THE NAI HARN Luxe

Title says it all. Hotel staff are welcoming and English skills are very good. Staff always had a smile and greeting. Big spacious rooms and well set up. Was a great hotel for families. Restaurant did serve a good variety of food including vegetarian options. Breakfast buffet gave both Asian and western options with plenty of choice. Beach is right on the doorstep and would have loved to have more time to spend here.

Smooth check in. Excellent room. Big terrace with an extraordinary view. Very clean. Wonderful breakfast. Friendly and attentive staff. Little critical comment: Pool area should be improved, especially the cleanliness of the sundbeds. Overall we felt very comfortable and enjoyed our stay in The Nai Harn very much. Especially a big Thank You to the staff.

warning: this is going to be detailed and I'm not exaggerating. Pros: * lovely, lovely location and view. The hotel faces the small but lovely Naiharn beach and you feel like you are IN it. * The staff: front desk, housekeeping, restaurants and bars, (some of the pool staff- (a couple are surly)- attentive,courteous, and mostly can communicate fairly well in English but not all. The cons: * breakfast buffet: mediocre spread by 5 star standards. THERE IS NO AIR CON ANYWHERE IN THE MAIN RESTAURANT OR THE OTHER VENUES. ONLY THE WASHROOMS HAVE AIRCON FOR SOME REASON. It is OK early morning or in rainy season, but on a hot day, which most are in Phuket you had better find a table under a fan. I prefer open air when there are lovely sea breezes, and some times there are...but a 5 star hotel should have the option of air con at least in parts of the restaurants or bars. Salad oils were rancid, asking for more smoked salmon, yielded raised eyebrows (there was no salmon to be had the 2nd morning). The omelettes were either dry or overcooked The sausages were disgusting cheap hotdogs. I don't eat grains or gluten so usually 3 eyes-that was met with raised eyebrows. The salad bar was very minimalist- not even toppings or variety of fresh vegetables. There were only 2 hard cheeses in the deli section. The tuna sashimi had fake colouring, was dried out...the smoked mackerel highly processed. * coffee: horrible. I tried 3 times to get a decent coffee as did my friend. It is not strong enough-too bitter, etc... there is no cream, only milk or soya, no almond milk or coconut milk. The latte was pretty but tasteless. The non egg items, mainly Asian looked really unappetizing and not much variety considering the hordes of Chinese over full moon festival period. Oh, and the gluten free white bread was horrible. * the lunch menu and dinner menu: lack of variety: All 3 venues have the same items including the pool. They are OVERPRICED, SMALL PORTIONS and not delicious. I tried to go safe and had som tum... hardly any dried shrimp, no cabbage on the side, (much less appetizing than any street food stall. Their signature burger was not all beef, and full of whatever additives and carmelized onions- it was a gloopy mess as it wasn't a real patty and sweet. I don't eat bread, so didn't eat the bun and it was not filling.... I had a cezar salad with chicken and the romaine was not fresh or crips. Don't waste your money in the restaurants. Really bad value. * the hotel corridors and floor to the rooms: looks tired! THE HOTEL WAS recently refurbished and renovated and it already looks like the cement flooring needs to be upgraded and it needs to be painted and the rooms themselves are looking TIRED and generic NOTHING SPECIAL. * the rooms : I opened the door to the room and was met with a stench of mildew. They clean the rooms and never open the patio doors to air them out... I was walking around holding my nose so they brought a small purifier which was so NOISY I had them remove it. This smell was in the 1st mountain room I reserved and ALSO in the sea view room which I was moved to upon complaint. I had to air out the 2nd room for 3 hours and then have the air con on to mask it. * The furniture in the rooms: looks like cheap Ikea press board furniture which they painted a faux finishing to try to resemble upscale antique furniture. The moldings of the walls are the same- press board faux finishings and the flooring too looks cheap. They even had an Ikea type cushion stool on the floor in rattan. The bathroom as well. The bathtub was clawed and a nice touch. The carpet looked tired as well as the cushions on the bed and there was just a white duvet with a white bed sheet over it- did not look plush at all with no bed throw decoration or anything to enliven. The pillows were too thick and I had neck pain after the 2nd evening. The mattress was lumpy. * the fridge in the room: tiny, and stocked with the mini bar items and cool but NOT cold so you cannot go and buy your own drinks at the nearby mini mart as the ones in the room are very overpriced and not cold. You can ask housekeeping for a bucket of ice. They did store a bottle of Prosecco for me when asked and brought it out to for me to share with my friend one evening with ice. If you wish to bring your own bottle to the restaurants or bars there is a corkage fee of 1000baht per bottle ! I initially booked into a mountain view room as the mountain is beautiful on the beach and figured I'd see the sea every day from the restaurants or the pool, or being on the beach itself. There was NO mountain view. A dark room, with a view of the hotel planted palm trees. I didn't want to spend 2 days in a dark room with no view so I complained and was upgraded to a sea view room, which I believe they gave me as it was right behind the rock salt bar and it could be noisy in full season but fortunately for me it was low season and * the verandah in the room: LOVELY view even though obstructed by the hotel bar. But the day bed had no way to screen sun and it was looking tired and it gets rained on when it rains and dried, baked by the sun. The cement flooring needs to be upgraded. * the POOL: Many reviewers complained about the size. It is not SO small but during high season, which is upcoming, it would be. It has no depth so is not good for swimming and there is not a separate section for kids, of which the hotel hosts MANY. So you are bathing with numerous humongous inflated pink swans and the like. The view from the pool is spectacular. The pool towels are have threads hanging and look dingy, not luxurious. The pool attendant will carry them and place them on your chaise lounge and open or close umbrellas for you but the pool service attendant was often surly, one of them. Pool side drinks and snacks are available- again overpriced. The temperature of the pool was just perfect, at least in October and it looked clean.

