First Impressions:

On this trip to Thailand, we went to Phuket twice because we love it so much! Since we’ve been to the island before, we already knew where Le Meridien is located and a big part of wanting to stay at this hotel had to do with the location. Its technically in Karon, but its right on the border of the famous party town Patong. Its the perfect distance away from all of the noise, all while being very accessible to the fun!

The hotel has been around for quite a while (around 30 years), and its a Phuket landmark. Like most resorts in Phuket, its easy to miss on the main road if you don’t know exactly where it is. There is a long driveway that leads from the main road to the entrance of the resort. From the security entrance of the property, to the actual hotel is another long driveway– its a beautiful, spacious property.

The lobby, in true Thai-style is an open (no windows, no doors) lobby. This is one of the largest lobbies that I’ve seen– easily the size of a football field! Our check-in went smoothly and we were quickly taken to our suite.

Our Suite:

Our suite was the largest one that they have at Le Meridien Phuket. Its the 2-bedroom Grande Suite, and it is a beaute! It stretches across the entire length of the building that faces the ocean, so it truly makes the most of the view.

The entrance opens up to a hallway that takes you into the living and dining area. On the left side is the living area and the right side is the dining room. Its set up in a very lengthy way, so although its open-plan, there is a good separation of the two areas.

The two bedrooms are on each side of the suite. Both are ensuite, but one has a king-sized bed while the other has 2 twin-sized beds. The bathrooms are very spacious and there’s decent closet space.

The real stunner about this room is the balcony. It stretches across the entire length of the suite (which is huge) and it looks over the beach. Its absolutely beautiful!

Both bedrooms also have smaller balconies, and one looks over the pool area, while the other looks onto hills/jungle.

Dining:

Before I get into breakfast or the other restaurants that we tried out while staying here, I just want to let you guys know that this hotel has an undeniably great offer for people traveling with kids. All kids aged 12 and under can enjoy all of their meals (regardless of what restaurant you might be dining at) for a very cheap daily rate. All you have to do is bring your kid’s meal card with you and they can order whatever they like off of the kids menu (anywhere in the hotel)!

The hotel has loads of restaurants and various cuisines so you have a great variety of choices. For our first night at the hotel, we had dinner at Ariake, their Japanese restaurant. We had a booking at the tepanyaki table and got to watch the chef and all of his hilarious and impressive tricks! The sushi was really good and its a great place with a nice vibe.

For breakfast there are 2 buffets that you can go to. One is completely indoors, while the other is outdoors but covered. Both essentially have the same items, just in two different locations. I really like their breakfast buffet. It had loads of choices and plenty of cooking stations where you can order whatever you might like. Their noodle station was amazing!

Activities/What We Did:

The hotel renovated their pools just 1 week before we arrived, so we really took advantage of that! They have loads of different pools and they’re all located right next to the beach. Its a very family-friendly atmosphere and people of all ages enjoy the pool.

I also really liked the beach there. The property has its own beach and I mean that in the most literal sense. Its blocked off by hills on each side, so the beach is private and only for hotel guests to enjoy. The waves were a bit rough while we were there (our last few days in Thailand were stormy), so we couldn’t enjoy it as much as we wanted to, but the beach is definitely a huge plus in my book.

The resort also has a huge kids club and our little ones got to enjoy it for the day. Its mainly free-play activities.

My husband also went the gym several times during our stay at the resort and he said its a very high-quality gym. No other hotel that we’ve stayed at has equipment quite like this one does and everything is top-notch. Its also open 24 hours which is very convenient.

During our stay at the hotel we were able to really enjoy the easy access to Patong. We left the kids with our nanny at night and got to go out and enjoy the nightlife in the city, without ever being more than a 15 minute bike-ride away. By the way, I would highly suggest renting a motorcycle because its the easiest way to get around and taxis (although generally cheap) can start adding up.

Drawbacks:

The resort is very well-known and has been around for a while. Because of that, its quite busy and sometimes breakfast was a bit too busy. Aside from that, I thought everything was really good.

Best For:

This resort is, of course, great for families. The fact that children can order whatever they might like at any time of the day at any restaurant, makes life so much easier. They have plenty of activities and things to do in the resort itself. Its also great for people who want to stay close to all the action in Patong without having to stay in Patong, as it can be a bit of a backpacker town and not so family-friendly. Location-wise its perfect for that!

Price:

The price for a 2-bedroom Grande Suite is about 17,000 Thai Baht per night (September 2017).