Driving the curve around the jungle covered hills, you’ll catch glimpses of Le Méridien Phuket Beach Resort’s roof peeking out from the canopy below. You may miss it entirely as the blue waters in Relax Bay are quite distracting. Be on the lookout for signage to make the turn onto hotel property – the resort is tucked away from the road.
This property loves to play with sight-lines and you’ll be welcomed by an awning over the traffic circle which extends through the hotel and towards the pools. Large windows at the far end keep the theme of hints and glimpses going as you catch peeks of the pools, palms, and ocean beyond. Check-in begins at 15:00 and you should absolutely be there at 3pm sharp – there’s just so much to enjoy here!
Our family of 6 fit well in 2 adjoining rooms on the 6th (top) floor. The housekeeping staff were a great help in getting us a crib for our baby and an additional mattress for our toddler. From our balconies we looked over the expansive pools to the even more impressive Andaman. This property is older than some of the modern builds on Phuket – which means more spacious rooms for you to enjoy (and by enjoy, we mean for your kids to toss their stuff everywhere).
The hotel has 4 main buildings with 416 rooms and 54 suites. These buildings are a near mirror image of one another and almost all of the rooms have some element of ocean view (sight-lines and all). The two buildings on the outside do have rooms that face the hills and jungle, and that view is stunning in its own way. Bottom line – there are no bad views from these rooms. As parents with little kiddos, views and balconies matter as our evening chats and quiet time are often spent outdoors while the littles slumber inside!
It was the water that made us love this resort so much. No, not the complimentary drinking water in our rooms each day, or the rainheads in our rooms’ walk-in showers, but all the water outside. Le Méridien Phuket Beach Resort boasts a lane pool, an organically shaped pool with a depth just right for adults and children, a covered children’s pool, and a splash pad. That’s just one side. With Tonson Restaurant and Bar nestled between them, on the other side is one of the largest pools we’ve seen and it wraps around the pool bar and ensures breakfast is waterside without impinging on the beach.
Then there is THE water. Le Méridien Phuket Beach Resort rests in the middle of a private bay. This is significant as many of Phuket’s beaches are too often overrun with tourists. We rung in 2021 here and nowhere on Phuket was particularly crowded (boo COVID), but we believe borders will open again and not tripping over tanners is a great gift to give yourself on a beach holiday. This bay boasts a house reef – a truly unique feature on Phuket – where you can live the life aquatic and discover life underseas.
Le Méridien Phuket Beach Resort has SUP’s, kayaks, and boogie boards for hotel guests to use at no extra cost. There is another watersports shop on the beach and you can book surfing lessons there. Kiddos 1 and 2 absolutely loved it. The resort also has a dive shop and there are daily trial dives if you’re looking to dip your toes into SCUBA waters.
One of the greatest hurdles to our marriage when we vacation is the push and pull between active and passive rest, One of us recharges with a book by the pool while the other refills the energy tanks by seeing and doing everything! Le Méridien Phuket Beach Resort was a wondrous blend for us. With a beautiful beach and oh so many pools, there was loungung, but the resort also includes so many activities: a large fitness centre, archery, beach volleyball, bocci, outdoor fitness equipment, basketball, table tennis, actual tennis, mini golf, and a driving range.
If all of the doing or resting becomes too much, set aside time for yourself at Le Spa. The spa staff were so wonderfully professional, kind, and inviting that we could have stayed there just to sip tea and talk – but there was relaxing to be done! Le Spa kindly treated us to their signature massage – Le Candle. With oils heated by candles, we quickly forgot about our 4 little humans and all the other stressors that come with parenting. You don’t need to be staying at the resort to come to Le Spa so this could be the thing to round out your time on Phuket.
Our mornings began with one of the largest breakfast offerings we have seen at any hotel in Thailand. There was something for everyone – and that means a lot with a large family (and at least 1 insanely picky eater). There are 8 restaurants within the resort. We enjoyed breakfasts in the modern surrounding of Latest Recipe, thoroughly ate our way though a massive spread at the dinner buffet at Tonson Restaurant and Bar, and celebrated the end of 2020 in the open air setting of Pakarang Restaurant.
This resort is family-oriented but not family-centric. That means families can come here and have a great time, but also adult travellers will enjoy themselves and not feel like they are vacationing at a kids’ resort. Ramps allowed us to access everywhere with our pram / stroller. There was nowhere we could not access and that was refreshing for family travels in Thailand. One of the highlights for our children was The Kids Club. At no additional charge, children aged 4 – 12 can leave their adults behind to really have fun. The Kids Club is easily accessed from the hotel, has it’s own contained lawn and playground, and has a playful and well-thought through space for children. The team there were simply amazing. After a year of working from home, online learning, and having our 4th during a global pandemic, we cannot express how grateful we were to be able to drop off our older kids and enjoy the younger. It was a gift.
Parents should also ask reception about the Very Important Kids (VIK) Club. These cards are 300 Baht / child / day and come with some fun perks such as pizza making classes in one of the restaurants, Muay Thai lessons, cookie decorating classes, and a free ice cream each afternoon.
Location matters and if the resort resting on the idylic sands of Karon Noi Beach wasn’t enough. Patong Beach and Karon Beach are both only minutes away by car. If you need something not available at the resort shops, a quick taxi ride or shuttle service can pop you into town (talk to reception) .
We’ve saved the best for last – the team at Le Méridien Phuket Beach Resort is a feature in their own rights. The thoughtfulness, pro-activeness, and genuine kindness from the staff elevated our time at this resort. Team culture largely rests on leadership and hotel general manager, Julian Lowry, is leading by example. We got to chat with him as he cleaned tables each morning at breakfast alongside the serving staff but he truly impressed us when Kid 1 threw out their retainer in a brown paper napkin. Julian slapped on gloves and dug deep into the bin to retrieve the retainer. Leadership is rarely glamorous, but it sure matters.
If you’re still wondering, is this resort the stuff dreams are made of, then let us put you over the top with a few pictures from the special spread on New Years Eve where we enjoyed live music, a heart stopping fire show, amazing eats, and stunning fireworks.
This is the spot for your pool loungers, go getters, spa relaxers, active enthusiasts, energetic children, and generally tired parents; the Le Méridien Phuket Beach Resort is for you.
Before you book, download the Marriott BONVOY App to make your booking seemless. You don’t need to be a Marriott BONVOY member to use the app, but membership is free and comes with delightful perks.
