Khao Lak hotels & places to stay

Location of Khao Lak is a bit out of the way - it is about 100 kms to the north (on the mainland) from Phuket Airport. Currently taxi operators charge around 1600 baht to get you to Khao Lak. Return trip is 2000 baht ex the hotel. The resort itself is at the end of the "strip" of shops/restaurants etc. that make up the township of Khao Lak, and is well signposted. We hired a car at the Phuket airport which was just the thing for our personal circumstances. Khao Lak was fairly easy to get to once we put on Google Maps, and road was very good (excellent). Plenty of parking is available at the hotel for hire cars etc. Check in was easy and quick, before a drive in their cart to our room with our luggage (and us). We were very pleased with our room, which was a Junior Suite with access to pool, lovely way to relax on the deck of the pool/room. Room is very airy and light and very clean and there was always complimentary water supplied - staff do a great job here, although one negative was that the couch in the room was not all that comfortable - it is also very low to the ground. Bed and pillow were really comfortable and suited us. The grounds are huge, and very well maintained, couldn't fault anything here at all. Plenty of activities for guests to do both inside and outside. There are a few areas of children, each one seems to cater for a different age group - and seem to be always staffed. There is a separate "joy" pool for children, which has slippery slide into the pool etc. The gym is one of the best equipped gyms I have ever come across in any of the hotels we have stayed in throughout Asia. It seems to have multiples of just about anything you would find in any working gym. At the end of the property is the beach area. The hotel has built a retaining wall fro the beach to the grassed area of the property. Many guests enjoy the walk along the beach when the tide is out. Many relaxing outdoor beds are provided for guests also all along the wall/bea

The location of this resort is great. Fantastic beach, close to the two main areas in Khao Lak but still keeping it private and quiet. The family room is great with its double rooms makes it ideal for families with little kids who want to have some space. Our girls loved to have their own space too and had all their toys and books in the second room. Things that can be improved upon is: The food - not great for a 5 star resort, definitely needs improving The service - Although the staff are extremely friendly we found ourselves having to chase them to hire water sports equipment, and often had to walk across the resort multiple times to find them. Other than that we had a great time and would definitely recommend this resort

I stayed at Apsaras toward the end of the quiet season and where other resorts close their beach bars, restaurants etc, Apsaras were still fully open. The real winner with this resort is the staff. They are so friendly and always on hand to help. The rooms are clean and comfortable. The restaurants have a good selection of food from traditional Thai to Western dishes. The menu's were also very well priced. The prices happily compared to the local restaurants in Khao Lak but the food was of a far better quality. If your looking for a relaxing resort on the West coast of Thailand then this is your place. I will return for sure.

We went to vacation at this hotel in Khao Lak and had a blast. The room was so clean and spacious. Great housekeeping services, spreading of flower petals around the bed on the second day. Love it!! Eat-all-you-can breakfast and have plenty choices of it. Definitely recommend to friends and families and will come back again if I visit to Khao Lak. We had a great time at swimming pool too.

I must admit when looking to book this hotel I wondered why there were not many reviews. After recently staying here over xmas week I now know why. I think guests want to keep this amazing resort underwraps! If your looking for a serene, peaceful holiday on stunning grounds and want to get away from touristy Khao Lak than this is your place. The resort was amazing! It is a boutique hotel hidden on the pristine white beaches of Bangask. As soon as we saw the beach my first comment was that the pictures on the internet do not do it justice. Its miles and miles of clean white beaches and blue waters. The best bit is that there is hardly anyone on the beach. (A welcome relief for the overcrowded beaches of Phuket). The resort grounds are surrounded with lush tall great plants and the infinity pool is stunning. The staff is very attentive to your needs and extremely friendly. The rooms are very large and spacious and most importantly very comfortable. With all that said I do want to give a heads up. This resort is designed for couples.It is 20 minutes outside of Khao Lak so I do suggest to hire a car or motorbike but the hotel will happily order you a taxi too if you do need to go into town. As for food we found the hotel breakfast to be very plentiful and the food delicious. If your looking for a great value for money resort and for some peace and quiet this is your resort! We will for sure be visiting again real soon. Thank you Bangsak Village for a very memorable stay.

