TUI BLUE Mai Khao Lak

We stayed here for two weeks in early January on a TUI package holiday. We went for the bed and breakfast board in the adults only section and had a good, relaxing holiday. I would describe the hotel as functional and practical rather than luxurious. It is generally very clean and well maintained. The staff are extremely friendly and helpful and went out of their way to help us several times. The TUI reps were also on site everyday and keen to help us make the most of our holiday. The Wifi is free and works well everywhere. Air conditioning in the room was very good (it needs to be because Thailand is very hot 24/7 and all year round). There’s also a free to use safe in the room. Average age of guests is quite young - most were in their 30s, predominantly families with children, although there were also plenty of couples of all ages. Most guests seemed to be from Scandinavia, with just a few from the UK and other northern European countries. Breakfast in the Buffet Restaurant was probably the largest and best hotel breakfast buffet I’ve ever had. There was a huge variety of fruit and Thai food alongside the usual full English and continental breakfasts. Although we were on bed and breakfast only, we also paid for the occasional lunch and dinner or drinks in the hotel but we mostly relied on the restaurants and bars on the beach, which were a little bit cheaper and better than the hotel food. Sharky’s Bar was the best place to eat out of these - turn right when you get to the beach and it’s a short and easy walk to the end of the track. If you go outside the hotel into Bang Niang or Khao Lak the food is cheaper still and just as good. There are two gyms, a large one below reception and a small one in the spa area - both had modern equipment and were a pleasure to use. The only negative point was the shower and bath area in the our room which was badly designed and leaked every time we used it. From other reviews, this seems to be a problem in a lot of the rooms and the hotel really should sort this out. There’s plenty to do during the day - several big swimming pools, games like tennis, volleyball and water polo plus some free classes on the beach, such as yoga and tai chi or Thai boxing for kids. The hotel backs onto Pak Weep beach, which is a very nice stretch of sand with plenty of space and shade. There’s not much nightlife - the kids entertainment in the early evening is well attended but other musicians didn’t draw much of a crowd. The location of the hotel is a little isolated. Apart from the restaurants and minimart by the beach, there’s nothing else in easy walking distance. This is fine if you just want to relax, enjoy the hotel activities and aren’t bothered about doing much else, but most people will want to go out and see more of Thailand at some point. You would have to be very brave to hire a car here (because the locals drive like maniacs) and the extreme heat makes covering long distances on foot quite difficult so we were heavily reliant on the hotel’s free mini bus service and organised tours to get out and about. Khao Lak is a district rather than a single town and is made up of a few villages dotted along a stretch of Highway 4. The hotel minibus runs to the Khao Lak centre (called Nang Thong in our guidebook) during the day. There are plenty of bars, restaurants and shops there. If you ask nicely, the minibus driver will drop you off on the way at Bang Miang, which has a good market, the Tsunami museum and the famous Moo Moo cabaret, but you will have to get a taxi on the way back (easily available from the front of the market for 300 bahts). In my opinion the best things about Thailand as a holiday destination are the Thai food, which is wonderful, and the people who are so friendly and genuine and very professional. I would recommend this hotel and also getting out and about to see the real Thailand - we did the Similan Islands and Khao Sok National Park tours which were amazing adventures.

Lovely! Brilliant for families with kids. Perfect with restaurants at the beach. Also very nice to lay in the natural shade of the trees on the beach. Try the restaurant Be friend. We ate there almost everyday.