One of the major things I consider when traveling is the hotel. Second to good amenities, the location should be near the airport or at least close to tourist spots for easier access.
Choosing our hotel in Phuket was really hard since there are too many pretty and eye-catching hotels posted online. We had to inquire because our flight schedule is beyond the usual check-in and check-out time. We arrived at Phuket around 1 am, and our flight going back to Manila is 9 PM. So we had to confirm if our hotel is amenable to that arrangement without additional charges. Thankfully, we chose Garden Phuket Hotel for the right reasons. Let me further expound on this blog post why.
Garden Phuket Hotel welcomes you with a garden-style restaurant. Located at the heart of Patong, it’s a few-minute walk from Patong Beach, Malin Plaza and Jungceylon Shopping Center. Although it is near the red light district, the surroundings are peaceful and quiet which was quite unexpected. The receptionist will require you to submit a valid id or passport once you check-in for security and identification.
The floor is not really made of real grass, so instead they laid an artificial grass carpet to imitate it. Clever!
This spot is perfect for early morning breakfasts, getting your daily dose of warm sunshine and fresh air. I feel relaxed just sitting at this corner, sipping my coffee and feeling the grass with my feet.
On the first day, we had English breakfast at the hotel for THB 200. That was one heavy meal to start the day: toasted bread, sunny side up eggs and sausages! Surprisingly, it comes with two beverages, orange juice and coffee or hot chocolate.
This generous serving is a warm way of welcoming us to Thailand on our first day. Even if we had brief interactions with the staff, we felt their hospitality and kindness.
The lobby is spacious and homey, we often stayed here to hang-out, chill and browse the internet. WiFi connection is amazingly stable in all areas.
Our room was not that spacious, but it was clean. The bed mattresses were quite stiff but we didn’t sleep the whole day at the hotel so that’s fine. I like our bathroom’s neatness and spaciousness. Although they did not have a bathtub, (my fetish for hotels), they provided us towels and toiletries. It doesn’t have a hair blower but when we asked the staff to provide us one, they assisted us right away.
The room also had a private balcony where you can chill out and view the outside. It’s also provided with a safety vault, cabinets with hangers, and television set.
The thing I appreciate the most is that our room was cleaned on a daily basis. Everytime we go back to the hotel from our day trip, it’s already fixed-up and our bottled waters are replaced everyday. The price of our hotel accommodation for 4 days was unbelievably reasonable for such nice service and amenities. Since it falls on an off-peak season, the rate is 401 Baht or 537 pesos per night. Imagine that?! You couldn’t get that type of service with that price range in the Philippines. Now I understand why it is one of the most sought-after countries by foreign tourists.
The rooftop has a stunning swimming pool with beach chairs and sauna. After a long day at Old Phuket Town, we had a night swimming. And it was perfect! The water was warm and you can see the stars in the sky. So surreal. That feeling when Cath and I successfully pulled-off our first out-of-the-country-adventure together, away from everyone, relying just ourselves and loving every minute of it!
Although our hotel is near Bangla Road and Simon Cabaret, (yes!), we didn’t get to try it. HAHA. Most of the time we were out either for a trip to Malin Plaza or Patong Beach.
On our last day at Phuket, we spent a quiet time over coffee, crepe and fries and talked about the highlights of our entire Thailand adventure we were both thankful for.
It will take time before we get back to Phuket again, but Garden Phuket Hotel is already marked as a good option for future hotel bookings.
Diamond in the Rough 