The Casa de la Flora is a design hotel with a modern design and modern equipment. The hotel and the garden are very "straight" without the usual Thai style. The hotel is located directly at the beach; restaurants and shops are within walking distance, and Khao Lak center can be reached with a local taxi in 10 minutes. We had a Duplex Pool Suite with two floors. Living room and bathroom are on the ground floor, sleeping room and a spacious bathroom on the first floor. There is a balcony with two beds on the first floor, and a small private pool with two beds on the ground floor. The soft drinks in the mini bar are free and are refilled daily. A very nice touch is the free afternoon snack with ice tea, fruits and sandwiches. Breakfast is excellent. This is a mix of buffet and a-la-carte menu. The beach is a bit disappointing. On the beach side of the hotel is a stretch of grass with comfortable beds. There are always free beds. The actual beach is below a concrete wall with stairs. At high tide, it is not possible to swim or walk at the beach, as the sea level rises up to the wall. At low tide, there is a nice sandy beach. The hotel has a small and clean pool, with only a few beds. We went there when it was not possible to swim in the sea. The staff at the Casa de la Flora is exceptional. The service and friendliness of Van, Tui, Nueng, Boom, Ton (and many others whose names we do not remember) is difficult to exceed. The hotel is relatively small, so the service is very personal. The spa at the Casa de la Flora is nice and offers very good massages (although not cheap). Will we return? Certainly. In our opinion, the Casa de la Flora is one of the best addresses in Khao Lak.

We spent 2 weeks at the Haven for our honeymoon and 2 weeks was not enough. From the most amazing pool you will ever see to the beautiful buffet breakfast everyday to lounging by our own pool in our pool access room the Haven is perfect for anyone who wants to get away from the hustle and bustle of life and simply relax. I suggest spending the extra for a pool access room, not only is it amazing to feel like the pool is yours but we also met some amazing people while having a swim who were staying a few rooms down. Khao Lak itself we found to be very lovely, there’s so much to do and see and you don’t get the harassment that you can get in other places around Thailand. The staff at the Haven are some of the nicest people we’ve had the pleasure of meeting and they go above and beyond to make your stay an amazing one. we are already looking at deals to return to the Haven and Khao Lak very soon so to all involved at the Haven thank you for making our honeymoon an incredible one.

Sensimar is a nice hotel with 4+ star facilities and a great staff. But you should be aware that it is not an independent hotel but rather part of a German chain based in Hanover Germany. It is a high volume tourist mill filled with middle aged tourists most of whom are there on package tours. We were there at the end of the season and it was still very full. Breakfast was very crowded, staff asks you for "vouchers" for your other meals, expect to sign away your first born child for a beach towel. The night we ate the buffet dinner, we actually had staff come by in the middle of our dinner and put a little sticker on our sleeve like we were dining in a cheap cafeteria somewhere instead of an elegant resort. And you can forget about getting a glass of water with your dinner. Water is available for breakfast because it is included with your room and cheaper for them to supply bulk water on their dime, but any other time they make you buy bottled water because they can bill you for it. It is too bad that the facilities which are well maintained, the rooms which are beautiful and the staff which is friendly and helpful is marred by the package tourist mentality and policies of hotel management. It could be a really elegant place if they treated their guests graciously as well. If you are looking for a relaxed uncrowded independent experience and personalized treatment, you would be advised to select a smaller more intimate hotel. The entire Khao Lak area including the Sensimar is currently suffering from salt water intrusion into their aquifer. All of the water, pool, shower, tap is salty. They claim that the water district is working on another well but for now if you are going to Khao Lak, plan on being salty the whole trip.

After trying other hotels in Khao Lak area, we really missed the friendly environment of Ayara Villa. The staff was sincerely happy to see us again, they want to teach us Thai language. We got the same Twin Bungalow in the garden area. This time we had a problem with the hot water, it didn`t work but it was solved within half an hour. Maybe the maintenance of the resort should be done more often.

