Karon hotels & places to stay

I had booked my stay with Avista Grande Karon after checking its reviews, and true to its excellent reviews, my boyfriend and I had an amazing stay with them. We were upgraded to an ocean view suite, where we could see the sunset from our balcony! The hotel is in fact situated on a small plot of land, but the design was optimized and you'd have nothing more to ask for! Amazing pool and pool bar with areas to lounge, good quality breakfast although the selection was limited (not to worry if you're booking a long stay, the executive chef would be happy to cook up something special for you!) - staffs were all very friendly and helpful during our very short stay. The hotel is a short walk to the end of Karon beach - which is perfect because it's quiet and it feels like you have the beach to yourselves. You can also take a walk to Kata area for food and access to Kata beach (though it seems more touristy than Karon beach). My advice? Skip Patong and just head over to Avista Karon.

I would stay at the Secret Cliff every time I go back to Phucket, it was the best hotel I've stayed at and I cannot praise the place or the staff enough. Although it is more expensive than some of the other hotels in Karon I would say its well worth the money. The offer free transfers to the beaches and will help with any tour options or scooter hire. And they have a great little restaurant called coco pizza which I loved. The infinity pool was great for sunset cocktails.

We had a great week in the sun on Karon beach. The hotel is only 5 minutes walk away (no hotels are on the beach). The staff were excellent and very helpful. The breakfast was amazing. There were no problems with the internet. The only issue was on checkin they got mixed up and tried to give us a smaller room. I had my agora booking and after some insisting they went online and realised the mistake. If I hadn't been paying attention I would have been downgraded. After checkin the desk clerk escorted us to the room, which was refreshing. The hotel was fully occupied during our stay with mostly Russians, which wasn't a bad thing. In fact, most of the visitors at Karon were Russian. Every morning after breakfast we'd go to the beach and rent a couple on beach chairs and umbrellas. You gotta get there early (by 9am) or you may not get a chair. My better half isn't a good swimmer. Karon was perfect for her as the water gets deep slowly and wasn't rough. Every night we'd eat at 1 of the many restaurants. Great seafood of all kinds. Sushi too. We rode elephants one afternoon at a nearby place. It was the most expensive part of the holiday - about $50 each. It was the middle of February, so was a very busy place. If you want a real quiet holiday this probably isn't the destination for you. I was last in Phuket in 2000. The island of Phuket has changed a lot since then. It's becoming overcrowded and overdeveloped. That said, it was a great time.

We travelled during low season, which meant Karon beach was relatively quiet. It was the second time I'd travelled to Phuket and we chose Karon beach as we knew it would be quieter than Patong with fewer (drunk) tourists. We were there for 6 nights (mid July) and lucked out with no rain, although I know it had poured almost constantly the week beforehand. The resort is a little dated and could do with some renovation works. Pool lovely and cleaned twice daily. We had a triple room (queen and roll away single bed) with pool access which was awesome. Free water supplied daily, as well as towels for teh beach, which is directly across the road. Beach itself is lovely and a lot nicer than Patong. Very clean and few locals trying to sell goods. Those that did pass weren't pushy at all. Sun lounges at the beach available for rent for 100 baht from memory. There are warning signs at the beach reporting strong currents...but there was always a lifeguard on duty. Breakfast was included in the room rate and was good...though you get sick of it after a few days. Had a good mixture of Asian and Western foods to choose from. Karon Plaza market (selling clothes, shoes, souvenirs etc) is right next door, as is a strip of restaurants, convenience stores and massage parlours. Some of the other resorts in Karon looked a lot fancier (the Movenpick, for example), however for the price, Woraburi is really recommended. If you're keen to go out every night, best to stay in Patong as Karon beach is a little far away (20 mins or so) and the Tuk Tuk costs add up. Woraburi provides a one way t/f to Patong twice daily. Just make sure you book in advance. Staff were great and helpful with tips about the area, including how best to get to Phuket town (massive night market where everything is a lot cheaper than in Karon and Patong...T-shirts 100 baht, Raybans 100 Baht, dressier tops 200-300 depending on the quality). We booked a few tours at a local tour agent which were great. Enjoy!

