beach Resort there are two different restaurants that serve breakfast! We actually ended up going to the same one throughout the entire stay (because it was closer to the villa)— lazy, I know.

The breakfast buffet spread is wonderful! Its a mix between Western, Thai and other Asian cuisines. It has something for everyone! I especially liked that they had a whole buffet just for kids, complete with Mickey Mouse plates and cutlery!

Activities/ What We Did:

The hotel is located very close to so many different attractions, so its very convenient if you want to explore and do activities outside of the resort. During our stay at Movenpick we were able to go on elephant rides, go the monkey show, shop at Patong’s famous Jung Ceylon Mall, check out Bangla Road, etc. without having to travel for more than 20-30 minutes each way. I’ll  be doing a whole other article on the activities that you can do in Phuket, so for now, let me tell you about the activities that we did while we were inside the resort.

First of all, the resort is massive! Out of all of the resorts that we stayed in during our time in Thailand, I think that the Movenpick is the largest property that we experienced. I didn’t get a chance to fully explore every bit of it because its really huge— there are so many different kinds of residences and rooms spread out all over the property, and so many different things to enjoy for both kids and adults.

We made the absolute most out of the pool. Its such a beautiful pool and great for families. They have slides, large shallow areas for kids, several pool bars, plenty of space to lounge and sun tan, etc.

The Little Birds Club (the kids club), is another place that our little ones enjoyed to their heart’s content. They have the best kids club out of all of the hotels that we’ve stayed at in Thailand— its separated into two areas, one for the tiny tots and one for older kids. They have so many toys and activities to keep kids of all ages busy. The staff there were very engaging and the kids were singing songs and dancing, not just playing by themselves. My son Khalifa was even supposed to do their kids cooking class, but unfortunately we missed it! There’s also an outdoor jungle gym play area.

Drawbacks:

The resort didn’t have any bad aspects whatsoever. It was honestly perfect in terms of everything I look for in a family-friendly resort. I truly don’t have anything I could nitpick!

Best For:

Without a doubt, this resort is best for families. Its such a relaxing, yet fun environment. Everything is 5-star but doesn’t feel too pretentious; it just feels very homely. Even in the way that they designed the residences, they really have families in mind because everything is spacious— I mean, they give you a full extra room just for kids in the 2-bed residences!

Price:

The price for the 2 Bedroom Family Suite with Breakfast is around 19,000 Thai Baht (September 2017).

Check out their website and their Instagram.