Located in Mai Khao, Anantara Mai Khao Phuket Villas is on the beach, a 3-minute walk from Turtle Village and 7 minutes by foot from Mai Khao Beach. This luxury hotel is 6.9 mi (11.1 km) from Splash Jungle Water Park and 12.3 mi (19.8 km) from Mission Hills Golf Course.
Pamper yourself with a visit to the spa, which offers massages, body treatments, and facials. You can take advantage of recreational amenities such as outdoor tennis courts, an outdoor pool, and a 24-hour fitness center. Additional features at this hotel include complimentary wireless internet access, concierge services, and babysitting (surcharge). Getting to the surf and sand is a breeze with the complimentary beach shuttle.
Enjoy Thai cuisine at La Sala, one of the hotel's 3 restaurants, or stay in and take advantage of the 24-hour room service. Snacks are also available at the coffee shop/cafe. Relax with a refreshing drink at the beach bar, the poolside bar, or one of 3 bars/lounges. A complimentary buffet breakfast is served daily from 7:00 AM to 10:30 AM.
Featured amenities include a 24-hour business center, complimentary newspapers in the lobby, and dry cleaning/laundry services. This hotel has 2 meeting rooms available for events. A roundtrip airport shuttle is provided for a surcharge (available 24 hours), and free valet parking is available onsite.
Treat yourself to a stay in one of the 113 individually decorated guestrooms, featuring private pools and LED televisions. Your pillowtop bed comes with down comforters and premium bedding. Wired and wireless internet access is complimentary, while DVD players and satellite programming provide entertainment. Bathrooms with separate bathtubs and showers feature deep soaking bathtubs and rainfall showerheads.
"Pros:
1. The hotel's interior is very ecological, like a rainforest, with a strong Thai ambiance. You'll see various small animals everywhere, and you can even feed fish during breakfast (note: this is on the north side; the south side is a more modern apartment block with a pool but no beach view, and it's NOT the independent Anantara Vacation Club, which is what they call the 'timeshare presentation' rooms).
2. The staff are very enthusiastic; they greet you warmly whenever you pass by, and cars will stop to let you cross.
3. The accompanying pool facilities are excellent and located by the sea. Someone will bring you towels and iced water as soon as you arrive. The private pools in the rooms use circulating saltwater.
4. Breakfast offers a wide variety of fruits, though other options are fewer. You can also order specialty noodles, various toasts, coffee, and Thai milk tea. It's quite geared towards a Western palate, and the dining environment is pleasant, overall good.
5. The Kids' Club staff are great, and children over four can be left in their care.
Cons:
1. The surrounding area lacks amenities. Mai Khao Beach itself is quite remote, and the hotel's activities are just okay, so it can get a bit boring. The beach quality is average and not suitable for swimming.
2. The downside of the hotel's great ecological environment is the presence of various ants, bugs, and geckos. Be warned, they can climb onto the bed.
3. The water quality is poor. Even bottled water from 7-Eleven still had impurities after boiling, and I wouldn't dare drink the water provided by the hotel.
4. The hotel facilities are a bit old, including hair dryers, which are still the old-fashioned type.
5. I really can't understand why the minibar is chargeable.
6. Thailand's overall living standards (food, clothing, housing, transportation) are really far behind China. Several highly-rated restaurants nearby weren't very good; the roasted chicken at the pizza place was cold. The few places behind the Marriott are cheaper but the taste is mediocre. It feels like all the restaurants in the vicinity are much of a muchness. The most popular one, Kindee, is decent, but a round-trip taxi costs 100 baht, and I even found steel wool in my dish, sigh. In the end, we had to eat at the hotel's restaurant, where the food and service were good, but it cost over 300 baht per person, which isn't good value for money. It's baffling that several high-end hotels nearby don't even have a decent fruit stall or supermarket. The supermarket under Turtle Village feels like it's from the 80s. It really doesn't feel like the government wants to develop this area; it's worse than the neighborhood centers in our residential communities back home. The prices in peak season are a bit exorbitant; a two or three-day stay during the off-season for pure relaxation is enough.
Finally, a complaint about Trip.com: Their attitude was great, but their problem-solving ability was poor. When issues arose, they kept saying they couldn't resolve them, but I managed to fix them myself by contacting the hotel directly. Subsequent compensation was only received after filing a complaint. However, I commend the customer service for their responsiveness. I hope Trip.com can improve their communication skills in the future."