We stayed at the Marriot for 6 nights in January 2012 with my husband. We had some – let’s say not all so minor – problems in the beginning of our stay. As I travel a lot, I know that problems like ours may occur anywhere, despite the amount of stars that hotel may have. The way the occurring problems are solved is what makes the place 5 star – or not. In my opinion, they absolutely treated us with 5 star quality. We sat down with Jaan-Hein, the room division manager, and he truly handled everything perfectly. My most sincere thanks to you and also to your always so helpful staff! (By the way, Jaan-Hein, did you get the bread I sent you? I promised to send you that Finnish bread and so I did, in February 2012, I just wonder whether you got it or not?)
After we got these issues sorted, we simply loved our stay at the Marriot. It had everything we wanted – we expected a 5-star service and amenities and that we got. Peace, tranquility, great service, nice atmosphere, something to do; we went canoeing, played some games in the game room, enjoyed those lovely cakes from the deli, watched the movies, snorkled etc. And let’s not forget the river-like pool – it was just beyond description! We love swimming so we used it a lot.
First we had a room with direct access to the pool and that was so handy – strongly recommended (we upgraded to a suite later, and can warmly recommend those as well – but remember, they are not pool access rooms). If you book a pool-access room, make sure that your room is located so that there actually are steps to get into the pool, otherwise, you just have to jump in and literally climb up. No problem for us as being in our 40’s and in shape but would be a problem for elderly people. We loved the pool bar; it was so nice to order a cold drink and float around with water mattress.. and as always, service was excellent.
The beds in the hotel are quite hard, and we love it! Just mentioned this because I know that some people in Western countries like their beds soft (and have then sore backs…), but for us it was perfect – and we actually ended up getting a new, hard mattress bed when we got home since we noticed how good those were to our backs.
The variety of food at the breakfast was fantastic. Everything was fresh, servants were always kind and plenty of room, food and eating supplies, and let me say, this is not the case in all hotels. It really was a 5 star breakfast. And we loved the fact that the breakfast was served until 11 am!
We didn’t eat much at the hotel since those little local restaurants on the beach (go to the beach, turn right, and there they are) served amazing and tasteful authentic Thai food – and it was cheap! We still dream about those meals… and the ambiance on the beach was always so warm and delightful, people walking around hand in hand, enjoying the warm evening with the stars…
Unfortunately, we basically lost a whole day of our 6-day holiday since we had to change rooms 4 times during the first 24 hours there (due to some unfortunate incidents) so we feel like we didn’t get enough time to try out all the nice services the hotel offered. However, we did have a chance to try the couple Thai massage at the hotel spa and it was like heaven! That we can warmly recommend!! The hotel beach was nice, plenty of sun beds, the staff was very attentive, water was served all the time and all kinds of activities were arranged.
We went to the little restaurant, left-side on the hotel beach and booked a snorkling trip via said restaurant. So, off we went; snorkeling to Similan Islands for one day. They picked us up early in the morning from the hotel and brought as back as well (by the way, make sure you take a pill for travel/sea sickness before leaving!). They used a speedboat, and it took about 1 hour to get to the islands. Pros of the trip: The islands there were absolutely beautiful and water so bright and clear that you were able to see fish and coral on the bottom of the ocean (and it was at least 10 m deep!) Cons: way too many boats and tourists there, especially the main Island was full of people, no way a peaceful paradise. The lunch they served wasn’t too special, I’d be careful eating it since it wasn’t heated enough in my opinion, but the staff during the trip was great. Overall a very nice, interesting and relaxing experience and comparing to some companies, this snorkeling trip was cheap – totally worth it, we’d recommend it. However, not to very fussy people or to someone who have any kind of medical problems – the boat ride itself can be quite demanding when the boat is jumping up and down with the waves and it is not that easy to go snorkeling from the boat in the middle of the ocean, where the waves can be quite high…
If you are interested in shopping, there are taxis right out side the hotel area so it’s very easy to get into the town. There are couple of shops in the area, where you may get your daily supplies needed (toothpaste, towel, hygiene products, some food, candy, soda, sun lotion etc) but for real shopping, just take a taxi to Khao Lak city.
Tips; if you have a problem with something, just go to the reception, everyone is so helpful and are more than happy to help you with anything. A huge plus is an English-speaking staff, which, in Thailand, is not self-evident at all.
If it matters to you where you want your room to be located, send a request to hotel in advance and make sure get a confirmation as well. Well, this advice goes almost to any destination, it is just so much easier to get things sorted if you have something on paper.
Would I recommend this hotel? Yes. Would I go back? Yes, actually just started to plan a new trip to Thailand, and perhaps we even do go back to JW M in the beginning of next year. We have stayed in many luxory hotels around the world, and never twice in the same place, but this time we just might do an exception, and I think it tells you a lot; this place is worth it.
Go on, try out the JW Marriot. Right when you arrive it will welcome you with fresh towels, cool drinks, and warm hearts!
Best wishes,
Mia (and Jouni) from Finland
