TUI BLUE Khao Lak Resort

This wonderful resort far exceeded our expectations. It can be easy to find ho hum service at these sorts of resorts, but the staff here did an exceptional job minding the details and being on top of things. The resort also had the benefit of having a perfect beachfront, in a quiet, pristine cove with plenty of sand and gentle swimming areas. The resort can feel pretty sleepy and low-key, and there wasn't much conversation between we Americans and the largely German travelers. I think that's a product of the small size of the resort. The breakfast buffet fulfilled our wildest, glutinous fantasies. I wasn't crazy about most of the other food, which tended to be pretty uninspired. All in all, a fantastic stay.

We spent 2 weeks in this little paradise and I've never been so sad to leave somewhere! This was our first time in Thailand and it won't be our last! I have to start with the negatives though.. Check in - When we arrived we was greeted with drinks and a cold towel which was lovely but once we sat down in the lounge it was very confusing to what was going on , the young girl was great and trying but it was very hard to understand the process - over complicated then to top it off we was told our rooms wouldn't be ready until 2pm - it was 7 am at this time and after 14 hours of travelling all you want is a shower and changed of clothes! After an hour and a half of exploring i went and asked reception who advised our room would be ready in 20 mins! So if we didn't ask we could of been hanging around until 2pm?!... i understand it may be policy but we're all expected to arrive so the rooms should be ready for us. Now the positives :) Rooms- We stayed in room 4611 - the room was brilliant , kept very clean by the maids and 2 bottles of water replaced everyday, big comfy bed , large fridge which is so handy for stocking up , hairdryer, Kettle with coffee and tea , nice sized balcony. Air con worked perfectly and was definitely needed! Nice sized bathroom with a great walk in shower. Everything you need in there dental kits , cotton buds , razors etc, I have to agree with previous reviews about the lighting , very dim lighting for such a big room , it had 2 spotlights when it needed 4. Hotel Grounds - The hotel grounds are immaculate , really nice scenery and well kept gardens , well signed posted too which we find helpful at first , there was always someone sweeping up and maintenance men constantly working away to keep the standard so high. I loved the little pond in the middle near the restaurant with a water feature where both the resident Lizards live! The lobby and reception area was spotless , always smelt amazing too- the toilets in the lobby bar were always so so clean. Really handy having the mini market in the lobby too , selling water , soft drinks , beers, snacks and suncreams. Pool/Beach- There are 3 main pools in this hotel , we spent most of our pool time at the main pool , always plenty of sunbeds to choose from and i liked the hotels no reserving policy - more hotels should follow suit! Nice large clean pool, with a swim up bar in the centre serving all kinds of drinks - happy hour everyday at 3pm too! The waiter also comes to take drink orders and you can also order drinks through the app which are brought straight to your beds! There was a lot of nice sunbeds just on the beach - as its law that sunbeds can't be on the beaches due to being in a national park - these beds were in the shade under trees but so relaxing and the amazing golden beach is on your doorstep. Food and Drink- The main restaurant was nice , clean and big , always plenty of seats and a nice bit to the right hand side where you could eat outside rather than under the canopy , We stayed half board which included breakfast and dinner you get pink coupons for your dinner each night- The breakfast was very good - always a good choice on display , bacon , eggs , pancakes , cereal , yogurt , fruit and the staff were constantly bringing you coffee to your table. We had dinner here a few nights and again it was very impressive , lots of great starter bits , prawns , satay chickens etc then there was various themed evenings through out our stay putting on some amazing colourful flavour , massaman and Thai red curries stood out for me, We had lunch some days which you can order from the main restaurant /pool bar/ beach bar , some really nice western choices for lunch , burgers , wraps , sandwiches , pizza all very nice and well presented. The beach bar was a nice location for evening drinks , a few tables just on the beach make a lovely evening view , plenty of selection for cocktails , beers , teas/coffees and happy hour was 9pm- 10pm! I did think the drinks were expensive - this is when you compare to drinks outside of the hotel but its expected everywhere i guess. In case anyone was wondering how you pay for drinks ( as this wasn't explained to us at check in ) you sign your bill after each drink and this is added up to your final bill which you pay at check out. Entertainment - I think the hotel missed a trick with the entertainment as the singers etc were booked in the pool bar area ( main pool ) but they'd still have happy hour at the beach bar 9pm - 10 pm so everyone was at the beach bar leaving hardly anyone watching the singers - It would be better if the happy hour was at the pool bar or have more booked at the beach bar as this was more popular - such as the fire show which was excellent and the beach bar was packed - good atmosphere! Location- This hotel is in a brilliant location - one of the first hotels starting the strip into Khao Lak town, meaning a great walk down the strip to all the shops and restaurants. There are some brilliant places to go out and eat - the ones just across the hotel for a start are amazing! The Golden Elephant and Everyday - we went to both of these and the food was superb and very well priced! Right opposite the hotel next to the Golden Elephant there is a Cocktail bar ( its called cocktail bar) which had so many amazing cocktails for just 99 Baht each! Highly recommend as its a lot cheaper and high quality cocktails. About a 10 minute walk away there is a supermarket which i walked down to most mornings to stock up on waters , drinks etc - again this is ideal to bulk buy as its cheaper than the mini market in the hotel. This hotel was about 1 hour 20 minutes away from Phuket airport. Staff- The staff here deserve a huge mention , The staff from the restaurant /beach bar and pool bar really go above and beyond to look after you and make your experience is stress free , nothing is too much and they're just the friendliest people constantly greeting you and saying hello, i'd walk through reception and they would stop whatever they're doing to greet you, its so refreshing to see constant happy smiling faces , they take pride and seem happy to be there. Particular mentions to Beau - Dom- Pie and Nid. Excursions- We booked our holiday with TUI so we booked our trips through the rep- There is a trip through TUI called Khao Sok Eco Tour and i can't recommend this enough - the main part of this trip is visiting the Elephant sanctuary which was a life experience bathing and feeding these beautiful creatures. The trip also involved bamboo rafting through the jungle - its a long day but so worth it. The other trip we went on involved going to James Bond island which is very cool indeed , wonderful scenery. Overall this was one of the best hotels we've ever stayed in and we have completely fell in love with Thailand and are already planning our return, we would come back to this hotel in a heartbeat as the atmosphere was great , this hotel was full of couples old and young and is mainly northern Europeans - ideal for everyone i'd say with so much choice in the hotel and even more outside the hotel to explore. I hope to see you in the future ( near future hopefully! )