Le Méridien Phuket Beach Resort
This Starwood property is one of the island's overlooked treasures. Down a quiet lane off the winding beach road south of the busy town of Patong, the Le Méridien is the sole occupant of a private beach protected by high, forested hills. Hidden amid more than 40 acres of old-growth gardens, the 470-key resort features six meeting rooms, two lagoon swimming pools, four tennis courts, two squash courts, a spa, children's center, and its own ocean cruiser for diving, snorkeling, and dinner cruises. If boating and dining are not a good mix for some, the resort also has 10 restaurants and bars on dry land.
Le Méridien Phuket Beach Resort
29 Soi Karon Nui
Tambon Karon
Amphur Muang
Phuket, Thailand 83100
011 (+66) 76 370 100
starwoodhotels.com
Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort & Spa
One of the most extensive properties on the island, the Hilton Phuket Arcadia occupies 75 acres of rolling wetland in the middle of Karon, a long, white-sand beach 10 minutes south of the main center of Patong Town. A total 676 guestrooms are housed in coliseum-like rings of buildings and round towers, with views of lush jungle, high hills, and the Andaman Sea. While few hotels in Karon are directly on the beach, the Hilton has easy access--the surf is just across a road and over a small dune.
Facilities include a putting green, three swimming pools, a spa village, fitness room, jogging track, squash and tennis courts, meeting facilities including a 9,180-square-foot conference room, and four restaurants.
Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort & Spa
333 Patak Road
Karon Beach
Phuket, Thailand 83100
011 (+66) 76 396 433
hilton.com
JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa
On a secluded beach in the less-developed north of Phuket Island, the JW Marriott offers 265 rooms and suites with sea-view balconies and private massage mats in indoor Thai-style relaxation areas. Facilities include 10 meeting rooms totaling 15,608 square feet, a full-service business center, wireless Internet, three outdoor pools, a spa, children's center, nine restaurants and five bars. The nearest golf course is the Blue Canyon Country Club, just 4 miles away, and six more courses lie within 15 miles of the resort.
JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa
231 Moo 3, Mai Khao
Phuket, Thailand 83110
(+66) 76 33 8000
marriott.com
About The Author
Jeff Studebaker is a travel writer and recreational fisherman who started writing professionally in 2003 as a Bangkok-based reporter. Covering Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia, he has published more than 1,000 articles in magazines including "Travel Trade Gazette," "MICE Magazine," and "Business Travel News." A psychology B.A. from Western Washington University, he is now based in Bellingham, Wash.