We stayed for 9 nights, our room was very spacious and clean. You can tell the hotel has been revamped recently, but they put a lot of effort in it. Our room was in the main building, facing the pool and featuring a large balcony with additional racks to hang wet clothes and towels (pool/beach towels were provided). Breakfast was simple, but enough and tasty (mix of continental and local thai/asian food). The hotel is located near the beach (second row), and within easy reach of restaurants, bars, massage parlors, a pharmacy and a doctor. There's a local market 3 days a week, and local taxis are readily available near the hotel with the destination prices clearly written on a board. If you want a pre-organized tour to visit any island or national park or go elephant riding, you can chose from a multitude of providers (since there are mostly German couples in Khao Lak most tours can optionally be booked with a German speaking guide). If want to explore on your own there are plenty of places to rent scooters from. If taking a taxi from Phuket Airport I suggest to pre-book one online (one-way ~1,200THB, max 3 ppl), it proved easier and way cheaper than trying to get one upon arrival.

on arrival we were greeted with smiles and a welcome drink. our room was very comfortable with a great bed. the resort has been well cared for and the grounds are well maintained. we received a free 15 minute massage treatment at their highly awarded spa...very nice. all other spa treatments seemed great, but too costly. khao lak is a short taxi ride away for about pp. there are great restaurants and shops to visit. very fun atmosphere to just walk around and enjoy the evening. would have easily stayed here for a month! all in all, the staff were tremendous, the location was excellent, the food was amazing, and the customer service was unparalleled to other places we have stayed in thailand; truly a 5 star resort.

khaolak emerald beach resort & spa is located in khao lak on the private beach of khao lak phang-nga facing the andaman sea. we booked “superior garden view room” (upgraded to “grand family room”) for total and stayed there with my family for 3 nights during my business trip on congress being held in same resort. it is ideal retreat for older couples and families with children allowing for a tranquil vacation. our room has been kept clean and staff has all been very friendly and considerate towards clients. the drawback was that we were accommodated on the 4th floor and it was quite difficult to climb with our 1.8-year-old baby (there is no lift in the hotel). another problem was the electricity. i happened several times, once in the afternoon which last few hours and again at the evening time. during the evening time generators were switched up to maintain electricity in the hotel and it was too noisy in our room! there are two swimming pools: one on the beach and the second with rotational tube water slide near the lagoon (family lagoon pool). there is also small sandy playground with slide and children's outdoor toys for small babies. my baby really loved to play there and it was quite difficult to pull her away afterwards. there are two restaurants: “beach club ocean grill & bar” on the beach front and “lagoon restaurant & bar” serving western-style and asian breakfast buffet. our breakfast was included in the booking but need to say without much variety. however lunch that was served in “lagoon restaurant” on behalf of organizing committee of congress was really excellent. especially i would like mention amazing dinner on monday (17 oct, 2011) with thai style seafood cuisine (crabs, shrimp, squid, and mussels) served on the beach during sunset time and thai cultural show organized by organizing committee of congress.

I picked up this hotel because it looked stylish and it did stands true to its reputation. Finding the true entrance at the back of the hotel is a little tricky for taxi coming from outside Khao Lak but it's only a matter of asking. The location is great, close to restaurants and a 5 mins walk to the beach. The rooms are spacious and with a large balcony. There is a glass partition between bathroom and bedroom. However should you choose not to share everything with your partner, there is a pull down curtain we discovered the second day for your privacy..... I found the rooms downstairs looking a little dark despite the private pool at the front. For some reasons some rooms on the right side of two of the buildings look directly into the wall of the next building. Not great planning. The gym on the roof top with view of the coast line could be great if it was better equipped but the hotel is only new I suppose. I must also mention the nice breakfast in the front restaurant and the wellness centre where I had a very good massage with Mai. The staff was very helpful and lying by the pool next to the wet bar is a very good location to be in Khao Lak.

The hotel itself is very nice. Not too many rooms, nice furnishings, pool, beachfront, excellent butler service, etc. They are ahead of the curve with several things: we really enjoyed the breakfast policy, since it extends to 6pm. One day we left early in the morning, so we skipped breakfast, but we were back around 6pm and still enjoyed a plentiful, hot meal when we needed it most! Other hotels will adopt this policy eventually, but X2 is a leader. This is the best resort along this particular stretch of Khao Lak. The other resorts next door aren't as nice and look much more claustrophobic with more competition for beach chairs. None of that here. However, once you leave the resort, the local community is dependent on low-quality tourism. Very few restaurants are cooking good, authentic food. Which is a shame, since most people travel a long way to get here and the food is often a highlight of a trip to Thailand. Also, there are tour groups coming and going that are very noisy...

