Banthai Beach Resort and Spa Review
Review
by Peter Flood - Photos by William Thuan
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Banthai Beach Resort and Spa has secured one of the best
locations in the heart of lively Patong. With Starbucks, McDonalds,
Warner Bros and Haagen Daas right on its doorstep, and located
just off the beach road, Banthai is perfect for tourists wanting
a close-up look at Phuket’s most lively tourist town.
Nevertheless, I was pleasantly surprised that Patong’s
energetic ambience did not spill over into Banthai - being
set back from the main road made all the difference. The road
leading up to the hotel is protected by security, so the buzz
of tourist crowds stops at the gate, thus genuinely backing
up Banthai’s claim to be a ‘Retreat’ hotel.
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Patong
Beach - Location
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| Banthai
Beach Resort's lobby |
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The lobby is impressive. Different to any other hotel
lobby I’d seen, it’s located between two
accommodation buildings. The lofty roof is made of
tensioned white canvas that forms several conical
towers; natural daylight fills the lobby giving an
airy feel. The effect is completed with running fountains.
The style and design of the hotel décor is modern and minimalist,
a theme, which propagates throughout. Everywhere you look there
are sleek flowing lines complemented by soft tones. With 300 rooms
the hotel is both chic and compact. Smartly designed, all rooms
command a pool view and there are direct pool access rooms on the
ground floor although unfortunately none were available for me.
It’s easy to see why these are so popular – only a few
steps to the pool is very cool in every sense of the word...
The Future
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| Deluxe
room |
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I stayed in a deluxe room and upon entering I liked
what I saw: plain simplistic décor with a very
large comfortable-looking bed. An interesting addition
to the room was the wireless keyboard - something
that I wasn’t expecting at all. It’s part
of the CVS multi-lingual system which, via the television,
enables you to view your bill, select music, browse
the Internet, send email, select pay-per-view movies,
play games and even send a message to another room.
I can foresee this system becoming commonplace in the future and
adopting this technology early on fits in with the modern design
and thinking present throughout Banthai. Another interesting feature
of the room is that the sink is not in the bathroom but in the main
part of the room. Initially, I found this a little odd and was a
little unsure what to make of it but by doing this, the room actually
feels bigger than it is.
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Watching Patong go by
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| One of
the swimming pools |
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Banthai boasts three unusually shaped pools equipped
with Jacuzzi areas, shallow bubble areas and a pool
bar in each. Other facilities include a modern gym
with all the latest equipment and a chic spa. The
facilities I liked most were the bar and dining areas
out on the beach road.
The perfect place to people watch in Patong has been created in
the form of two open-air bars adjacent to the pavement. On these
barstools you’ll make the acquaintance of other like-minded
folk who also like to drink beer or cocktails while watching the
sun go down and soaking up the general craziness of Patong.
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The Port
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| The Port
restaurant |
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For dinner we found a table at The Port restaurant,
the hotel’s popular dining spot – also outdoor
and adjacent to the beach road. Here, an accomplished
Filipino band belts out modern pop and classic hits
to appreciative diners and passers-by alike. The warm
and lively atmosphere entices many to come in from
the street to have dinner or drinks. Some diners even
danced and it was obvious that the band could feel
the audience’s appreciation. Here, there’s
a really nice vibe going down.
The seafood feast displayed at the front of the restaurant also
draws in other diners. The tom ka was very good (fragrant soup with
lemongrass and coconut milk), as were the giant prawns in garlic.
The duck curry was excellent but the winner with a unanimous decision
was the spicy beef salad. Many Thai dishes are offered at very reasonable
prices in addition to international dishes such as NZ lamb chops,
Australian rib-eye steaks and pasta dishes, which also offer excellent
value. The food arrived in good time and drinks were flowing so
the service at Banthai also gets the thumbs up.
The following morning our taste buds were once again delighted,
this time by the very generous breakfast buffet which combined Asian
and Western flavours with espresso coffee and tropical fruit platters.
In keeping with the contemporary hotel style, the breakfast area
was also very ‘trendy’ from the hip tables and chairs
to the funkily dressed wait staff.
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Summary
Nowhere else comes close to offering so much for visitors looking
for a comfortable stylish hotel in a central location without the
noise. In fact I’d go as far as saying that there is no better
location in Patong, a stay at Banthai will be fun, fun, fun!
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