HOTEL THE RACHA Luxe

We booked a deluxe pool villa and were upgraded to the grand pool villa which was absolute magic. The view, room and amenities were exceptional as was the attentiveness and service of staff. The infinity pool and the spa bathroom were the icing on the cake, the room was so nice we barely left during our stay. We also had dinner in the main restaurant overlooking the common pool and the food and service was fantastic experience in itself. Very romantic and luxurious highly recommend.

Well where do I start! This place was just amazing! If you are looking for the perfect honeymoon/relaxing holiday/pure escapism/heaven on earth then you will find it here. I stayed in the deluxe pool villa and that's it from now on I have to have my own pool!! It was so nice having a quick dip in the morning to wake up! The view from my breakfast table was second to none, over looking the pure white sandy beach and turquoise waves. Water is perfect and really good fun with the waves. (The only thing to point out is that Thailand does not have private beaches, so you get lots of day trippers! But it doesn't spoil it too much and they have all gone by the time the beautiful sunset starts) During the day spent the time at the Adult only infinity pool (with underwater music). The villa was amazing, loved the attention to detail e.g. Bose speakers, mood lighting, upscale coffee machine (could just keep going on) Really good quality food served everywhere, but favourite was the Firegrill Restaurant had the best Filet Mignon ever! Would I come here again, most definitely!!!

The black Mercedes airport transfer followed by private boat transfer was the start of a wonderful break for our small family of 3. We were exhausted when arriving, and we left after 7 nights feeling rejuvenated and well rested. We stayed in a 2 room villa high up on the hill, so much privacy, wonderful views of the ocean, large private pool, sun bed overlooking the water. My son who is only 5 had a wonderful time. There is everything you need in the villa - plenty of towels changed daily, great servicing, excellent room service, coffee machine. The extra bed for our son was excellent and well positioned in the separate room. Internet access was excellent, and lots of movies to watch. We did not try many of the activities, we did try the spa which was excellent and we hired AVT bikes to explore the island and went to some of other beaches (had a great day). It was extremely relaxing having a cocktail in the lobby bar and watching the sunset. It was low season during our visit - so note the arrival is via the back beach, the surf is fairly choppy most days (need to be a fairly confident surf swimmer), and there are no evening buffets (everything in restaurants and served a la carte). Also in the low season there was a lot of rubbish on the beach, more than ihave ever seen before. The staff at the Racha do clean this up daily, and during our visit they had a special activity organised to do this - rubbish not just from day trippers but thr water itself which comes to the bay with the help of the winds. The best part about our visit was the lovely food and beverage manager Monika who was an absolute delight, she made my sons holiday a wonderful experience and we often speak about Monika and what a lovely holiday she helped make for us - nothing was ever too much trouble for her and right up until our very last minute on the island we loved speaking with her. Thank you Racha for a lovely holiday.

Well, what can I say' Probably not a lot as I’m left speechless again by this unique resort like no other. I don't normally travel to the same hotel twice, let alone the same place twice yet this is my 3rd visit to The Racha and not once have I been disappointed. I’m not easy to please. Previously I worked as a Travel Journalist so am amongst the pickiest of the pickiest, however I really do not have anything to fault! The Racha is a place that dreams are really made of and is something very special indeed. If you want to switch off from the outside world, wake up to beautiful crystal clear unobstructed ocean views, to have the most amazing holiday of your life. This is the place to go. The rooms (and have stayed in 3 different room types from the cheapest (which is 5*+ quality) to pool villas which give that extra added touch and there is nothing I can fault. Spotless, white, minimalistic rooms with every added feature you could wish for from built in DVD libraries, to pillow/scent menus and Bose iphone docking stations. Beds are super comfy and the staff take so much care and pride in making sure the rooms are perfected daily from brand new linens every single day whilst having genuine smiles on their faces from the love of working in this resort with this team! The pool… the pool is exactly as you see in the photos and the website! There is no photoshopping done here. Perfectly landscaped around with Palm Trees with a beautiful infinity view towards the Andaman Sea. Due to the small number of rooms, and rooms with pools, alongside the litter free (due to the team gathering of the staff everyday to ensure it’s spotless) beach, this pool is always empty. Apart from the people who go into the pool to take the selfie or long shot photo. Trust me. With a view like that, EVERYBODY including myself does it. Food is great. Breakfast special requirements are not an issue. The staff are so so responsive that you are never left waiting for your table to be cleared or to be checked upon. The GM also definitely needs a mention and is obvious that he is extremely active in the resort. He was around during check in. He was around in the evenings. He even led his team in the mornings on the beach clean up. It really is a model example to the team to see a GM lead like this instead of the more frequented GM at many other hotel chains who only lead the ‘corporate life’ staying in their office all day, without a care for the actual things happening in resort. From what makes a resort excellent to what makes a resort surpass that are the little things, and The Racha and its team does this perfectly. The installation of butterfly colonies strategically located give a beautiful picture constantly and means you are never more than 20 seconds away from your next butterfly. The welcome back notes. The GM’s touch. The positioning of each villa to provide the views, whilst also the ‘seclusion’, even when arriving early for the pier allowing for complimentary visits within the transfer car to anywhere of interest to us. Within The Racha, seriously, nothing is too much trouble. I know this is quite long, however to understand the experience at The Racha you need more than just an excellent, this is the closest I can give you to understanding it, however you will never understand it until you visit yourself! If you want a 5 star experience in absolute luxury, impeccable quality, without the pretense of some of the big name hotels where you feel obliged to dress up for dinner every day. This is the place for you. It gives you a chance to 100% relax, get away from the outside world (but free wifi is there if you really want it) and unwind. That is something that is very hard for me to do, but within a day of arriving here it always happens!

This is our second time here since four years ago. If you want to relax and refresh, you should come here. Every villa is separate with others with good view. The SPA in the hotel also very good and we did twice.