A Nice Getaway - Anantara Phuket Villas, Mai Khao Beach

Let's see. This was in 2012 I think. Another wedding anniversary / birthday celebration getaway. We originally planned to stay only for five nights but ended up extending yet an extra night because we found it hard to leave! 

Firstly, the resort, we think, is more suitable for couples / adults rather than families with kids. Kinda like the Sala Pool Villas Phuket, also on Mai Khao Beach where we had spent our honeymoon. I think it's safe to say that any hotel developed near Mai Khao is more "adult" than family-oriented. But I could be wrong. Anyway, after spending six nights and exploring the property, we concluded that the design is not so kid friendly. If you do have children, do keep an eye on them lest they fall into the lagoon when feeding the ducks/fish!  

(gangway from the villas to the main hotel lobby at night. niiiiice)

The management thinks of little details to make our stay more enjoyable. They provided us with an upgrade to the Lagoon Villa as well as an anniversary cake (absolutely delicious) when we told them we were celebrating our belated birthdays and anniversary in June. We didn't even ask for an upgrade. We always received little evening messages at turndown each evening (messages, not massages - which could be way nicer!), our sala/pool fridge were always well stocked and replenished with our favorite drinks, and we noticed that no matter what time of day, whenever we used the pool towels, dry, clean ones kept popping up courtesy of the towel fairy.

       

The TreeTops (or was it the Tree House?) has excellent daybeds for you to laze and watch the sunset over the lagoon, as was the main pool which had "floating deck chairs." We had our breakfast at the common "Sala" coffee house and while the buffet selection had some standard offerings, they do have special menus for each day of the week, and an assortment of juices, pastries, and cheeses, which gave us a variety to choose from. Delicious!

Quite a selection of DVDs available on loan from the reception/library for us to spend rainy days indoors. Wifi connection is speedy and available free of charge all around the resort too. (Hilton, heads up!).

The spa treatments, though a tad expensive was well worth the spend and we went back for seconds and thirds! 

Lastly, the management and staff really go out of their way to be extra nice, attentive, helpful and polite no matter where we were in the resort; it's almost comparable to the Four Seasons. Almost. They do work extremely hard, evidently so when we saw our morning housekeeper braved the rain sans umbrella to make sure that our Villa was properly made up on time. Some of the staff we engaged with also offered some ideas to while our time away and if they didn't have an answer to our questions, they would make sure that they find out from others immediately. We were most appreciative of the effort. 

We may just return to the warm and relaxing atmosphere of the Anantara if we're ever in Phuket again. It was worth our splurge and a really beautiful place to celebrate our anniversary, away from the busy, happening Patong Beach!

So yeah, like I said, if you can't stay at the Four Seasons, this is close enough. Lovely!