Convenient for food. Turn right walk less than 10 min there are food and fruits stall available. On the left there is a Mini market and fruits stall. Walk further down few min you can reach Movenpick. Just turn right walk all the way you reach temple market. The market is only available on every Tuesday and Friday. Turn left walk further you will reach Hilton, walk further down you reach another small shopping area. We booked a deluxe ocean view but was surprisingly given a room which is pool access. The room was big and clean with bathtub. I enjoy going to swimming from my room, it is very nice relax at the balcony with a swimming in front of me and it is quite privacy. The breakfast was very good. I enjoy having breakfast in front of the hotel while watching the beach, people and car passing by. Beach in front of the hotel is very beautiful and not crowded.There is a bus stop in front of the hotel. It is a public bus going to Phuket town. I also saw some tuk-tuk writting to kata beach-karon beach. For transportation going to Patong I pay 300bath per trip which is a minibus. This minibus happen to send some visitor to karon beach and I am lucky to find him. The only transportation from Karon to Patong is by tuk-tuk and the rate is 350 bath to 400 bath.Airport transfer to karon beach by minibus is 200 bath per pax. You find a weighing maching at the lobby for guest to check the luggage weight. Wifi was very good in the room.

This is a good hotel in Karon, for families. You will find several large swimming pools, a great gym that to work off the pad thai, and nice large rooms with balconies. Because you are in Karon, expect that this will be a quieter part of Phuket. You will experience beautiful sunsets and restful sleeps. The breakfast buffet was good. I cannot comment on other meals served. There are a few bars around the corner that you could go and spend time in which are pleasant. You will not hear any of the music inside the hotel. I would say that the hotel has seen its best days past, however, as the decor seems a little dated.

We stayed 4 nights but we mostly spend time at hotel at night. Because we arranged tours in day time each day of our stay. Most of the tours start around 9 AM so the pickup vehicle will come around 7 30 so the hotel arranged us early breakfast on request. Rooms were not too large but comfortable and full of facilities. We had few issues during our stay but the staff able to provide good service and make them correct. Phuket is nice place to visit but when you are arranging trips don’t be hurry you will find those tours very cheap. Best thing is to check from few places and then buy it and bargaining is more important. If you take shared transport from airport they will take you to tour arranging place, best you don’t buy any because you don’t have any other places to compare price. If you come to Karon you will find lots of places like that and cheap. For shopping karon is not good place because it’s very expensive. The best place is to shopping is ‘BIG C’ supermarket in phuket town which most locals doing their shopping. Clothes, shoes fruits and foods are cheaper than any other places in ‘BIG C’.

This was our second stay at the Moevenpick Karon but this time as honeymooners, the staff were brilliant! They made the room up in that extra special way that only the Thais can do. I have been visting Phuket for over 15 years and have stayed at many resorts over this time of varying classes, quality, and price. The Moevenpick just ticks all the right boxes and gives you that feel good factor from the moment you arrive. Try to avoid Christmas as prices sky rocket and it does get busier, although at this time there are much more families visiting with children who tend to congregate around the main pool area, here there is plenty of child entertainment, water slide etc., but more importantly a dip in pool bar for those thirsty parents to sit at and watch the kids play! For the couples such as ourselves, I can highly recommend the coconut pool, and if you can stretch your budget get one of the Deluxe Garden Villas close by which surround this pool area. There are other villas further afield in the grounds but unless you want complete isolation from other guests I would personally advise you avoid these, but each to his or her own, i'm sure many people like the isolation. Friends of ours stayed in the Family rooms which are also great with plenty of things for kids to do. Get out on the strip and eat in the restaurants, I can highly recommend the Red Onion after eating there a few times, it's cheap compared to others in the area but you may have to queue for 10 mins for a table but it's worth it, the duck was lovely!

The 2-bedroom villa is very spacious with a nice pool, we enjoyed our time staying in the villa. The villa was clean and with nice decoration. The managers Rain & Alloy are very friendly and helpful with excellent services. As we were celebrating our little boy's birthday this time, we were happy and grateful with a birthday cake and a gift for him provided by the villa. The breakfast is very delicious with ample of good choices. The villa is within walking distance (12-15 minutes) to Karon beach. Free pick up from the airport was nice. Overall, we had a great experience in Karon Beach Walk Villa.

