We spent 12 nights at this fantastic resort over Christmas and New Year and had a really memorable time.
We had looked at several options in Thailand and chose The Racha because it looked to be a fairly tranquil yet modern ‘barefoot’ destination, away from the masses and pollution on Phuket. We had read about the 45 minute boat trip to get to the island so were not surprised when asked to don life jackets and were warned that it might be a little rough in the bay – if you don’t like boat trips don’t chose to visit an island that you can only reach by boat!! All the little touches made the difference, cold towels and water in our private transfer from Phuket airport to the reception by the quay – the cooling drinks offered when we arrived on the island – and being shown straight to our villa without the usual check in hassle all made a favourable impression.
Our Grand Deluxe Villa had sea glimpses when we arrived - on our return to the villa that evening the gardeners had come and trimmed down some of the foliage so that our view was improved! This really set the tone for the service over the rest of our stay. The staff, to a person, so friendly and helpful. There were little gifts left on our bed every night, fab tunes on the complimentary ipod to listen to, fresh fruit in our villa every day, complimentary bottles of wine... The Christmas Eve dinner on the lawns, with wonderful food, fireworks, and lanterns on our first night, set the tone for what was an amazing holiday. The attention to detail, friendly staff (from the poolside waiter who remembered our favourite cocktails to the general manager who made such an effort to make us welcome, stopping by in the bar or on the beach for a chat). We enjoyed several treatments in the beautiful spa, and took our pick each day between the 'garden' pool (where we were often the only guests), the infinity pool overlooking the beach, or beachside loungers reserved for hotel guests.
What a privilege to be staying in such a unique and picturesque setting that day trippers want to come and spend time enjoying it too! We did visit Patong on Phuket for some retail therapy but could not wait to get back to The Racha. We enjoyed people watching each day, but when we tired of that, what a bonus to find another stunning, and less populated beach, a five minute walk from the hotel.
The food here is not mentioned by many reviewers: we were stunned by the freshness, choice and quality of everything we ate! I love cooking and can be quite critical of poor food standards but each meal we had was freshly made, carefully cooked to order and served with considerable pride and attention to detail. Wonderful. Although most of the wine list appeared at first glance to be at the (wrong) edge of our budget, we were guided by the bar staff and soon found bottles that were affordable and drinkable – The Racha ‘own label’ house whites and red were surprisingly good (the red was left in our villa as a gift and, when we drank it another one replaced it the next day!) The daily breakfast buffet was easily one of the best I’ve ever experienced (certainly with the widest choice of foods to cater for visitors from all over the globe).
The New Year's Eve gala was a triumph - spectacular displays of food and stations with chefs ready to make anything to order from a spicy Thai salad to lobster Thermidor. The staff had rehearsed hard and gave us a very entertaining ‘variety’ show. The house band accompanied them. The fireworks at midnight, and being able to see the New Year in, barefoot in the sand, on this beautiful island’s shore, were particular highlights.

We saved hard for a special holiday – our first proper trip together – and wanted to ‘get away’ from all the hassle and bad weather in England over Christmas and New Year; we will not be able to take a holiday like this again for a long time. It was worth every penny. Thank you everyone at The Racha for a truly memorable start to 2012. We’ll be back one day – we hope.
Richard & Alex xx

We have just spent 7 nights in a sea view villa. The villa was absolutely stunning with every amenity such as flat screen 40" tv enormous DVD library and very up to date. The staff were very courteous and made you feel like millionaires, all under the guidance of the GM Mr. Tan and his deputy Bandid. I saw them both carrying out checks of villas, pools, restaurants and ensuring the quality of service for guests. The managers cocktail party was an excellent idea and brought guest and staff together. We will definitely return next year.
David and Barbara

we stayed at the best pool villa with the best view of the hotel but the room wasn't that clean it needed few touches.the bed was hard the pool was cold the food was average. still the view was Great and the beach ia very beautiful but i don't.recommend this.hotel for honeymoon go to a more boutique hotel.like trisara this willl not have as good a beach.as this but will have the greatest attention the greatest food and the most private villa i have been to

We stayed in two beach front pool villas in January of 2011. On arrival we were greeted at the Phuket marina where we were told to wait two hours for the private Racha boat to take us to the island. The transfer was very nice, they gave us drinking water and we were there in about 40mins. The hotel rooms themselves are very clean and modern. Although our private plunge pools were hidden away at the back of the villa. We thought this design a little strange as there was such nice ocean views from the front and it was a shame to be locked away out the back. The service was adequate but there was a lack of decent restaurants. We found going to a local restaurant behind the hotel had far better Thai food. The cocktails served by the pool and at the lobby bar were extremely weak... Not much alcohol gets put into them at all!! Again....check out the local bars for better value.

The biggest dissapointment was the number of day trippers who visit the island each and every day. From 10am to 4pm the beach is packed!!!!! And I'm not exaggerating! They say that the hotel is sealed off from the public....but on multiple occasions we saw them using hotel facilities. Just a warning.....if its a quite, tranquil, private holiday your after....this island proberly isn't what your after. I would classify it as more of a family holiday destination.
We ended up walking 30mins each morning to find a quiter beach... The numbers of people were just ridiculous! The hotel says its trying to cut down the day trippers....and until it does...I wouldn't go back!