Central Hotel

[makavelli]

Hi everyone,

I am looking for a nice hotel to stay in (Does'nt matter what it costs) but it has to be within walking distance of the nightlife in Phuket.

I have never been to Phuket before so dont know where I should be looking to stay. Someone informed me the nightlife is round a street called bangla road - Is this correct?

When I am in Pattaya I stay at the Marriott because I love its central location.

Any recommendations would be much appreciated

Thanks

[Kimera]

Yes you are correct, it all happen's around Bangla Road, there are many hotels to choose, most are on the net, check out Patong Beach, Patong City

[huggybear]

Hi everyone,

I am looking for a nice hotel to stay in (Does'nt matter what it costs) but it has to be within walking distance of the nightlife in Phuket.

I have never been to Phuket before so dont know where I should be looking to stay. Someone informed me the nightlife is round a street called bangla road - Is this correct?

When I am in Pattaya I stay at the Marriott because I love its central location.

Any recommendations would be much appreciated

Thanks

Try and book the VIP room at The C&N. Location is definitely there. Their other rooms are very mediocre, the VIP rooms are nicer.

http://phuketdir.com/cnhotel/index.htm

Be aware they have two hotels, the one you want is at 200 year Rd and Soi Bangla.

[donna]

i did the pre opening work for a hotel which has just opened in patong. its called Raya Buri and its located on sawatdirak road. rooms are on the smaller side, but they do have two suites. there is a cocktail bar on the ground floor as well as a restaurant, and the rooftop has a jacuzzi and bar.

could be worth googling.

[happyaussie]

I drove past a new or refurbished hotel the other day. I think it was called "Gracelands". Really weird name, but the hotel looked very nice.

Personally I think you're better off staying around the Kata Beach or Kata Noi area.

[Ping]

MV I suggest you look at a map of the island to orientate yourself. Note that Phuket Town is a long drive (more than 20 mins, longer during peaks) from Patong Beach. Google for a map - no shortage of them. Do the same to compare hotels/prices. There is nightlife at Kata and Karon, as one poster suggested. But the hub is at Soi Bangla, Patong Beach, if that is what you are after. Many hotels are within walking distance, but look at the location of your chosen hotel on a Patong map (Google) before you commit yourself. Note that some hotels offer free shuttle services, but times of operation vary.

Tuktuks and motorcycle taxis are available. Motorcycle taxis are fairly cheap provided that you are familiar with the correct prices. If you want to get a motorcycle taxi, ask a local the right price first (eg hotel reception, etc), then when you flag one down, negotiate the price up front. Tuktuks are highly overpriced and are the only way to get you directly from, say, Kata or Karon to Patong Beach. Unlike years ago, there is now little room for negotiation with standard tuktuk fares, but you need to know what those standards fares are, because they will often quote you a dearer price. It may save some hassles, when you have settled the fare, to say 'includes tip'. If more than one person, also ensure you clarify that it is the total fare - not per person. As you may be starting to understand, some tuktuk drivers have several neat tricks for extracting extra baht from their passengers.

The bottom line is, if you intend upon spending a lot of time at Patong, then stay there - any savings realised by staying elsewhere will probably be more than lost in transportation costs (unless there are three or more of you).

[donna]

good advice Ping.

[Super Hans]

If you want *local* nightlife, choose Patong beach - Holiday Inn may be as good as anyway, but not cheap.

If you want nicer beaches, with a little nightlife thrown in for good measure, choose Kata or Karon. A tuktuk between Patong and Karon/Kata should be 300/350 respectively.