The best experience that we have had in Phuket and Thailand for that matter! The staff is just amazing! They went far and beyond to make sure that my family, especially my two young boys (ages 7 and 0.5 yrs old) were having the time of their life. The rooms were very comfortable, at the beginning I thought the beds were going to be too hard for me, but in our two week stay there, I did not have any problems with them, I was able to sleep well. The brekfast buffet is a must!! Great array of southeast asian and western items, so many great fresh fruits as well. Here is where I began experiencing their great customer service, the first day, my wife and kids were so tired, that they were about to miss the breakfast buffet hours, I though i would get some bread or fruits to the room so they could eat something after the buffet closed (many hotels will not allow you to do this) so I asked the staff if that was ok, and their response was beyond amazing!! They began collecting food items such as bread, omelettes, yogurt, fruits, juices, cereal, coffee, etc. put them in several plates on a tray and took those to the room so my wife and kids could eat and not miss breakfast. I was simply shocked at their great service!! The two staff members were simply amazing with our family, they did everything thwy could to make us comfortable, giving us great recommendations about the local beaches (Karon and Kata), they were everyday with a smile trying their best to make us feel fine. The only thing that we did not like much is that it seems that this is a stop hotel for many Chinese tour buses, and some of the guests (not all) were smoking in their rooms (and then you could smell it in the corridors and a little bit in the bedroom), and sometimes they will slam the doors as well. But in any case, these minor things would not overshadow the best hotel experience that we have had in Southeast Asia. They are simply great! We want to comeback next year!

I have stayed at the Andaman Seaview in Karon three times. This time I stayed in a standard room which opened up onto the childrens pool. The rooms are very good size and contain everything you need in a hotel - including hot water maker. Staff are always friendly. Breakfast buffett is extensive. Hotel is a few steps to beautiful Karon beach - this was the first time I used the beach - is a beautiful beach and great for swimming - very clean and safe. Also just in front of the hotel are excellent restaurants - cheap with wonderful food. A few steps from hese are many massage shops and a bit of a stroll takes you to Kata or Karon - either are easily accessible with a short walk. Only negatives this trip were that the hot water was only luke warm, and the internet cost is higher than it should be. I will stay here again.

The hotel is big and lush.The seaview from the room is amazing.The pool next to the beach is very nice.Must try the mojito.Happy hours 1 for 1 at 5 to 6 pm.Karon beach is amazing.The only bad point is the chaotic taxi situation in Phuket.I will ask the hotel to call me a taxi and somehow it will get an unlicenced taxi.If you are a single traveller you may be afraid of such things.The taxi fares are totally ridiculous.I paid baht1000 to go to the airport when the airport taxi charges me baht700 to go to the hotel.The taxi fare from hotel to Patong is baht400.The return trip may be baht600.The hotels in Karon should organise a van service to patong to give guest an alternative.The van service from the hotel to Patong is not frequent enough.The hotel food is good and the live band at night is decent.The staff at the hotel is warm and nice and capable.

Booked this place as a secret deal so had no idea which hotel we would get. Ended up with a 2bedroom suite which was huge and luxurious. Enjoyed having a hotel close to the beach with excellent pool and opportunity to use amenities at other partner hotel for no extra. Staff were really friendly and received welcome gift of breakfast as well. I encourage anyone to book the secret deal as you might end up with a bargain! Karon is over the top with wall to wall tourists and constant requests to buy cheap stuff but staying her made it worth it

