Hyatt Regency Phuket
Peak season in Phuket meant slim picking for a good value hotel on the island. Ended up choosing the Hyatt Regency Phuket and my thoughts are mixed. Here’s why.
Location: A-
This is why we chose this hotel. It is really well located between sort of all the places to see in Phuket. Only problem was that it is NOT an actual beachfront hotel, a common theme for Thai island hotels unfortunately. So crossing the street to go to the beach and not have any service really down there was a bummer. But again, you are close enough to most of the key places on the island, which is nice.
Rooms: A-
The rooms are super spacious, with great views and balcony as well. Honestly all great on the room front, only downside is getting to and from is an adventure.
Amenities: B
Kind of weird to comment on this. Like there’s a lot but it spread out and there’s also a lot of people. So it almost felt like you didn’t want to use the amenities even when you wanted to use the amenities. This sounds weird. But there was a spa (expensive for Thai standards - just get a massage on the beach - and too small), a gym (tucked away in a random corner with no view??), and a huge pool (but not nearly enough lounge chairs).
Food: B+
Thai food is just fantastic no matter what. Everything we ate was actually pretty solid, but nothing to write home about.
Service: C+
Bad. Slow. Check in took like an hour. Gotta call for buggy to take you around the steep property, and it frequently became an elongated process (although the little cars they used were cute). We ordered a charcuterie board and it took an hour as well. So yeah no, while there were some good moments overall, it was a generally poor experience on the service front.
Scene
Honestly really annoying scene. Lots of entitled people, loud kids running around and just generally annoying clientele. I’m talking the whole like wake up at 7 am and go to the pool and put a shirt on a lounge chair then go back to bed type of crowd. Fucking bitches. Something about people visiting Thailand. I don’t know. It’s annoying. But yeah, I was not a fan of the scene here. It’s also just very crowded almost wherever you go, EXCEPT for that hilltop pool/restaurant (I swear that was the only saving grace at this hotel).
Conclusion
At its price point, the Hyatt Regency Phuket does a good job. Not great, not bad. Good. The location and rooms are more than enough to make this a satisfying stay, but the service and scene are definitely not it, and there are plenty of better options on Phuket.