Khao Lak Bhandari Resort & Spa

Came here after a stint in Bangkok and was in awe of the detail and attention that went in to all aspects of this hotel. The decor was superb and the staff were absolutely brilliant! Would absolutely recommend this hotel to anyone coming to Khao Lak!

I know lots of people have written glowing reviews about Bhandari and I can see why, the buildings, gardens, ponds and style are gorgeous. Unfortunately the place is dirty and grubby ....everywhere...... including some of the waiting staff. Surfaces are not cleaned, the breakfast kitchen floor was shocking, sun beds are never washed down, the pool floor was dangerously slippy from sun cream, (I slipped over), the paths are stained with dirt and rooms are given a cursory sweep. However, rooms are a good size and would be awesome if cleaned and the shower heads replaced with ones that give you a shower..... some practical storage space would be good and moving the safe off floor level would also be good. The place needs a good scrub down to take it from grubby to stunningly rustic. I am amazed other people haven’t noticed this in their reviews. I feel perhaps the staff are over worked and underpaid and therefore there is a total lack of genuine energy towards people and the property. The female staff particularly, the men seemed to work very hard without scowling or pulling faces. We received no smiling welcome and when we left no ‘we hope you enjoyed your stay or thank you for staying with us’. The hotel is close to the beach, but it’s quite a rough sea, beautiful to watch. It’s about 5 mins away from the main strip.... do not expect public transport there isn’t any... it’s expensive tuk tuks all the way. If you don’t plan on leaving the hotel that’s fine, but if you have gone for a bit of an adventure don’t go here, there are only a few interesting things to do via tuk tuk... the Chong fa waterfall and market. Full day trip to Khao Sok national park with the elephants via a tour operator is a must do.... a few days in this resort is all you need, but I wouldn’t recommend staying here. I might add my son had 2 massages in the spa section and the staff in this part of the hotel were awesome, very polite, welcoming, professional and worth it. A credit to the hotel, if the rest of the hotel had been managed as well I’d have given it a rave review.