The Nai Harn We originally booked a weeks' stay at another resort in Phuket, and it wasn't what we expected. We very quickly checked out and frantically looking for another place close-by to stay. Then The Nai Harn popped up. It was as though it was meant to be. The hotel was booked through a third party website, and my partner was worried that by the time we arrived that The Nai Harn wouldn't have received our reservation so quickly, as it was only 20 minutes away from the original resort. Before we left for The Nai Harn my partner sent an email to them, telling them of our disappointment at the original resort, and that we were celebrating our anniversary. Upon arrival to the Lobby we were greeted by Sunny, who had advised that our reservation came through promptly. Check-In was seamless and Sunny was such a warm and welcoming host. We were promptly taken to our room and we were greeted with a contemporary, and very spacious sea view suite, with swans created with towels, roses and petals on the bed. It was such a lovely touch in comparison to the other hotel. Once Sunny had left, we breathed a sigh of relief, because what we had stumbled upon was a very special hotel - and at this point we hadn't even seen the rest of the grounds - but we knew it would be great. Then a knock at the door which we thought were our bags, however it was a delivery of Prosecco and some fresh fruit. We defiantly needed that and we toasted each other to our stay. The bags did follow shortly after :) The following day we got our bearings, looked out of our window onto the large and spacious balcony and the most stunning view of Nai Harn beach. I believe most guest rooms have the same view, and this is what The Nai Harn has been famous for for thirty plus years. It used to be called, The Royal Phuket Yacht Club, and has undergone a recent renovation. We did think the balcony looked too spacious, with only a Cabana at the end of the balcony looking out onto The Andaman Ocean, and realised after watching the promotions clips on the TV in the room, that furniture was missing and curtains for the Cabana. After a phone call was made to reception, they said that it would be corrected and the items put onto the balcony. Maybe this was missed because of our short notice stay but by the time we got back to our room later on, it was all sorted. The breakfast is nice with usual pastries, egg station which does lovely eggs benedict (and lots of other options), a cool room that keeps all the juices, fruit and yoghurt cold, and an area that noodles/stir fry items can be chosen. Work needs to be done on those Vietnamese Sausages though, the don't look appealing at all. But that's just nit-picking. We arrived at the pool and it also has stunning views over Nai Harn Beach. At first glance the pool looks nice, but after realising there is only one pool, and no adults pool, it got a bit noisy with children and quite small. But the views make up for that. Pool staff are also very polite and smiley, quick to set you up with towels. On occasion you will be offered with fresh fruit which is a refreshing touch but this could be extended to cold towels and the offer of more water or service. Rather than having to press a call bell to get service. Maybe this is only the case as it is low season still. The resort manager, Roong, came over to introduce himself to us. He knew us by name which was a nice touch and told us it was himself that received our email that first night before arriving, and we would like to thank him for organising our room to be ready so quickly. We also mentioned about the lack of balcony furniture, and advised that the hotel is in the process of making sure each ocean facing suite will have these items in the coming months. We found that the hotel prices for drinks and snacks are on the expensive side, but with this luxury hotel you only get the best quality. As savvy travellers who like a bargain, we found that just outside of the hotel grounds are smaller, beach style restaurants that serve food and drinks for half the price. Some really tasty food to be had here, so we mixed and matched and enjoyed both experiences. There are happy hours and three of the bars that do fantastic signature cocktails that have been specially designed for the hotel. We definitely made use of the Happy Hour. The Rocksalt restaurant is in a great setting with spectacular views over the beach. One evening we ate there and had a small issue with some food that we ordered, which was quickly resolved. Chef Dan came to our table to have a chat at the end of the evening, and discussed what had happened, and very kindly offered a solution. He was really lovely to chat to and was very informative about the hotel and activities to do in the surrounding areas. The beach at The Nai Harn is beautiful, it's definitely one of Phuket's finest. Can get busy but it's all part of the fun. The sea is such fun to be in, albeit a little choppy but fun. Every morning the rooms are spotlessly cleaned and tidied, with fresh sheets put onto the bed. Every evening there is a turn down service, with some cakes/cookies left by the room attendants which is a lovely touch. If I was nit-picking once again, the fresh flowers that were in the room weren't changed daily so they died, but then when I got back to the room, they had changed. We didn't say anything to anyone they were just replaced. We're still here at The Nai Harn, and I'm writing this from my sun lounger with two more nights to go. Already getting the holiday blues knowing we have to leave this beautiful hotel, but we will be sure to return. I wish I could name all the staff by name, but everyone here is lovely, courteous, kind and friendly. The customer service here for me is the USP.

We have just experienced a wonderful ten days at the Nai Harn where we were looked after by the friendly, welcoming staff and enjoyed every comfort. One of the highlights is Rock Salt, where we dined often. The food and wine are excellent, and to sit at a candlelit table right on the edge of the beautiful bay, watching the surf roll in as the sun goes down is just a magical way to end the day. We were looked after royally by Sid and Rayan, and indeed by everyone there. We would recommend this lovely part of the world highly.