A truly beautiful setting with the main hotel cut in to the steep rock face that leads down to the golden sand beach. The whole resort is surrounded by indigenous trees and exotic plants, birds singing by day, crickets chirping by night.
We stayed in a superior bungalow which was sited second layer back from the beach after the sea view bungalows. We were 25 secs from the beach, they were 15 seconds! Both choices were cleverly positioned so that you all get a great view of the tree-lined beach and early evening sunset. Those in Superior Rooms I believe would also have great views as they were higher up in the trees and would have a more panoramic view, I suspect. Plenty of space in the aircon room, authentic in both design and furniture, and immaculately cleaned each day. We were on our belated honeymoon and the room was unexpectedly specially prepared with a scattering of red flower petals, in the bath and on the bed. Poses were dotted around the room and there was a bottle of wine thrown in, too. Wonderful.
The grounds surrounding each bungalow were laden with lush planting (banana plants, palm trees, birds of paradise) and the whole resort nestled naturally and peacefully in its environment.
The beach itself is golden sands and a little gritty in places - do not expect white, talcum powder sand here. This is not a criticism, just a fact. The beach is not particularly deep from resort fringes to the sea, but this isn't a problem as hardly anyone sunbathes on the beach! Sunbeds are not allowed on the sand (local ruling). This can be a bit of a dilemma for sunworshippers who like a sunbed (towels are often prepositioned by resort guest from around 7am, please note) - do you lay on a sunbed under the shade of the trees or "rough" it on a towel out on the sand? The ratio of beds to guests wasn't great, hence the clamour at 7am. The sea was clear and a lovely colour. A fair bit of seaweed here and there, but hey, it's an ocean and that's where it lives. BEWARE - there are rocks you can sit on that lead in to the sea but one or two have barnacles (I think) stuck to them which have been hit by the crashing waves, are broken and are razor sharp. I have the scars to prove it! The beach is substantial in length and there is a bit of passing trade of people out for a beach walk as the resorts all share the stretch. Again, this is not an issue - no busier than Skegness Beach on a warm day in April! Different class of clientele, I hasten to add.
We were B&B only and there was plenty to choose from at the resort's open-air restaurant - thai (noodles, rice, etc), european (cheese, salad, meat, fruit, yoghurt, croissant), or more englishy stuff (cereal, omlette, toast). Can't comment on the quality really as I stuck to cereal and toast. Oh, I had an omlette once - unless you specify different, it will be served rather on the raw, runny side. We had a sunset evening meal in the hotel one night (if you want the best table (unspoilt views of the sun going down), book it early in the day) and the food was fabulous. Typical hotel charges - about 3 times as much as you'd pay "downtown".
We found the staff to be curteous but not especially friendly, contrary to what others have posted here. The cleaners, leaf-sweepers and shop staff were lovely, but the restaurant staff seemed a little gloomy. The beach bar staff could barely raise a smile (which may explain why the bar was invariably empty).
We took advantage of the Spa at the resort. Lovely setting, very relaxing and comparable price to elsewhere (about 100 bahts extra each which is roughly £2). You could go down town but then you've got to make a judgment call on who to go with as there is so much choice.
Whilst we were there (first two weeks in Feb 11), we heard only 2 other native english speakers, the remainder were Scandanavian and German. In truth, we didn't want to go somewhere that was full of "Brits on Tour" but found ourselves missing the odd person to chat with about Blighty, etc. That said, western europeans flip-flop between their own language and ours at the drop of a hat, but when you are the only english in a group, it would be unfair to expect everyone else to speak "like wot we does". So we tended to leave them to their own company.
The 3 swimming pools are beautifully shaped and nestle perfectly in between the bungalows. Again, they are in the shade for most of the day and there are very few people sat around them and, more often than not, no one in them!
Final comment on the resort - it has a steep incline from top to bottom. Infirm people will struggle. The gym facility is poor - a couple of cardio machines in a non aircon room. You'll just have to run up and down the beach in your speedos.
Final comment on the guests - majority are in the age category of 50-70. And arrive with a better tan than we left with. Very few families but that is because it is such a quite location.
In summary, go here if you want peace and quite like sunbathing on a lovely beach or enjoy reading in the shade. Expect the odd cloudy day and brief downpours (swimming in the sea when its raining is a unique experience, though!) Khao Lak town offers everything a tourist can need - great restaurants at cheap prices (rice, noodles and a salad, 2 beers will cost around £6-8), tuk tuk taxis, alledged designer clothing and watches, tailor shops galore (my wife had a full-length thai silk dress made to measure for £75 in 4 days), cocktail bars, artists and soap carvers. A lovely atmosphere, slow in pace, friendly smiley shopkeepers. I'll write another piece on Khao Lak town as well as the day trips we enjoyed.
