Phuket Marriott - a real gem

We had an actioned packed 3D2N trip to Phuket. We stayed at the fabulous 5-star Phuket Marriott Resort & Spaat Merlin Beach near Patong. Phuket, also known as "The Pearl of the Andaman" is a popular resort and Thailand's largest island, located 900 km south of Bangkok. The island has magnificent long sandy beaches and has something for everyone.

We flew with Thai Smile from Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok. Our first flight with THAI's lower cost regional airline. It was impressive. Hand-picked young staff, slightly older aircraft, great attitude, great uniforms and good seats. The only gripe - the boxed food served on board was...different, strange fusion style. It was a short flight just 80 minutes. On landing we transferred by minivan to the hotel just 44km from the airport.

The Phuket Marriott Resort is billed as a home to business travellers, couples and families on holiday. All were in evidence during our stay. The location is great, on a secluded stretch of Tri-Tang Beach.

The resort is also not far from Patong Beach and Patong's vibrant adult nightlife in Soi Bangla, or family friendly Phuket Old Town.

We were warmly greeted on arrival at the impressive marble lobby by Peggy (Khun Chantanut), a member of the hotel executive team.

We went straight in for lunch at DOCG, an Italian wine reference denoting the wines heritage and origins. We wondered, as we sat down, whether it referred to the food too? We had a great Italian lunch! We later met the resort General Manager, Mr. Trevor May, who made a strong impression with his warm welcome.

After lunch we went to the room (our luggage had already been taken up by the bell boys). We were pleasantly surprised by the room. It was large and luxurious.

The hotel was previously known as the Merlin Beach Resort since 2000 and under its new Marriott brand since 2016. The hotel has undergone a conversion and received a significant make over.

GM Trevor May said, "Since June last year with the closure, then reopening and rebranding we aim to give resort guests a personal experience, something they will remember. It's an iconic hotel in both the Australian and European markets.

"Our long term goal is to become more of a family resort; a MICE hotel and a Destination Weddings resort. FIT's are currently our largest market," he added.

The room was spacious and looked soft and comfortable. The bed was huge with heaps of pillows and cool luxury linen...topped with a towel elephant. Andrew took it apart to see how it was made! The room was well equipped with everything you might need. The latest hi- tech audio visuals, including a great cable TV channel selection; mini bar, kettle, iron & ironing board, robes, slippers, beach bag, flip-flops, umbrella and WiFi. The bathroom was definitely 5-star with a large tub and large separate walk-in shower.

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