Chanalai Garden Resort

A budget hotel with excellent facilities and great staff.

The hotel is located very close to Kata Beach, I would say a 2 minute walk and you are on the beach. It has two swimming pools, neither of which are busy, and decent size bedrooms. Kata itself is not the loud part of town. It’s more geared to families I think. The beach is great, and is not crowded at all. The shopping is good, and there is a lot to browse, and lots and lots of place to eat. Do not worry about where to eat! Just opposite the hotel is a surf school if you or your kids fancy surfing lessons. The price is good, and includes the rental of the board for the day. The instructors are good, and engaged with both of my kids. The hotel bedrooms are fine, with a comfy bed, a good shower, and most importantly, ice cold air con. After two weeks at Chanalai Garden Resort I will say that overall I think the hotel is good, and I would recommend it. Breakfast is adequate. There is plenty to choose from for breakfast, but the quality is not average. The service is excellent though, and the staff are very efficient and even on busy days there is always seating available and no queues. The coffee is excellent. Dinner is again average if you eat in the restaurant. The menu is limited and I would stay away from western dishes as they are not well prepared. I mean, you’re in Thailand, and the Thai food is great, so eat Thai. I would not recommend half board. We went half board and ate dinner in the hotel maybe 4 times in two weeks. The pool buffets they have, which seem to be every other night are good though. A varied and tasty selection of food, some of which is cooked fresh for you. There are some excellent restaurants in Kata, and you will be spoiled for choice, from cheap food at Kata Night Market, to more expensive (£120 for 4) at the Two Chefs. I’m a hotelier with about 38 year experience, and I do believe that the staff are a hotels most important asset. The staff at Chanalai are excellent. Especially the breakfast staff. They are happy, smiling, engaging, and keen to make sure you have what you need. This hotels management leads from the front, and quite often you will see one of the directors walking around at breakfast, chatting to the guests. Man, one of the managers, is excellent. Always welcoming and happy to help. Another staff member worthy of note is Iris, a Guest Services Office. She is always happy to have a chat and is quite knowledgeable of the local area activities. All in all, a good hotel choice for our stay in Phuket.

Oh, and the room maid makes a great towel elephant.

The location was excellent right opposite the beach, it’s on the main (tiny and narrow) rd through Kata Beach and so walkable to everything without being in the busiest section. Staff were friendly and helpful. Kae in the restaurant was excellent, responding to my dietary restrictions and leaving a note on the breakfast buffet list for other staff. We also loved talking with Irish who advised us about some plans to make sure we made the most of our trip. Thank you Kae and Irish! The hotel itself is great value for money, it’s around a 3-4 star in Australia. We had a room quite high up the hill so great view from balcony. There are lifts which make sense once you learn your way around and a few stairs so if you have mobility challenges make sure to ask staff before booking. We enjoyed our 10 days and would return. Thank you to the team.