Khaolak Merlin Resort

Khao Lak, Thailand

Virgin rating

The hotel

A deluxe resort, inspired by Thailand’s rich culture, Khaolak Merlin Resort also enjoys a divine rainforest location on a gently sloping hillside and is surrounded by well-manicured, lush gardens. Guests enjoy direct access to a private stretch of beach, perfect for relaxing in the afternoon sun. The facilities are great and will please all the family. As well as four swimming pools, there’s a kids' pool complete with water slide and a kids' playground. Speaking of kids, they can even have their own spa treatments to unwind their bodies after a days running around - they'll love the special treatments! When it comes to dining, the aptly-named Tropical Garden is open all-day and serves International favourites as well as local fare. For something a little more romantic, head to Veranda, a beachside restaurant serving delicious seafood. The village centre is just a stroll away and offers more eating options, alternatively, take a taxi to the centre of Khao Lak for a wider choice. If shopping appeals check out Bang Niang Market, there are plenty of souvenirs to stock up on!

Amenities

  • Tennis
  • Babysitting service
  • Bar
  • Fitness Centre/Gym
  • Internet Access
  • Laundry Service
  • Restaurant
  • Room Service
  • Spa
  • Swimming Pool
  • Beachfront location

Where is it

In Khao Lak, overlooking the beach and a short walk from the village centre. Transfer time from Phuket Airport: 1 hour.

Hotel information

236 rooms. All with air-conditioning, balcony or terrace, satellite TV, telephone, complimentary WiFi access, mini-bar*, kettle, mini fridge, slippers, safe, bathroom amenities, flip flops, and hairdryer. 

Superior Rooms have garden and resort views, with either 1 king-size bed, or twin beds, sleeping maximum 2 adults and 1 child.

Board basis options:

Half Board Plus/Full Board Plus options: Half Board Plus includes breakfast and à la carte set menu dinner at The Garden or Veranda Beachside Restaurant or themed buffet evenings. Full Board Plus also includes lunch from à la carte set menu at The Garden or Veranda. Both includes one drink per person per meal (choose from house wines, local beers, juices, soft drinks and drinking water).

All Inclusive option (available May-Oct) includes: buffet breakfast, set menu à la carte lunch from Tropical Forest Restaurant or Veranda and set menu à la carte dinner at set outlets (these may change depending on day) and themed buffets three times a week on the Beach Lawn. Drinks include house wine, local beer, local spirits, juice, soft drinks, coffee/tea and drinking water in the Pool Bar, Veranda Bar, Beach Bar and Lobby Lounge (11:00am-11:00pm).

Room upgrades:

Deluxe Rooms are slightly larger in size, and feature a separate walk-in shower and bathtub, with 1 king-size bed or twin beds, sleeping maximum 2 adults and 1 child.

Family Superior Rooms and Family Deluxe Rooms consist of two interconnecting Superior/Deluxe rooms, with 1 king-size bed and twin beds, sleeping maximum 2 adults and 3 children.

Garden Pool Access rooms offer direct access to the Hidden Pool from the private patio, with 1 king-size bed, sleeping maximum 2 people (children 12 years and under are not permitted in this room category).

The Garden (open for buffet breakfast and a la carte dinner; International and Asian cuisine), Veranda Beachside Restaurant (lunch and dinner, Thai and International cuisine), Sunset Hut (Cocktail Bar and light fare), Pool Bar (Swim up bar), Lobby Lounge (nightly live music).

Themed buffet nights and live entertainment available seasonally. 

4 swimming pools, plus a kids' pool with slide, and a jacuzzi pool. Spa* with 5 treatment rooms, 2 outdoor pavilions and a sauna. Kids spa*. Fitness centre. Tennis court. Kids' playground. Table tennis. Pool table. Kayaking*. Stand up paddle boarding*. Night walks. Bird watching. Regular organised activities include tie-dying, stamp ralley, fruit carving, and natural water painting. 

Complimentary WiFi throughout the resort. Souvenir shop. Beauty salon*. Babysitting*. Laundry/dry-cleaning service*. Room service*.

*Denotes local charge.

Rating summary

  • Location Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Sleep Quality Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Rooms Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Service Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Value Image of the Tripadvisor rating
  • Cleanliness Image of the Tripadvisor rating

Traveller rating

  • Excellent (964)
  • Very good (410)
  • Average (89)
  • Poor (16)
  • Terrible (14)
Image of the Tripadvisor rating Awesome

Mar 27, 2024 billie n

How anyone gives this hotel any sort of bad review is beyond me. If they have been anywhere better then let me know and I will gladly go and review it. I stayed for 3 weeks in January. The staff were outstanding. Really friendly and there were never any issues with language. Use a translator on your phone if there is. The food was far better than… Read more
How anyone gives this hotel any sort of bad review is beyond me. If they have been anywhere better then let me know and I will gladly go and review it. I stayed for 3 weeks in January. The staff were outstanding. Really friendly and there were never any issues with language. Use a translator on your phone if there is. The food was far better than I could have wished for. My room (4122) was kept spotlessly clean all the time I was there. It is nicely quiet and the grounds, beach and surrounding area were fantastic. I send my thanks to all of the staff especially Fee, Amii, Sai and Manny just to name a few. I will be back Read less
Image of the Tripadvisor rating A lovely stay in a stunning scenery

Mar 23, 2024 Johanna S

+ Landscape. Pictures don't do justice to the beautiful scenery in and around the resort. Located "in the rainforest by the sea" it's an oasis of flora and fauna. The buildings and pools (especially the ones connected to swim up rooms) integrate perfectly to the surrounding landscape and the old trees and lush greenery. The resort is built on a… Read more
+ Landscape. Pictures don't do justice to the beautiful scenery in and around the resort. Located "in the rainforest by the sea" it's an oasis of flora and fauna. The buildings and pools (especially the ones connected to swim up rooms) integrate perfectly to the surrounding landscape and the old trees and lush greenery. The resort is built on a steep hill and there are lots of stairs, steps and uneven terrain, as was expected. + We stayed in a deluxe swim up room which I can't recommend enough! The room was more of an apartment with large sleeping area, dressing area with wardrobe and a large bathroom. Especially the bathroom was a pleasant surprise, since I was not expecting much based on the pictures online. It was spacious and stylish with stone countertops and the tub was huge. You could also use a separate air conditioning for the bathroom. The terrace led to a huge private pool which was part of an artificial multi-tier waterfall/river. After seeing this, any other room wouldn't have been enough. Not even the private villas. Simply amazing! + Food was superb (best I have tasted in a thai resort??) with a huge variety of thai and asian dishes, fresh fish, fruits and plenty of other items. Hotels catering to british or middle-european tourists can be a hit or miss regarding the food but Merlin brought a delicious assortment of authentic asian food to the table both in a buffet and in an ala carte setting. There also seemed to be a good variety of "safe european choices for picky tourists", which some guests might appreciate. +/- The beach was beautiful with white, soft sand. We were happy to see sunbeds only in the resort garden and not on the beach. It was never crowded on the beach. Unfortunately on some days the presence of humans presented itself with plastic waste in the water. I would recommend the resort to set up plastic collection spots/bins since many swimmers and beachgoers cleaned up plastic items and brought them to the stone wall between the beach and garden. It would encourage more people to take care of our environment (it would take little effort to grab some trash by the waters edge and bring it to a trash bin nearby) and set a good example for other resorts by the beach. +/- The rooms were not very soundproof and sounds from outside could be heard inside very easily. On the other hand, the resort quieted down quite early in the evening and if was wonderful to wake up to birds chirping. It never bothered us during our stay but i would recommend very light sleepers to bring earplugs. +/- As for the location, the village around the hotel is small and there's not a lot you can do. The hotel taxi is appropriately priced and you can easily access Khao lak from there. I wouldn't skip this hotel because of the location, it's so worth it! +/- Service The masseuses were skilled and the spa was as beautiful as anything else in the resort. Unfortunately on one occasion during a couples treatment the two masseuses chatted and laughed with each other for the whole duration of our 90-minute treatment. There might have been some five minute silent breaks but otherwise the conversation was excessive. I compeletely understand that sometimes it is necessary to communicate with your colleague, but entire conversations should be had outside of client time. Also in educational purposes (e.g. teaching new techniques or treatments to a colleague) the communication should be discreet and quiet.. This was the first time this has happened to us during our travels. The english skills of the staff in general should be reviewed again. There was a striking difference to our last visit five years ago. I don't expect the staff to engage in an intricate conversation with the clients but basic knowledge about the language should be grasped if working in hospitality industry. This was noticeable all around the resort. It is the responsibility of the hotel management to offer extra training to staff if needed. The service in general seemed to lack certain passion or pride. This is a beautiful, well kept hotel in an amazing landscape and Thailand is renowned as "the land of smiles" but plenty of times we felt that something was missing. We never encountered rude service, but a kind of lack of intrest was felt plenty of times. I would especially like to address ladies Fee and Nook about their superb quality of service. It was a pleasure to see them working with customers. I would be so glad if the management could raise a sense of pride in the people working in the hotel and help them find the passion to strive for excellence and amazing service. Embrace the thought of "what could I do as a professional to make MY client feel welcome and appreciated". It should obviously never mean kissing anyones feet or tolerating rude behavior from customers. We would love to visit you again in the future and see that you have perfected these little details! Read less
Image of the Tripadvisor rating Quiet hotel in remote location, Fantastic food and lovely staff

