I am new to the forum and would appreciate some feedback. I am planning on spending about 6 months in Phuket. I am not going to buy a car or motorbike so I would like to rent an apartment that is near to a good beach which is safe to swim at and not far from a decent gym. ideally the apartment would be rented monthly so I don't have to sign 6 - 12 month lease. Can anyone recommend anywhere.

Patong

Gym http://www.maximumfitnessphuket.com/

Apartment, i got 300meter from the gym a 80sqm,seaview,2 bedroom,2 toilet,internet/tv,kitchen/ for rent 20k PM for that

Naiharn

Gym http://www.naiharngym.com/

Apartment just google..

falkan thanks for the links. I have googled for apartments in Nai Harn and Rawai but haven't found anything suitable. Can anyone recommend any apartments or condos in these area's where you can rent monthly and not have to sign a 6-12 month lease.

Depends how you want to spend your time, i.e. beach/gym/apartment etc. However, there is a soi in Chalong that has a number of Muay Thai gyms (probably Tiger Muay Thai is the most well known), that has an ever increasing number of support and service outlets (restaurants, pharmacies, motorcycle/car rental, taxis etc). One popular venue is called 'Tony's'. It's an apartment/guest house place that has a restaurant that seems to have people in all the time. He's advertising rooms at 5000 baht/month. Could be a good place to base yourself, as you're no more than 10/15/20 minutes from the popular beaches, without being exposed to the 'tourist' prices for food and entertainment. A very multinational mix of people in this area, so a good source of social life and information.

Can't really give you much more information than this, from a gym website:

http://phukettopteam.com/prices/tonys-apartments.php

1 Day = 700 Baht

1 Week = 4,000 Baht

1 Month = 12,000 Baht

1 Day = 700 Baht

1 Week = 4,000 Baht

1 Month = 12,000 Baht

This from the gym (Top Team) website. As with most things here, if you book through a third party, then you're going to pay top price. I go past this particular guesthouse/restaurant most days, and they have a notice outside for 5000 baht/month. Tomorrow I'll take a photo and post it.

Advice in general here, if you are going to book accommodation, particularly through a third party, only do it for one or two days. After that, look around for what suits you better, and negotiate the price. If you want to stay where you originally booked longer, then get a discount, because the owners have paid the agents a large percentage.

Thanks for the info. Not looking for budget accommodation. I can spend 15-20,000 a month on accommodation.