Pimalai Resort & Spa - Reviews
Mystery Inspector's Reviews
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19 April 2010
Top 3 reasons to stay at the hotel:
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Great private beach – long strip of great sand with an ’untouched’ feel to it. Sandy seafloor is great for swimming and no strong currents.
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Two locations for the price of one – the resort has a lower and upper level each with their own lovely infinity pool. Lower level is beachfront for sand and sea lovers, whilst the upper level is on the hillside (with great views of the bay below) and is breezier and sand-free.
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Peaceful and relaxing location – the private bay on Koh Lanta bay is a very welcome change from the bustling resorts on nearby Phuket, Krabi and Koh Samui.
Overview:
We arrived from another SLH hotel on a neighbouring island in Thailand just as the sun was going down. As soon as we entered the reception the staff went into action and were very concerned about getting us checked in quickly – we couldn’t understand why the rush but then the receptionist told us it was because they wanted to get us to our room so we could sit and enjoy the sunset before the sun went down as our room had a great view! This was a great touch and nice to have staff thinking about the guests enjoyment in this way. We were given a room upgrade as SLH members so we had an enviable location right on the beach with a nice little private terrace set back far enough for privacy but still with a great view. Some of the other rooms further back do not have such great views, some are a little far from the buggy drop off points and are stacked ‘double decker’ style rather than each room being detached – the individual beach front rooms are great and it’s well worth spending the extra (or becoming an SLH member to get an upgrade) to take advantage of this. Rooms 307 and 308 are at the edge of the resort so are more private and are right next to the buggy pick up point which is very handy. We had dinner at the Seven Seas restaurant which has a great view – though there are only about 4 tables that have a prime position so make sure you book early in the day if you want to secure one of these. Room service is very efficient and if you have a beachfront room then I can recommend a late lunch on your terrace with some bubbles courtesy of a bottle of their Prosecco (crisp and light and quite reasonably priced for Thailand) as a thoroughly enjoyable way to soak in the view. There are two main pools and the upper level pool is largely enforced as child free (other than one small section at the far left hand side) so if you want peace and quiet as a couple then the upper pool is the one to go for. The beachfront restaurant is also a very nice setting with the sound of the waves for company, though it’s worth noting that they do sometimes have ‘buffet nights’ at this restaurant which are quite a different atmosphere (busier and less relaxing and no a la carte menu option) – these aren’t necessarily very well advertised so worth checking with reception to make sure you know what you are getting on a given night before you choose your restaurant for the evening. I can also recommend the home made cookies that are supplied in your room as a welcome gift - though be warned - eating just one is near impossible…