Le Meridien Khao Lak Beach & Spa Resort
2 Moo1 Tambon Kuk Kak Amphur Takua Pa
Phang Nga
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Overall Hotel Reviews
Based on 46 reviews
All familly with 2 teeneger and an 18 month baby enjoyed this 7 night stay in this very nice hotel.
Very good for familly vacation, very quiet, excellent customer service, nice swimming pool, beautifull beach and very friendly staff and very courteous. Excellent for a break !
Very good for familly vacation, very quiet, excellent customer service, nice swimming pool, beautifull beach and very friendly staff and very courteous. Excellent for a break !
This was our 4th time at Le...
This was our 4th time at Le Meridien Khao Lak and its just as fatastic as ever, with warm and attentive staff. Its a place for relaxation, isolated and away from the hussle and mmadness of Patomg Beach. Its a place for solitude and romance. A Fabulous Hotel in a spectacular location.
This is our second visit to Le...
This is our second visit to Le Mereidien Khao Lak (LMKL) because we loved it so much the first time. This time we stayed for 7 nights in May and loved it every bit as much.
We are a family of four; a mum and dad, a 6 month infant and a two and half year old. We have traveled extensively throughout Asia and Thailand (we go at least twice a year) and have stayed at numerous different resorts so have a good basis to make comparisons.
This time we stayed in a deluxe garden view room (the cheapest) and it was big and luxurious enough for all of us. They provided at no extra cost a cot for our infant and converted the day bed to a comfortable bed for our son.
The positives
* We traveled with another family who also had two kids the same age as ours. We both booked through Asia Rooms at the same day, time, and rate. When the other family checked in to the hotel an hour before us, they were told their package included a 20% discount on food and drinks. When we checked in we were told our package included a voucher for a free meal and two vouchers for two free drinks. When we discovered we got different 'packages', we spoke to reception and to their credit, they changed what could have been an issue into a nice experience for all of us. The hotel graciously gave us each what the other family had been given, i.e. we both ended up with a free meal and drinks voucher, and a 20% food and drink discount voucher.
* The rooms are gorgeous, large and comfortable. The bathrooms are exceptional.
* The breakfast buffet is fantastic. Cappuccinos, great choices from the buffet and they also bring around shot glasses of juice (think mango and chilli as an example) and other little nicieties.
* The seafood at the Bamboo Bar and Grill is fresh and delicious. It is more expensive than other local restaurants outside the resort, but I highly recommend the grilled rock lobster and giant prawns (much less fiddly than crab!). Their house wine is also very drinkable.
* The location of the resort is quiet and peaceful and perfect for relaxing.
* The beach is superb for walking or sunbaking under an umbrella on the sun loungers. (However, there were stingers in the water during our stay and they were advising people to use the pools instead - I don't believe the stingers just visit Khao Lak but at some times of the year are all along the coast, including Phuket's beaches.)
* The staff at the kid's club were friendly, professional and great with the kids. Our two year old loved going there. (Under 3 years old you need to be with the children in the kids club but the facilities are good, clean and free.)
* The staff who parked and got the car were always obliging and friendly.
* The General Manager goes around the resort asking you personally if everything is OK and genuinely seems to take a hands-on interest in ensuring you enjoy your stay.
* All staff are incredibly friendly, brilliant with the kids, and as some reviewers have noted previously, their English is not always excellent, so keep your communication simple.
* The pools are brilliant. We loved playing on the water slides and both kids loved the kids pool which is shallow with beach sand at the bottom.
Quibbles
* Service is inconsistent and ranges from superlative to average. As others have noted, one example is the nightly turn down service - it does not always happen (though this may have been explained in our case because with two young kids we often had the do not disturb sign on early!)
* The fridge in our room was not working when we checked in and it took 4 calls over a few hours for anything to happen. (They may have been organising a mechanic from Khao Lak town to come out to the resort to take a look?, but on our fourth call we insisted they replace our fridge with one from an empty room which they then promptly did.)
* The room clock was not working and was replaced after a phone call from us.
* It's a long walk to get and return the pool towels. (I feel guilty even writing this, but it gives you an idea how relaxed you get at this place if this becomes one of the annoyances.)
* We had hired a car and would ring about 15 minutes before leaving our room for it to be brought up from the car park to reception. Despite ringing, half the times we would have to ask for it again at reception and have to wait with restless kids while it was brought up.
Tips for LMKL
* If you get good service either at the resort or in town, give a tip. With the global financial crisis, every little bit helps. The local staff and locals in general in Khao Lak are doing it tough.
* The resort is in the middle of nowhere (which is why we love it!) Don't go there expecting vibrant nightlife or hawkers on the beach.
* Do hire a car at Phuket airport (don't worry about booking before hand as there will be many people vying for your business as you walk through the airport exit.) A new Toyota Vios (a Corolla in Australia) should be about 700-800 baht per day. A 7-seater Toyota Avanza is 1200 baht per day, while a Honda CRV is 1500 baht per day. All prices include insurance. You can use an International license, and despite what you may have heard, driving is safe and easy (but watch out for dogs).
