We checked into Arinara at around 9:30pm after our flight arrived in to Phuket late evening. We had booked the Grand Pool Access Pool View room for 10 nights which was booked direct with Arinara 4 months prior. My travel partner had also emailed the week before to confirm our booking. Upon arrival we were told the TV and air conditioning in our room needed to be fixed and that for the first night we were downgraded to a cheaper room with the promise we would be moved into our booked room at 12:30pm the next day. As compensation they offered us a 1,000 baht credit to use in the resort and a free dinner. We were tired so we accepted this. Next day we arrived at reception at 12:30pm regarding moving into our room only to be told by a different front desk staff that the room wasn’t ready as previous guests had not vacated. We were instantly annoyed that we had been lied to regarding the reason the room wasn’t free when we arrived. It then became clear to us that the resort had overbooked which we confronted them about - they just seemed confused and kept apologising. We were told to come back at 2pm. We waited around and returned at 2pm to find once again the room still wasn’t ready. It finally became ready at 3pm after we became quite annoyed with staff over this. They offered us a second free dinner voucher at this point. It felt like we had wasted the first day of our holiday waiting to move into our booked room. In the time we were waiting for our room we also met another family who had been on our flight and checked in the same night who also had the same issue and were downgraded to another room for the night - they had booked the same Grand Pool Access room as us and were equally annoyed. Unfortunately it appears they have an issue with overbooking these more expensive pool access rooms. We used the the free dinner and to be honest it was rather disappointing - the food was not great and there was only 4 dishes to choose from in the dinner buffet. We didn’t even bother using the second free dinner voucher. The breakfast buffet was amazing - lots of variety and I loved the fresh omelettes and scrambled eggs. The bacon however was bland like cardboard and certainly didn’t taste like bacon from home. We ate breakfast early every morning so the buffet was fresh and uncrowded - my recommendation is go early. The gardens around the resort are nice and I loved the hammocks to laze in under the palms. The resort is right on the beach which was perfect and the beach was lovely with lots of choices for dinner and massages just a short walk up the beach. I also hired a stand up paddle board and the lovely guy from Arinara was very helpful in giving me tips on how to use it and where to go. I felt the cleaning of our room was good and all the staff minus the front desk were friendly and genuine. The front desk staff were friendly - I just don’t appreciate being lied to. I was happy with our room - it was bright and spacious for two people. The pool however could do with a thorough clean. There was patches of green algae and mould on the edges around the swim out pool near our room and as others have mentioned some broken tiles in some spots. Had we not been lied to regarding our room on the first night I probably would have stayed here again in the future but unfortunately after this experience when I come back to Thailand again I will try another resort.…
Arinara resort has every facility you need. It’s exceptionally clean, has fabulous pools and dining facilities and the staff are very helpful. It is located on a beautiful beach with loads of dining options dotted all along. We upgraded and had a pool outside our balcony.
This was our third stay at this hotel, and we enjoyed every minute of it. The hotel has a well-developed infrastructure, very well accommodating for families. The staff was very friendly, welcoming and supportive. We can’t name all of them, but would like to thank Mr.Ikkiew who saw us off this morning.
Our whole family (2 adults, 1 x 11yo, 1 x 8yo) loved the experience of staying here for a week in March. I really don’t understand how anyone could not have a positive experience. The staff were absolutely lovely at all times. Even the security guard at the back gate offered to take a family photo for us. The pick up from the airport was fine-not the most luxurious van, but good enough. The trip took about 25min. Reception area Is unfortunately quite warm all the time. Very clean & comfortable otherwise though. Fish in pond fun for kids to watch. Our room (ground floor block 5), facing the main pool area was very very clean & had two king beds separated by a half wall. We had a kettle & 2 mugs & 2 cups with tea & coffee. Each day we were given 4 small bottles of water-whether we had used them from the day before or not. There were 4 beach towels & a bath mat supplied also. Towels & sheets are fairly worn-but this was not a problem, just mentioning for full disclosure. No problems with noise while we tried to sleep-only noise was from corridor and rude people walking along in the evening. But never broke our sleep. No noises through the walls to rooms beside. The beds were very very comfortable, we slept so well. The small pool outside the room is not technically private but only 5 rooms share it, & while we were there not many other people used it. It got quite a bit of shade so it was a lovely option for us if we were avoiding too much sun exposure. Speaking of sun, room curtains kept our room nice & dark any time we wanted. Main pools are fantastic-both shallow for toddlers & deeper (1.2m) for the rest of the pools. Loads of space for everyone even when busy. Buffet breakfast was one of the highlights for us-everything you could want & then some, & always plenty of it. There’s a cart serving iced thai tea/coffee/chocolate which is lovely. Again, staff excellent. I am lactose intolerant & my only milk option was soy which was in a warming pot (not appetising) so I just had my lactase tablets. ***lactose free cows milk is hard to find in Thailand in my experience*** There’s shuttles to the night market in boat avenue which you should definitely go to, about 300 baht each way via tuk tuk (my 8 year old says it’s the o my way to travel!). You have to book …
We are here for the coffee at starbucks and dinner at the Beach restaurant . There is very impress us about the good location of the resort which is right to the bangtai beach with stunning view during the sunset, the yummy food and friendly staff
The best hotel ever and most off the staff are friendly especially the beach staff love their hotel for sure will be back and love to drink at the beach and enjoy with the Dj and they have Starbucks too and room are very clean.