Our stay at this hotel was absolutely fantastic. It's located about 1km out of Khao Lak, so the place is quiet and surrounded with gardens and palm trees. It has two pools and a private access to the beach (sunset beach, if it's not cloudy you can see really nice sunsets from the beachfront). We booked a mountain view room and got upgraded to a deluxe room, which was huge and just perfect, impeccably clean, with a lot of light and a couple of steps away from the pool(s) and the beach. The staff was very friendly and tried to help us in every possible way. I got sick one day and they even called a doctor (without charge) so he could tell us what medicines to aks for at the pharmacy. If there is a downside regarding the staff, it is their poor English skills, which can make communication a bit slow and tiring at times. For us, this was not much of an issue, but you should take it into consideration. The other services of the hotel are as great as the rooms and the satff. The massages at their spa are superb and not too overpriced; the same applies to the restaurant and poolbar. We strongly recommend the hotel to people who don't mind a 15-20 minute walk (or a 2 minutes and 100 baht tuk-tuk ride) to Khao Lak center. It is great value for money!! Oh! There are a lot of cats running around the hotel (reeeeally many of them) who seem to be cared for by the staff, I assume so they get rid of little mice and rats / snakes or whatever creepy thing might be lurking ir the gardens... If I'm right, it certainly works off great :) Anyways, keep the cat issue in mind before booking, and although very friendly and educated they are everywhere, even at the restaurant...

We stay after 2 years again, in the JW Marriott and we would recomend it everytime again. We stay this time 4 weeks in different Hotels in Khao Lak ( Katilia - JW Marriot - Mukdara) but the best is JW Marriott, even the expensiest one! The BEST Breakfast wich we had in Thailand is in JW Marriot and believe me, we try a lot of Hotels in Thailand because we travel a lot around..... Staff very friendly, and helpfull,. The Poolarea is the longest/ biggest wich you maybe ever saw. The only negative Point is, .. noisy Kids . But the Area is so big,, so you will find allways a quiet Place. We will come back in this Hotel and also in the Katilia ( in Future it will be a Robinson Resort) But never we will come back in the Mukdara Resort (where we stay now for 5 days), because if you make such perfect Experiences with JW Marriott or Katilia, its only a worst Experience to finish you Trip.... in Khao Lak.

The hardest reviews to write are the ones for hotels that were everything you could have wanted and more. Purely because adjectives to describe perfection are limited and overused. This is precisely the case with C&N Resort. In all my travels throughout Thailand this was the one destination I had not planned to go to. It was a mistake, but one I have had the luck to be extremely glad I made. If you're after a relaxing, 5-star getaway with excellently prepared fresh food grown on the premises, friendly service that goes over and above the call of duty, quiet and clean surroundings and air conditioned beach huts on unspoilt fine white sandy beaches (that are swept by hotel staff in the morning!), then I cannot recommend C&N highly enough. Every facility offered was of the best standard, the huts were simple but stylish, safe and secure with all mod-cons necessary. No mini-bar, but believe me, you won't need it. The hotel restaurant serves excellent dishes and I took to asking the waitress to just bring whatever she recommended for the night. Their signature cocktail, the C&N Sunset is also pretty sensational. But be prepared to relax! It's a small island, not much going on unless you like to walk (a scooter will take you 'round the entire island in a day). This is no party island. It's for grown-ups that enjoy a peace and quiet in a sophisticated setting. If I could have extended my visit and stayed here for the entire month I would have been one perfectly content woman. Go - before the hordes ruin the heavenly tranquility. A taxi from the north of Phuket on Highway 44 to Nam Kem Pier, past Khao Lak, cost (+/- 1.5 - 2hrs from Phuket airport - estimate +/- 68km). From pier take ferry or long-tail to Kho Khao Island and tuk tuk to hotel .