* We spent most days eating at Barn Sak beach. There are numerous restaurants serving mainly fresh seafood with stunning beach views (giant prawns, crab fried rice, bbq squid, papya salad and plenty of beer.) We loved Barn Sak Seafood restaurant near the end of the beach. At any of them you shoud be able to eat and drink like a king for less than $25 a head. To get there, turn left at the LMKL resort entrance (away from Khao Lak town) and drive about 5 kilometres. When you see the Haadson Resort sign, make a left turn and go down to Barn Sak beach.
* The Muan Lai restaurant near the top of the hill as you enter Khao Lak has stunning views and great papaya salad (som tum), grilled chicken and deep fried prawn cakes. It's a great place to watch a sunset or thunderstorm. About $20 a head will get you a great feed.
* If you have a problem or quibble, let the resort staff know and they'll do their best to help you as everyone genuinely seems to want you to enjoy your stay.
Summary
As you can tell, we love this place despite a few quibbles. It's set in a quite location blessed with stunning natural beauty, the pools are fantastic and the staff always try and do their best for you. The food at and around the resort is great.
I stayed in « Le MERIDIEN »...
I stayed in « Le MERIDIEN » KAO LAK from 2008 December 17 to 23 (6 nights). The resort is some miles north of KAO LAK so it is better to have a car. Hotel recommend to avoid local taxi but it seems this is to provide its own car rental which has a desk in the hotel (SIXT if I remember). Place is wonderful with a large sand beach and a very fine swimming pool. Restaurants are average for the price which are rather expansive. On the south part of the beach (3 minutes walk) there is a nice local beach restaurant where you can have lunch for 4 $ ! Bedrooms are large but they are very dark (even at 12:00 a.m) especially the ones on ground floor (level 1). I got bedroom number 179 (ground floor) where I need to have lights on even in the middle of day ! I ask for a change for it was one of the worth bedrooms : dark with the wall of the adjacent building for “viewâ€. I wrote to the General manager which did not even answer. I did not got a single answer from anyone ! This is the worth lack of courtesy I ever met in a 4 / 5 stars hotel. It was also very strange to read on parking (the one of “Le MERIDIENâ€) that the resort was not responsible even in the case of a negligence of employees ! I got a picture of this outrageous warning. I got a far better attitude in “Le MERIDIEN†(PHUKET) where I stay time to time since 1994 (even if the resort is a rather bit older). Staff (Guest Relation) and General Manager (PHUKET) seems to have some consideration for customers but it is not similar in KAO LAK.
We have a fantastic time, we couldn't...
We have a fantastic time, we couldn't fault this resort at all. Absolutely marvellous!
Le Meridien is one of my favourite...
Le Meridien is one of my favourite hotels in South Asia. Its setting on Khoa Lak beach offers miles of sandy beach without the crowds. Its three huge swimming pools, free kayaks, gym and spa has something to offer everyone. During diving season there are boat rides to Similian island with good chance of spotting leopard sharks. I was on a working holiday and you cannot wish for a better working environment than this.
I think one thing the hotel could provide is at least two shuttle services a day to Phuket town and reduce its food menu in the evening so they can offer a range of food that can compete with the restaurants at Khao Lak town.
Nice hotel...excellent staff.
Beautiful unspoilt beach ...
hotel is...
Nice hotel...excellent staff.
Beautiful unspoilt beach ...
hotel is rather isolated so one usually eats on site
...strangely half the restaurants were closed
...which could reflect the off season and
low occupancy.
Overall the hotel is okay but we...
Overall the hotel is okay but we expected more of a 5 star hotel like Le Meridien. The restaurants in the hotel were a disapointment (the quality of the food and variety was average/bad), as was the kids club. We have two children and the kids club was a disapointment because we left the children there and we saw that the helpers sat the children on the floor and did nothing with them. Instead of playing games and doing other activities, they did nothing (I thought the personnel was not prepared to be with children). The best in the hotel are really the pools (very good) and the gardens. The beach is not very good (the water is of poor quality)- my husband as well as a friend - another couple that was with us, had an infection in his ears caused by the sea water.
We also thought that the prices charged by the hotel, either by shuttle bus of the hotel or in a private car to the village were highly inflated (very expensive because they charge per person and not per ride).
We would not stay in this hotel another time.
Good hotel on a lovely beach. The...
Good hotel on a lovely beach. The only problem we found is that the hotel is virtually on its own with no restaurants within walking distance (only one on the beach). There are quite a few restaurants in the hotel but they rotate opening times, for example the thai restaurant closes on a sunday night, the first I have experienced this in a hotel!
Located about 20 minutes on a moped from the town. A great hotel if you want to relax and get away from it all in a resort style hotel.
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