We made the trip to celebrate our wedding anniversary. It was a great experience to be greeted with friendly smiles after an hour long car ride. Don't get me wrong, the driver sent to pick us up from the airport was a very friendly guy. However, it took almost 50 minutes to travel from the airport and that kinda dampened the happy spirit. Anyhow, the hotel staffs were excellent and welcoming, making our stay very comfortable. We made friends with the guy who delivered our luggage to our room. The room we got was spaciously big and modernized. I almost wish it had been my own apartment where I live in 365 days. It is that comfortable. Kitchen comes fully furnished with all utensils and stuff, except food of course. Dewa Karon is also very close by the beach. You just have to walk about 5-10 minutes and you get to the beach. For a lazy bum like myself, the walk was a relaxing one. There are many shophouses and a night-market once you walk to the beach. Couple of restaurants that you can have your meals, prices aren't expensive too. The only con when staying in Dewa Karon is lack of spa salons. We didn't get to experience the in-hotel spa as it was closed by the time we got back from the beach every day. There was another spa resort next to the hotel. We tried that. It was medical for me but my husband was sore from the massage. If you travel to Phuket specifically for spa and relaxation, then I guess Dewa Karon might not be your best choice.

The hotel is perfect, it deserves all the 4 stars, comparing to the price the quality of the hotel and staying over there is perfect. Karon beach is very quiet away from the loudy nightlife of patong, have everything around. This hotel is very good if you are looking to spend your holiday more in relaxation. The hotel is just in front of the beach entry. Staff were very friendly and professional, they speak good english, they are very helpful all the time. The pool is very good, you can see big phuda from the pool in the roof. My only negative comment is there was a charge of 1000 bhat for any visitor, apart from that everything was perfect, i would definitely come back to that hotel again.

After staying in two other 3 and 4 star hotels in Karon beach The Old Phuket had me hooked after my first night. The hotel is set back about 150 meters from the beach , just down a small no through road. The hotel has a very nostalgic atmosphere with a beautiful reception area surrounded by lush tropical well manicured gardens and fish pools. Lots of space here to move around, with green well kept lawns, to a library and a small gym with some cardio equipment (no weights)The restaurant is outdoor with a turn of the century charm, and the breakfast is excellent as far as IM concerned. The hotel appears to have three wings, two newer, and one older. I stayed in the new wing, and the room was way above average, including rain shower, raised glassed in bathtub, patio furniture and relatively comfortable bed. The highlight of this hotel (new wing) is the amazing swimming pool. Swimmers, triathaletes this is your place as the pool has 3 sectioned off 40 meter lap lanes (aprox 40 meters) to do laps. The water was clean, cool and a treat to swim in. Ground floor poolside rooms have Jacuzzi jets and relax contoured pool edge on there balcony.

The hotel is located right in front of the Karon beach. I loved the jacuzzi and the huge toilet. The balcony was great because you can relax while watching the view. The staff were very good and accommodating. The motorcycle i rented was delivered before i arrived/check in the hotel. The receptionist kept the key and gave it to us as soon as we arrive/check-in. Would definitely go back to that hotel with the suite room. The only bad thing i experienced are "ANTS", i don't know where are they coming from but they are around especially the balcony and the jacuzzi tub when it's working. Hope this issue can be fixed. Everything else are good.

The staff is 110% first class. Very friendly. Exellent breakfast.Everything was perfect. Start with check in and then all help with baggage. Room very clean with wiev over the pool. Cleaning of the room is perfect. The friendly action from the staff comes from their heart. Staying at KWR before and that was very good that time too. Whenever I go to Karon I will try to stay at KWR hotel.

We 4 people stayed there on 11/09/2011, and we could never expect the hotel could be this spacious. The rooms were very clean, comfortable with all the necessary facilities (carpet, safe, towel for beach, ...). Moreover, there are a 2.7m swimming pool, a swim-up bar and another pool as well (I wonder why they do have so many swimming pools here). The location was great, just opposite to the quiet Karon beach (but not calm during this rainy season). Not a lot of shops around, but a couple of nice restaurants are available for your choice. If you enjoy nightlife, this might not be the place for you. It's more for relaxing, somewhere you could avoid the crowd, and it is very true for the Karon beach itself. The staff service is nice and friendly. The only drawback is their English not so good, so you might have some difficulties asking them for service. Nevertheless, I highly recommend this hotel for everyone. It is really worth much more than what we had paid.