Best beach in Khao Lak without a doubt ! It may be a short ride into town, but what is really in Khao Lak town ?? Not much that we were interested in ! The night market is in Bang Nieng (excuse the spelling) which isn't far and a great place to visit, but I wouldn't want to stay there, Kantary was just brilliant ! to be honest, it is a bit rough around the edges, it is so close to being 5* but is to Thai ! lol. It needs a lick of paint and a spring clean in the communal areas, but if your not super posh you'll love it ! The people that work there are lovely, whatever you give them in time and friendship they will give back 10 fold !! the food is quality and happy hour in the bar 7-8 is a added plus ! plus if you want, you can have a short walk down the beach to White Sands Beach resort, which isn't a touch on Kantary but the food has a more local feel to it and there is another restaurant next door which is great too ! try the bananas in coconut milk ! one of our fav's ! The pool is great the water sports equipment is cheap and you'll get a free lesson from the staff !! I needed it, when trying to remember how to windsurf ! excellent ! We hired a moped for the time we were there, We went to all the beaches and quite a few hotels and all in all I think weighing everything up, for the time of year we were there (I say that, as things might be different if the hotel was fully occupied) We loved the fact that we had pool to ourselves (sometimes!) and the staff had more time to talk etc. hope the review helps, we stayed 10 nights Nov 4th - Nov 14th 2014.

This small resort is situated in a beautiful and well-kept garden close to a quiet, dead-end street parallel to the beach. Take a few steps around the corner, and you are in the middle of everything in Khao Lak. G&N opened in November 2012. It is spotless, clean, well-run and has a quiet and laid-back familiar atmosphere. The bungalows are somewhat basic, but clean and delicate. New towels and bed-sheets every day. The pool is small, but well-designed, clean and beautiful with sunbeds and parasols. Free-to-use pool-towels. Car-, motorbike- and mountain-bike rental. Do you like mountain-biking? There are many roads and paths to explore in Khao Lak. Ask the manager, mr. Promta. He's a cyclist himself! But have an early start and be home before 9-9.30 a.m. as the temperature rises quickly after sunrise. The staff is helpful, nice, polite and does what is possible to meet your requirements. The manager, mr. Chutikul Promta, is almost always present, pleasant, personal and discrete. Gerd & Noi Resort is the place for us to stay when we return to Khao Lak the next time!

We took a normal double room and we got upgraded to a pool villa and it was so nice! The room was full of little details and it was just awesome to have a pool only for us... Altough jacuzzi in the pool was "broken" (or they were just too lazy to turned it on). The bathroom is huge, full of light, there is a bath and two showers: an indoor and an outdoor one, which is in a private garden with very tall walls around. We went there during low season so we could't enjoy most of the activities provided by the resort, like the pool bar, the activities in the gym, etc, but we have to say the the resort is really stunning. You can park in the resort carpark and never move the car again. The resort start from the beach and reach the main road: from our villa it was closer to walk to the main road than to walk to the car park! When we checked in and out the staff came to pick us up with a golf cart so we didn't have to walk far with the luggage. As every resort in Thailand, the food is nice but the reastaurant is really overpriced (like everything in Khao Lak) so it's better to avoid it and eat outside. There are a dozen restaurants just outside the hotel, on the main road, much cheaper.

Loved this hotel, staff were so genuine and the most nicest people ever. Breakfast was good, location was good only 10 min walk to the village bangniang and taxi ride for around 250bht to town which is a bit further I think too long to walk. Chong Fah waterfall about 7km away , well Worth a visit. White Sand beach is the Nicest beach we thought but again taxi ride away for 300bhart. We stayed 7nights and our room was a pool room which was great.overall if I visit Khao Lak again, this hotel would be my first choice.

We stayed here for 4 nights at the beginning of the low season so it was pretty quiet but that suited us perfectly, It is in a quiet location out of Khao Lak anyway. There are lots of nice beaches close by. Better if you have your own transport but there are bicycles as well. Nice included breakfast and the pools are big and clean. Big rooms with balconies and comfy beds.

we had a wery nice stay at the kib, after tre days in kata/karon area we traveled up to khao lak and to the kib, witch is on a small island abot 20 mins.from khao lak. it's a realy nice hotel with great pools and a lovely beach without to many people and lots of spase ;) if you're intersted in loud city life this is not for you, but if you're loking for total relaxation and a quiet place the kib is the place to go

If you really want to get away for a few days and be pampered in isolation, this is the perfect resort. Located on an 11km private beach in Khao Lak, this place was great down to every detail. Food was amazing, every appointment was provided for us, they even sent a car to pick us up at our previous hotel 2 hours away. You can customize your stay from the basic up to thousands of dollars per day. My only complaints involve the rain (monsoon season now) and a caveat...this place is amazing but you really wouldn't want more than week there without getting out and travelling around everyday unless all you want to do is sit on the beach and read. Oh - and if you're a shell collector, I found enough on the beach to open a gift shop...