We were an extended family of 11, spanning 3 generations - and we had a very pleasant and cosy vacation at the Himmaphan. Helen, Lak and Nooi were always at hand to ensure that our needs were catered for. We enjoyed the facilities - the pool, the pool table, the entertainment room, but the ping pong table & bats probably need an upgrade. We loved that the beach and restaurants were just a short stroll from the villa. The chef cooked up some great meals - although it would have been better if they could have provided a list of options that we can pick from. The meal on the first day was excellent - we selected the most typical dishes we would normally order at a restaurant - green chicken curry, morning glory, fish cake - and it really set a high bar for our expectations. On the 2nd day, we ran out of ideas and Googled to search for additional dishes to sample and it was obvious the chef was not as familiar with these dishes and they were a little disappointing. They only cater for 1 meal a day, and we would have loved to have both lunch and dinner at the villa as it is such a lovely place and the food was great.
Security in the villa seemed a bit lax - there were a couple of times, where the staff had gone out to shop for groceries, and we had gone out to the beach. We were only able to lock the outer gate that leads into the garden; there did not seem to be any way to secure the villa, and we thought there was easy opportunity for someone to scale the wall and enter the unsecured house at their will. Even when we were all in the villas, the outer gate was always open and left unattended, which seemed to invite anyone to just stroll in (in fact twice, people did stroll in - once someone came in for a look and peered into the rooms; another was when a couple thought they had booked rooms at the villa and wandered straight into the living room). We had not incidents during our stay, but we would have greater peace of mind if we had felt the place was a little more secure (perhaps with 24-hr security instead of just the 12 hours overnight).
Overall, we had a lovely family holiday, and will not hesitate to recommend this for large groups of friends or family.
Liked best:
Lovely villa, proximity to the beach, excellent meals
Liked least:
Lax security
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Jan 3, 2016
Dear Audrey, appreciate your detailed review. Please let me clarify couple of points. New ping pong table was ordered two weeks before your arrival and unluckily it arrived two days after your departure from the villa. It is sad you did not get a chance to try out our new table, but we have it now for all future guests.
As for the list of dishes we provide at the villa. We do have a menu with pictures at the villa, but as I was advised by the villa's staff, our new housekeeper Helen did not know about that since she only just started to work at the villa and did not offer you the menu from the beginning of your stay.
Thank you for mentioning about the constantly opened door at the villa, we are working on keeping it close at all times. Due to a big number of guests usually staying at the villa, it is a bit hard to reach for the door every time someone goes outside. But thanks again for letting me know!
It will be a pleasure to welcome you to the villa again!
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC.