Amari Phuket

We stayed in room 6208 at the top of the hill, near the club house and this is our 6th time at the Amari Phuket, 3rd with the children. 2 adults and 2 children (10 and 12 for context from the south of the UK), we had a 2-bedroom apartment with access to the Club House, hotel transfers and half board as a package for 13 nights in March 2024. Arrival – Ok, plane was late, traffic to the hotel has got far worse since our last visit pre Covid, think it was close to 90 minutes, but the hotel arranged pick up worked very well. Eric checked us in, being late the restaurants had shut. Room service in the room does not have a paper menu, we later found you must download the Onyx application, and you can use that or just take potluck like we did. The Room – we had the balcony this time, did not use it much (vast), but nice in the morning with the excellent view of the sea and the sound of birds (possibly monkeys) and other things. Few bits missing from our room on arrival, it felt like it had not been prepared 100% for our arrival, such as the beach bag was missing for example. The Club House – This makes us come back to the Amari hotel in Phuket, BooBoo and his team work very hard (big shout out to the whole team as they are so friendly and engaging we really enjoyed the conversations about their lives and what they do outside of work), amazing after 5 years to be greeted with a massive smile and welcome back – we were pleasantly taken a back that they remembered our family, but even more so straight of the bat without even any hmm I sort of recognise them let me think. Breakfast has improved since 2019, all improved ala carte, great choices from European, Middle East, Asian with endless fresh juices, huge variety of fruit and juicy mango cut up by the chef on demand. The kids loved being able to choose such as variety of options. Lunch at the club house is also fantastic with the Thai dish of Sea Bass being very addictive, such a great view and friendly service from the club house team (cold towels, ice cold water). It feels like a home from home to us. The best bit is the 17:30-18:30 inclusive evening drinks and light food offerings, we were never mad on the snacks on the table, but the chef excelled with the roast lamb, mushroom gravy which was superb for example. During the day soft drinks, fresh fruit, peanuts by the club house pool created a very relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere for a few hours. Kids can go in the pool; adults can chill with a cocktail / fresh water. Staff on hand to top up your cold water on demand etc., The Rim Taley restaurant, we had opted for half board as we did when the children were younger (younger children are either free or reduced cost), on reflection we would not choose this now as we would want more flexibility next time – children are older and hence no cost benefit this time but the food themed nights or the ala carte have all sorts of options, Butchers night still being the favourite for the children – fish or Australian meats cooked on the BBQ to demand. The staff are very good, sorry I should have taken some names to mention but forgot. It was hot/humid when we stayed as the wind dropped at night at sea level and without a fan next to your outside table it was warm sat there, you can sit inside if you want but being by the sea that seems wrong but is cooler. We did eat in the La Gritta the night of my son’s 13th Birthday, so it was nice he got a little cake and staff (plus lots of other diners) sang happy birthday. The food was good, just quite a lot of it put us off (probably again the humidity and sitting outside by the beach ruined our appetites that evening). If you like Italian, you should try it. Other highlights, the on-site Spa is excellent, book a treatment and you wont regret it. My daughter had her hair braded by the women on the beach, not officially part of the hotel but they offer massages etc., - good value and easy to consume as near the main pool area. Jet skis / Long tailed boats can be purchased – nothing to do with the hotel so make your own assessment of those. They don’t have a water facility at the Rim Talay pool area anymore, ordering drinks is best done in person, if you use the app don’t be in a hurry as on average this took 20+ minutes to see any drinks. Pizza is good at lunchtime. Quick shout out to Rosie, who works as customer liaison, very engaging, excellent English having come back to Thailand from working in Oz. Helped us with a few things and always had a big smile, stopped to chat with the family. Leaving – I messed up and stated the leave time for the hotel minibus – as per the arrival assume the journey to the airport will take much longer than expected, we arrived 48 mins before our flight to Dubai left – they were about to close the desk – avoid the stress and allow 2hrs for the physical drive from the Amari to the airport due to the traffic. Overall – We still love the Amari Hotel, we treat it a bit like a holiday home in the APAC (now Covid is history we can start coming back again), we will return hopefully in 2025 at the same time as Songkran – it is fun playing water fights etc, we named our daughter after the hotel, so says it all – Amari! Amari Hotel Management – When budgets future allow, please get rid of the diesel transport to the rooms, it is noisy, uncomfortable and the back draft of burnt diesel is not the best at certain times in the rear – given the steep climb electric replacements with natural high torque would suit this task very well and be far more relaxing for the guests. The current electric golf carts are brilliant and have nice, padded seats they just don’t seem to get used muchfor guests anymore, even if you ask nicely. Read less

Wonderful hotel with excellent and friendly staff. The hotel and facilities are attractive and clearly well maintained. Our room had stunning sea front views, with a large balcony and outdoor sofa. Very comfortable bed and an extensive ‘pillow menu’ was a nice touch. Really liked how the hotel was set over several different levels which made it interesting to walk around with unique views from the many different bars and places to sit. It won’t appeal to some with mobility issues, but there are golf carts to help. The breakfast was a real highlight, a huge array of options, all extremely high quality. We only ate at La Gritta, which has excellent views. The pizza was good - not exceptional - and being within the hotel was slightly more expensive than other restaurants locally. Paying for the view was more than worth it though. Patong itself is extremely lively, to say the least and will not appeal to all. But, being tucked away at the southern end of the beach, this didn’t prove an issue and indeed being at the edge of Patong does have advantages in terms of numerous restaurants and bars. It’s not difficult to get trips over to Phang Nga Bay or Phi Phi, we were collected from the hotel and it was around 30 minutes to the marinas where the trips seem to depart. We only stayed for a couple of nights before moving elsewhere but we wished we’d stayed longer! Read less

Great resort by the bay, tucked away from the town. Though near to Patong beach its on a hill top. Most of the rooms are away from the hotel lobby, on the slopes of a hill top. People with mobility issues will find it difficult due to many steps and uneven landscape. Rim Talay restaurant is superb for breakfast. Great service from Jeab and Pla, they looked after us so well. Excellent care and customer service. Read less