I loved this property. It had everything we were expecting - Decent rooms, great pools and very well priced (internet, meals, drinks ). Well set out and in a great location.

The pool access rooms looked great but I really wouldn’t have liked strangers being able to look in as there isn’t heaps of space between the pool and your room. If anything I’d request the rooms in the far corner (away from the pool bar’s) – just a little more private!

Everyhting obout the hotel is so relaxing. from lobby with water ruuning down erected stone. and with natural light flowing into the lobby i knew i was in the right place. the staff was also very courteous.all the rooms over look the swimming pool which is lined with geen plants around . rooms are also very airy and lots of natural light sweeps in. the bathroom is a little small but thats okay. location excellent in fact the best right across the beach though you wont get view of the beach. i think the most i liked about the hotel is that it incorporates the feel of a a tropical island. FANTASTIC RESORT

The Banthai has its good and bad points as do most properties.

Location-
The Banthai is undoubtedly location if you are looking for on the spot shopping and nightlife. The location of this property takes you far enough away from noise, hustle and bustle without presenting prolonged periods of walking to reach shops, cafes and the renowned Bangla Road. The beach is a stones throw away and although some of indicated the beach as 'not so nice' my rating of the beach is alot higher and not too far behind Karon beach which presents with the same sea of beach chairs - the difference being Patong has the shops directly across the road, otherwise still a beach to enjoy.

Rooms-
We had a deluxe room which is definitely the choice in terms of privacy and access to the pool. The pool deluxe rooms appear to have minimal privacy and the upstairs rooms do not have direct access to the pool which I guess is dependent on personal preferences. The down-side to the rooms on the ground floor is we received the excess water from rooms above us (usually from squeezing togs and towels) which left puddles outside our room for most of the time. Additionally, smoke ashes and beer cans were not too pleasant given this was 24/7.

There was a little mould on a couple of bathroom tiles but nothing to grosse me out. They are small and dark but nonetheless did the trick.

The bed I would liken to a haybale without any over/under statement and actually suffered a sore back on some days - a first for me. On arrival staff had decorated our bed romantically which was definitely a lovely touch.

The staff are pleasant enough. On reading previous negative reviews re. staff my guess is alot of these experiences are possibly related to the limited english most staff seem to possess. Generally speaking staff endeavoured to offer up efficient and welcoming hospitality.

Pool-
I am of average woman's height - 5'4" and I found the pool a little shallow for my liking as did my husband of 6'1". There are varying depths but overall a shallow pool that doesn't always accommodate especially in humid temperatures. The positioning of the pool didn't make for pleasant surroundings given all rooms on the upper floors gaze right down onto pool-goers. I enjoy an open-scenic type pool surrounding as opposed to a high-rise look with a rather closed-in feel. The pool bar was open for 7 hours daily 11a-6p which I though was rather generous given people didn't frequent the bar for long stints.

Breakfast-
Based on breakfast rave reviews we were...disappointed -unfortunately. Although breakfast appears to be wide range, this may be on an appearance basis, i.e. spread on over 2 food islands and 4 cadenzas, the actuality of choice was limited. It wasn't a breakfast I looked forward to each morning unlike those had at other establishments.

Port Restaurant and Entertainment-
The Menu is one you peruse and peruse with difficulty on deciding and it wasn't due to having too many yummy's...Courses are over-priced and food elsewhere located down nearby lanes was nicer and cheaper.

The 2 resident bands are good and played a good range of music I thought. We didn't experience an overdose of reggae like others have commented. Many holiday-makers who weren't staying at the Hotel were coming in just to hear the band. They played every night and up to 11:30p - 12:00p. If crowd-goers were into raging the band played along and definitely assisted in heightening the party! - wahoo!!

Finally-
At the end of the day everyone has different preferences and priorities. After staying in a relatively big establishment (270 rooms) 3-storeyed , we would definitely opt for a smaller more boutique restaurant offering a more quality personal touch.

Stayed here for 6 nights for our honeymoon. Bed was very hard to sleep on and mosquitos everywhere in the room. Very damp outside bedroom sliding door. Nice swimming pool but shame about the spa jets not working properly. Bad intenet access in rooms. You can check emails but that's about it. Bathroom had mould on the walls and i don't think it had been cleaned for a while. Needed to be scrubbed. Good location for the beach and shopping. Watch out for people on scooters trying to get you to scratch a game card and then tell you that you've won a prize. Ignore them and keep walking.