Me and Joel headed back to Phuket during the CNY long weekend. The trip was fun and affordable.
And yar, veeeery nice weather (so nice that we were burnt!)..
We left SIN on 19Feb (2nd day of CNY) approx. 8.30pm on Tiger. By the time we reached and cleared customs, it was 10+pm. We didn't have much baht with us (all the money exchange in the aiport were closed),
but by God's glory, we made it to hotel and check-in (market practice, we were supposed to pay up the balance payment upon check-in) with only 600baht on us!
My choice this time round,
Burasari Resort & Spa at Patong Beach. Location was good (less than 5 mins walk to beach, shops and f&b).. One of the best ambience resorts around.. And it had one of the worst hotel management i've ever stayed!! Yes, worst!
Read on.We've arrived Burasari at 11pm.. The Front Desk took almost 30mins to check us in. I've made and paid for their Premier Room in Dec'06. Shortly after, we were ushered to our room. And we had this.
This was our 'Premier Room'.. What can i say? It looks so different from what the website.. It's run-down and so mosquito-y.
Half an hour in the room, we felt uncomfortable and miserable. Frustrated, we went to the Front Desk. And to our surprised, this is what we got from the Front Desk;
"Room 2+++ is a Superior Room."
What!! Imagine the anger that was fuming inside..
We were told that the hotel was full and they had to give us Superior Room.
"Even if Burasari was full, you should have the courtesy to inform us about it and not downgrade us without even letting us know. Burasari should have upgraded us and not downgrade us, given that the Premier Room is not available."
The guy was literally embarrassed! He assured us that it will be brought to the Manager's attention and they will get it reticfied for us the next day. Frustrated and helpless, we can only sit and wait for the morning to come.
20 Feb morning, we approached the Duty Manager, Lakkana. She assured us that we will have a free upgrade (to Grand Premier Pool View Room) and our rooms will be ready but the afternoon which they will do the luggage transfer for us while we're away. With some assurance, we left to rent a bike for the next 3 days.
Joel loves to ride! We rode all over Phuket throughout our stay here. He wants to ride so badly that he intends to get a licence back in SIN which i naturally reject without any appeal! Hahaha.
We rode 15min up and down the hills to Karon Beach (so call topless beach). The beach was
lovely... Blue skies, lovely UV rays, strong ocean wind, chill coconuts that were sweet and sun beds that was so comfy (that i fell asleep). And we've got a red lobster (Me)!
Karon Beach..
Me and Joel taking a soak.. Nice cold waters to cool a lobster down.. Hahahaha.
After a few hours of slacking, we went back Patong to had lunch.. I've been hearing alot of good reviews about this place where it has the best authentic Thai food in Phuket.. And we weren't disappointed!
IT WAS FANTASTIC!! Phad Kaprao Moo, Tom Yum Goong, Morning Glory and Pork Omelette were YUUUUUMMY! Best Thai food.. And i'm drooling for it now..
Best Best Best Thai food..Absolutely wonderful food here, must try! Do you see a lobster too?
We went back hotel, hoping for a rest before we set out for our evening activities. To our dismay, rooms weren't ready due guests who were supposed to check out, have not check out!! We waited and waited, and every minute we were getting more and more frustrated. Tired of waiting, we demanded to see the GM. Lakkana, who has been busy problem solving since morning (actually she was busy throughout our stay, problem solving), invited us to the Bar for some drinks on the house.
While we were there, Chris (GM) came and talked to us.. He apologised for the mishandling of our stay and offered us a waiver of the 1st night we suffered (which i had suggested to Lakkana to ease the tension, mishandling and the wait we had to endure) with a complimentary dinner. Given the situation, we gladly accept his offer. But come to think of it, the reason he gave about how our rooms were mishandled was a dumb one..
View of the pool from our rooms..
Due hotel is full, we will have to change rooms the next day, again. OMG... Well, what to do? It's peak season, damn it! Now that we were no longer in those crappy rooms, we went down to the pool and chill off our UV burnt skins..
Burasari did a good job decorating the 4* boutique resort, be it rooms or landscaping. But... As for the service we've got, i will have to give them a pathetic 2.5* (0.5* for Lakkana)..
This is Burasari's Lagoon Pool, which is only accessible by bridge or Pool Access Rooms.
Even our favourite Khai Island, had became crowded.. It could be due to peak season but then again.. Every agent you go to enquire about Phi Phi Island tour, most of them will have Khai Island in the itinerary. Too commercialised already.
Next time, i'm going for John Gray's Hong by Starlight and 2D1N Similan Island.
Khai Island.. After a full day tour, we went back to another new room.. Hahahaha. This trip, we had 3 rooms change and this was our final change. After all, we're staying for 4 nights not 4 months.
Grand Premier Pool View King Room. Besides the King bed, the rainfall shower and the day bed at the balcony, everything is the same.. Free mini bar in every types of room at Burasari!
After a wash up, we went to the restaurant for dinner. With too many restrictions to the complimentary dinner, we ordered what we like to eat. After the 2000baht complimentary, our bill was a whopping 1800baht top up!! And the best part? We were the only spending guests there.. How pathetic!
Me and Joel fooling around the swinging day bed..
22 Feb, we went gallavanting again.. We went back to the deserted scenic boulder cliff. It was a place of serenity where we find some quietness amidst the crowded Phuket.
Taking a moment of quietness.. It was lovely there.
And we proceed to Surin Beach. Another lovely beach, another topless beach..
We had alot of Watermelon Shakes (it's just watermelon, blended ice and tiny sugar syrup, it was refreshing and addictive). We even rented those float bed to chill in the sea.After which we headed down to Bangtao Beach (where Banya Tree, Sheraton Laguna, Allamanda was). There wasn't much there but it's another long long beach to chill. BTW, most of the beaches there are long (unlike SIN beach huh)!
And for dinner, we headed to Paan Yaah, a restaurant by the cliffs with lovely view of Patong Beach.
At Paan Yaah.. We were lucky to be there early and had the best tables in the house. Be there early, if not call for reservations. Full every night.
View of Patong Beach from Paan Yaah.
Sunset dinner view is the best..
This is after all, our last night stay in Phuket. We have to had some seafood.. So we went to our regular spot for a sinful supper.
We had drinks, 1.5kg of big prawns, a 1.2kg whole red snapper, 3 crabs, 1 big sotong and vegetables. Cheapest place for seafood here. When we're done, we were all burping andrubbing our tummy with happiness!
23 Feb, having half a day to spend, we went beach again.. This time, Patong Beach for jet ski. Joel rented a single seater jet ski (me? chilling at the beach, had a bad experience at Tioman the last time where i hit my shin, so no more jet ski) and rode out to the open seas which took him less than 3 mins!
He spent 35mins out jetting here and there..
Before we left Phuket, i had to do some last min shopping at the supermarket.
Supermarket?
Yes yes.. I bought a carton of Lay's Sweet Basil for home! Hahaha.. You should've seen the faces of the staff. They were smiling away while packing for us.
We returned the bikes, hotel check-out and went Airport for our flight back. And the Airport's entrance to the check-in counters were packed! We had to squeeze for about a good 15mins before we got in.
And for such a crappy Airport, their Airport tax is 700baht!! So you peeps, enjoy the benefit that SIN Airport has one of the lowest Airport tax in the world!
So peeps, beware.. If you want to go Phuket, go during low season (May-Oct) where it's not so crowded everywhere and hotels are almost 60% cheaper!
