From my first trip to China, I decided to stopover in Thailand for some R&R at the beach. It was all planned around the Sheraton Grande Laguna resort in Phuket. And the trip started out beautifully. Once I arrived at the airport, I went to the hotel-affiliated desk to confirm my pre-arranged transportation to the hotel. Previous to my arrival, I received emails to confirm my arrival. There's not better way to do it! I would highly recommend the pre-arranged transportation. I was greeted by the Thai ladies with a smile and whisked to a 5-series BMW with cool air conditioning greeting me inside. This sure beat having to get in line for a dirty cab.

The actual property is part of a Laguna Phuket hotel complex with a few other luxury brands like the Banyan Tree. The entrance to the hotel is gated. Once inside, the Sheraton Grande Laguna Phuket was a beautiful property and I was ready to enjoy.

Check-in: In one word, "calming." Fresh wet face towels were brought along with a cup of some fresh juice. I wanted to ask for more of that juice! If I recall correctly, they had a separate sit down check-in desk for the Preferred Guest members. All the staff members were amazingly kind. As a Gold Preferred Guest member, I was given a room with a balcony from where I could dip myself right into the pool. Once I checked into my room, I received a call to see if I was ok with the room. I said yes and they wished me an enjoyable stay. It was a nice touch.

Room: The room was spacious and tastefully decorated, but nothing special. Because of the humidity in the area, there was some dampness. although the ceiling fan did help. The bathroom was big with a deep tub and a shower. The decor of the bathroom was a bit boring with the usual neutral colors. If one word comes to mind about the room, it would be "comfortable."

Restaurants: I was a bit disappointed with the restaurant choices. At the time of my visit there were only two or three restaurants to choose from. This was not the impression I got when I was booking the stay. A majority of them were closed or not available at all times. Nevertheless, the buffet place named The Birds of Paradise was very reliable for food and service. Since I frequented this place the most, the lady in charge offered me outstanding service. At the other end of the spectrum, one place I would not recommend is the Poolside Restaurant. Service was very slow there even when you did not have the food brought to you by the pool. And the food is mediocre. The swim up bar was nice, the drinks pretty good and happy hour made it worthwhile. For drinks, I do not recommend the lobby bar either. I was there one evening when they had a band playing. The drinks were awful and service was a hit or miss.

Amenities: The room amenities were modern and sufficient for a resort hotel of this caliber. Nothing worth a special mention. When I checked in there was a plate of exotic fruits with a card. I believe the water bottles are sold for a charge but they have complementary ones and I had no trouble asking for more without charge. The bath items were standard shampoo/conditioner/soaps of different fragrant types but not particularly luxurious.

There is a spa, as expected, where I got a pedicure package that was excellent. Prices were very reasonable. One favorite thing I enjoyed about the hotel was the pool. It has a main area but then it sort of circles the property. I would open up my balcony, jump right in and take a leisurely swim around and back. Being able to access the pool right off my balcony was a special treat at night. When I wanted to cool off and relax, I would jump out the door and enjoy a few serene moments floating in the water.

There is a gym at the hotel that is well equipped. Also, the outside area had pool tables and ping pong tables. There is one other perk that is not affiliated with the hotel, but worth mentioning. Right on the beach, there is a tent area set up with local masseurs! They offer massages at a very cheap rate. It should be noted that this is not your "luxurious on the beach with light wind in your hair and exotic oils rubbed over you by a personal masseur" type of massage. It is a cheap massage on a massage bench by a local woman earning a living. Having said that, the massages are no frills, good massages. I had a Thai body massage and was ready to relax on the beach afterwards.

The hotel has activities desk where you can plan your trip according to what you like. The offerings were typical of any resort. One thing I would skip if you are thinking about it is the elephant ride. There is an elephant walker that goes around the hotel in the morning. You can pet, feed, take pictures with the baby elephant when you catch him. You just don't get to ride the elephant but why would you want to be cruel and ride the elephant?

Location: The location of the property is convenient. I stayed mostly within the resort since I was there to relax and the beach is right off the property. There are two lounging areas. The first is enclosed by a very low fence and cushy lounge chairs. The other is closer to the beach with basic lounge chairs. The first area with the cushy lounge chairs is part of the hotel and the other area is set-up by the locals. There are merchants walking around peddling different items like necklaces and food. They did not bother me much as I just said no to everything but I had the option of staying in the hotel operated area if I did not want to be bothered at all. One thing I did not like was that I had to stay in the small enclosed area if I chose that option. Besides the beach, there is a shopping complex accessible with the hotel-operated mini-bus or the mini-ferry service. I believe the whole service (bus/ferry/shops) is part of the Laguna Phuket Resort complex, not just the Sheraton. It's touristy and phony in a way but nonetheless convenient. The shops include jewelry stores, souvenir shops, restaurants, and tailors. There is also a restaurant/coffee shop operated by the Sheraton. You can get free internet access if you dine there.

One shop I have to point out as "BE AWARE" is Peter's Tailoring Shop. I had a few suits, shirts, pants made and had put a deposit down with my credit card. They guranteed their work 100%. When I went through a couple of fittings and saw the quality of work produced, I was not happy... poor workmanship and I was unsure if they would finish in time. I asked to get my money back as guranteed. To make the story short, they ended up telling me that they did not know how to issue a credit to my credit card and offered to pay me back in cash with the current exchange rate. I said no. You do not want to get yourself involved in that kind of shady deals when you are in a foreign country. After a long ordeal, I went back to the hotel and talked to the manager about my experience. It took some time but in the end the manager was able to resolve the issue.

Quality of Service: Excellent. Apart from little things here and there that are not worth mentioning, service was very good.

Overall Stay: I am hesitant to say that the Sheraton Laguna Phuket is a luxurious resort hotel. However, it is part of The Luxury Collection so it is a worthy hotel with perks and amenities to satisfy many needs. I would definitely recommend it for families. It's nice enough for adults to enjoy but not super luxe that the sight of children seem out of place.

Review submitted by ajk2n

Posted at February 14, 2006 10:30 PM