Good for family hotel ,good staff , good cleaning,best view,good food and delicious,friendly staff and service .recommend for family a lot of activities in the hotel we will surely to be back again they also hav Starbucks on the beach very good
We enjoyed our stay at Arinara. We have travelled a lot in Thailand and were slighly uncertain if Arinara was going to be good enough as it was rated 3,5 stars with TUI. Many times in 3 star hotels rooms are worn out and breakfast is not that vast. Neither was a problem with Arinara. We were offered a room in building 2, facing the pool bar, but we asked to be moved and got building 5. Rooms are big and in quite good shape, i.e. not worn out. Cleaning was very good. Yes, mostly in the afternoons, but not a problem to us. There seemes to be lack of towels at the hotel. Most of the time we did not get all towels or got two sets of pool towels also to be used in the room etc. Beds are good to sleep on, not all too hard. Pillows high and hard, we had a couple of own pillows with us that we left behind ad a common and identified problem in Thailand unless you go to a 5 star hotel with pillow menu. In building 5 balconies with pool view have natural shade most of the day, which we liked. Had swim-in pool, water was pretty cold for the same reason. Did not use it a lot. Sunbeds are booked early. We visited in peak winter break season end of Feb. Always beds left until about 8.30-9 and again at lunch time. So it is not quite true when people say all booked at 6.00. Beds at beach had minimum consumption 1200 baht per pair. Most beds were unused. There are beds to rent on the beach by local restaurants starting from 100 baht per bed. We used those instead. A tip is to walk nearer to Bestwestern hotel. The beds there are cheaper and food better in 3 last restaurants before Bestwestern. Pit, Smiley and one other. The first 3 or so restaurants coming from Arinara are not as good. Honestly none of these simple restaurants are anything special, just a nice beach lunch. Massage good at Leila. On street side, Cafe de Bangtao was the best food we got. Bamboo good as well. Overall Bangtao had glorius soft sand beach, great to swim. The village / street outside hotel is quite run down and not that special. For us Bangtao and Arinara served as a good base to have one week of active days mixed with some chillout beach/pool days, before we moved on. Could return to Arinara, but probably not to Bangtao. Not special enough as an area. Breakfast at Arinara is vast and we especially loved their drink cart on the terrace. The quality of the breakfast was good, but not truly excellent. For example bread except toast was not good quality. Bacon was too crisp, orange juice low quality concentrate etc. Small things really, but clear to someone who has visited a lot of Thai hotels. We have definitely seen a lot worse too, don’t get me wrong. Personally I loved Arinara staff. They were genuinly super friendly and welcoming, even by Thai standards. Lovely! …
Beautiful hotel, amazing food. We stayed for 1 week but i dont recommend going here for the all inclusive concept. You have to pay for your drinks - (water bottles) there is no food or snacks available after the mentioned hours. So when you come back from a trip and everything is closet, your problem. There is a no sun bed reservation policy but every morning the whole Pool is full with towels on the beds, nobody cared. So yes, if you come early at the morning put your towel on all the beds and leave for a few hours - its okay. They made a mistake with the room, instead of 2 beds in the room weve got one 1 bed in the room. We didnt mind and we agreed to stay and for the inconvience they gave us a voucher for the a la carte restaurant. Which were you have to pay normally but once a week you can eat there for free if you the voucher. Keep in mind you only get 1 voucher for hotelreservation so if you are with a big family or 2 persons only 1 person can eat for free and the rest have to pay. (Really weird concept but ok) The toilets are not nearby the Pool and some Doors are not able to close. Everything at the beach must be payed - its not included in the all inclusive. Roomservice is amazing, really good food and fast delivery the prices are okay aswell Be on time at the buffet restaurant otherwise you dont have any space to sit,the staff wont help you. Zero to none activities/entertainment in the evening its pretty boring at the hotel, would recommend to grab a taxi and drive to the town. Overall its a good hotel but just what i said, you dont really have a all inclusive feeling. Next time i just go for standard cause the prices are not expensive at all. Good food - good rooms and beautiful location.…
This was our fourth visit to Ariana Beach Resort. And I must say it was a fantastic stay.. there was only one downside there are not enough sunbeds around the pool. food was excellent lots of Varity (many thanks to Mana brilliant chef) the staff are very friendly and will always chat to you too if you speak to them. if you want something outside the hotel speak too Wut he knows a man who knows a man. the cleaning staff were brilliant. and the bar staff. no complaints if you speak to them slowly you get the right drink. I must mention Wah,Don,Joy,Guy and Ros. and special thanks to Beach. as a matter of fact special thanks to all you guys. try no to book in the school holidays, We wont be back next we want to try somewhere else. but once again thankyou all at the Arinara
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