I had a room with a balcony and the view was fantastic! I Could see most of Karon Beach and the ocean. At night, the whole view turned into a background of romantic stage with dotted light on the Oceanside and stars in the sky. The room was comfortable and relaxing, but the bathroom can use a little upgrade. All three levels of the hotel is nested in green vegetation, making me feel refreshed every time I walked around the property. The hotel is on the hillside. It took 5 minutes to reach the beach, and this part of the beach is at the right edge of Karon Beach with very few people, almost feel like a private beach to me. I have never met any hotel owner(s) as friendly, helpful and courteous as Joe and his wife, they always smile and happy. They even gave me a free ride to Patong in his own family car on my first day there. In fact their whole crew was marvelous, every one of them treated you as a friend. Their foods were great, nice breakfast of your choice, both Thai and Western. Their dinner was good too. The needle soup was the best I had ever tasted in the whole Thailand. Their dinning area was a good place to mingle with travelers from different part of the world. I made a few friends from China and Europe just sitting around there drinking my mango juice. I took a picture with Joe, his wife and his staff, we looked like a happy family. I shall return!

Pros: Very satisfied. Some past negative reviews by other users here had us worried but we found that the pictures shown are actually a very accurate representation of the place; what you see is what you get. The pool area (infinity pool with jacuzzi area) was the highlight for us - clean, gorgeous view & location, with deck chairs & umbrellas as well as a lovely patio area overlooking the ocean with tables & chairs. We often brought our takeaway food to dine there, with a clean & friendly hotel cat keeping us company every time. Location was excellent for us. Close to Karon beach & shops (if, like us, you don't mind the 1.5km walk or relying on the free shuttle bus) yet still retaining the feeling of seclusion we were looking for. Free daily shuttle bus to & fro Karon & Patong beach from morning to late afternoon. Our room was very clean and quiet, with a great balcony facing the ocean where we enjoyed our daily morning cuppa. Beach towels, umbrellas, robes & bedroom slippers provided. Bed was very comfortable for both of us. The hotel staff was always very helpful and pleasant, going out of their way to help us with every request. Free wifi throughout the hotel grounds, even by the pool area, that was (usually) reliable. Cons: 3000 baht cash deposit required upon check-in that we were not informed of beforehand when making our booking via Agoda. Shuttle bus timings could be improved particularly as the last bus back to the hotel is 4pm (from Karon) & 5pm (from Patong). The 1.5km walk along the road to the beach is short but not safe due to the traffic & lack of pedestrian pavements (especially around bends/blind spots). Aircon in the room worked well although it kept leaking (a lot!), despite the many times we had maintenance called in to 'fix' the problem. Plumbing was the biggest problem for us, it required several flushings each time we used the toilet. We did have maintenance called in twice for this as well but it was always just a temporary f

My mom and I stayed at the Ramada Phuket Southsea for 3 nights. It was a great value for the money and you couldn't beat the location. We would highly recommend staying in Karon instead of Patong. The Ramada was right across the beach and the pool area and swim up bar was lovely. The hotel is due for some rennovations, but that kind of seemed to be the trend in Phuket in general. We did have issues with our room card working, and kept having to go get staff to let us into our room until they were able to fix it. That was the only annoying thing. The free breakfast buffet was outstanding! We ate at the restaurant once and it was good food and price too. The hotel has a concierge service there to help with airport transportation or day trips. Tik was very helpful with an airport shuttle and booking a day trip through Diamond Sea to the Phi Phi Islands. Would highly recommend that trip as well! The shuttle picks up and drops off at the Ramada.

I booked Superior room facing the pool but they changed my room to 111 standard room and replaced 2 breakfasts for us. Comfortable bed. Big room. Balcony facing to no one, very good direction. Environment very good. Quiet. Relax. It's located behind the main road of Karon. No issues about that if you have a bike to stroll around Phuket. Very good breakfast. Very good service. Very nice environment. Very pleasant pool open up to you until 10pm. Family Mart and 7-11 just 2-3 minutes walk (bike only takes 30seconds to reach). Buy a box of mosquito coil so that you can enjoy sitting out at the balcony without mosquitoes kissing and annoying your beautiful time at the surrounding. Overall. We are satisfied with Baan Vanida. To improve: Install more lights at the surrounding to make the place and garden more lively and more romantic. Install fan at the balcony. Install cool fan at the restaurant. That's going to be a perfect 3 stars resort. Thank you Baan Vanida!