Mar 22, 2024 Chris9010 Manchester, United Kingdom

Lovely hotel set in a jungle setting. Lots of wildlife to see. ( bring insect repellent, you’ll get bitten to bits). The food at this hotel was delicious, We went for the AI option which I’m not usually a fan of, but you can have exactly the same food as paying guests. Option of buffet for breakfast and dinner or a la cartè for lunch and dinner .… Read more
Lovely hotel set in a jungle setting. Lots of wildlife to see. ( bring insect repellent, you’ll get bitten to bits). The food at this hotel was delicious, We went for the AI option which I’m not usually a fan of, but you can have exactly the same food as paying guests. Option of buffet for breakfast and dinner or a la cartè for lunch and dinner . The drinks are good, you can only have local spirits, cocktails, red or white wine, most were absolutely fine. Obviously if you want the premium labels you’ll have to pay for those which is fair enough. The food is the best quality food you could ever have. The hotel is quite far away from everything in Phuket, it’s about 1 hour and 45 mins drive away, for a lot of excursions and trips meant the drive to Phuket, just something to bare in mind when booking this hotel. There are lots of German and Russian tourists, sun beds were “a thing” towels put out at 5am etc lol which was quite annoying, but c’est la vie. The hotel itself everything is closed by 11pm that’s the bar, food everything. So again if you’re looking to go crackers until the early hours you won’t be. There is a little street with a few bars and restaurants near by. The staff were all incredibly friendly. The rooms were fine clean and comfortable. The main thing I think the hotel is lacking is atmosphere it’s very quiet at dinner, needs a bit more character. The hotel has so much potential for more if they just tweaked a few things here and there. It’s excellent they are an eco hotel and care about the environment as unfortunately tourism has spoilt a lot of the islands in Thailand we visited. Read less
Image of the Tripadvisor rating Wonderful holiday at a great hotel & beautiful country.

Mar 21, 2024 Raddles123 Leigh-on Sea, United Kingdom

Myself & my wife have recently returned after spending 11 nights at Merlin Resort. We had a great stay, all the staff were wonderful & made our holiday very special. We stayed on an all inclusive basis, food was of high standard with lots of choice, waiting staff were brilliant & regularly checking if we needed a top up! Fabulous holiday in… Read more
Myself & my wife have recently returned after spending 11 nights at Merlin Resort. We had a great stay, all the staff were wonderful & made our holiday very special. We stayed on an all inclusive basis, food was of high standard with lots of choice, waiting staff were brilliant & regularly checking if we needed a top up! Fabulous holiday in beautiful Thailand, we’ll definitely be back. Read less
Image of the Tripadvisor rating Beautiful resort

Mar 21, 2024 S9621OSlindam Grantham, United Kingdom

Lovely stay at the beautiful Merlin hotel . We had a superior room , nice big comfy bed but bathroom looked very tired . Little terrace but unfortunately couldn’t use very often due to smokers at the side and below . Breakfast buffet offered plenty of choice . Lots of places to eat and drink in the little village or along the beach . Easy taxi… Read more
Lovely stay at the beautiful Merlin hotel . We had a superior room , nice big comfy bed but bathroom looked very tired . Little terrace but unfortunately couldn’t use very often due to smokers at the side and below . Breakfast buffet offered plenty of choice . Lots of places to eat and drink in the little village or along the beach . Easy taxi ride into the main area . Plenty of well spaced sun beds . All staff very friendly . Read less