My husband and I stayed at Lanta Palace fro 5 nights from New Years Eve. It took over 8 hours to get there from Bangkok. The flight to Krabi was the quickest part of the journey. We didn't realise it would take hours by minibus and on two car ferries to get to the island. It was worth the trip and we later found out that there is a boat service from Ao Nang. The hotel put on a dinner for New Years Eve but all the hot food was pretty cold. There was also entertainment and games for the children. We were the only Australians there, most people were Scandanavian and lots had children. The bungalows were not fancy but were clean and comfortable with a handy drying are at the rear to hang out swimming things. The airconditioner worked well so the room was nice and cool for sleeping. The pool is lovely and overlooks the beach which is clean and also good for swimming. There are plenty of sun lounges, umbrellas and chairs. Breakfast was a disappointment as the food wasn't kept warm enough and eggs weren't cooked fresh when ordered as most hotels do but the restaurant overlooked the beach and pool and was very pleasant. We found lots of very cheap and tasty places out on the street for our lunch and dinner and didn't bother with the hotel for eating as it was more expensive than the local places. The resort is 20 minutes drive from the main town of Saladan but the hotel had a free shuttle twice a day. Internet is available at the hotel but is half the price across the road. It is also cheap to have your laundry done out in the street. We had a really great time at Lanta Palace and would recommend it to other people who just want to relax, sunbake and swim as long as you aren't too fussy about cold food for breakfast. The staff were friendly and helpful and we had a great time.

We had the most fantastic holiday in Lanta palace!!! We stayed here for approx 10 nights and were the most relaxed I think we have ever been....

We had been travelling for a couple of months before around australia, singapore and malaysia before arriving in Thailand and following a trip up to Chang Mai were in need of somewhere to completely relax...

The room rates were very reasonable for the standard of the room we have a 5th row bungalow with satalite TV, mini bar, huge bed and nice decor (in fact we copied one of their ideas and now have the thai style hats mounted on our bedroom wall)

All facilities including the restaurant, swimming pool and beach were lovely and well maintained!

Whilst here we hired a moped and had a fun day of exploring the island and found an restaurant with the most amazing views...

We found the staff very friendly, for example one day a had a little acident on the moped where I burn't my leg and the maids came running to my rescue with freshly pick aloe vera to sooth the burn! Also we made friends with the bar and restaurant staff that were very keen to ensure we had a fantastic time so arranged for us to go out to the local bars etc...

Due to my burn on my leg I had to visit the local doctor that was just across the road from the Lanta palace and the service was very good and alot cheaper than when I visited the doctor again when we went of to the neighbouring Koh Phi Phi island!

If you are looking for a reasonably priced very relaxing holiday give Lanta palace a try - I certainly don't think you will be disappointed!!!

In November 2006 I paid 800 baht for a nice room with TV and air conditioning. The property is made up of bungalows, although some share common walls, so are actually duplexes. The restaurant had high prices for Thailand, and the food was mediocre. They had apparently left out all spices for fear of things being too spicy for foreigners, but the food ended up tasting bland. Other restaurants and internet services are available on the main road. The room itself was quite nice, but there are too many problems for me to recommend the place to friends. A major drawback is that there is a mosque in front of the hotel with loudspeakers that announce prayer time several times a day (including 6 a.m.). This noise can be heard at other nearby hotels too. They had internet service available at 2 baht per minute, but it never worked. The front desk service was indifferent at best, and at worst, downright rude. There was a customer who had some type of problem with the breakfast voucher, and after several minutes, the manager told them they could leave and stay at another hotel. There could have been some better solution, but this is southern Thailand, so you don't get the service that you get in Bangkok and northwards. One thing about Koh Lanta is that the beach is fairly ugly unless you go far south on the island. It's a muddy rocky mess until the high tide comes in, but it's not nice then either. Better to press on further south if you're looking for a nice beach to relax on. The hotel does have an attractive small pool.

http://www.lantapalace.com/