La Flora Resort, Patong Beach

Now, it's not normally like me to recommend staying in Patong Beach. I prefer quieter places.. which means anywhere but Patong. BUT of course there are lots of people who like Patong, like the abundance of everything a tourist could want, like the busy streets and don't like it too quiet. OK, horses for courses, but one of the reasons I am now recommending La Flora is the first review I saw on TripAdvisor - the hotel got a great review, but the guest said "It all seemed so touristy, I really felt sad looking at all the Westerners lining up at Mc Donalds and Starbucks, come on, you're in Thailand eat Thai food!" - Amen! But the reviewer loved La Flora. An oasis in the heart of all the craziness that is Patong. It's sitting at top spot for Patong Beach hotels in the TripAdvisor ratings.

La Flora only opened last year, right on the beach in Patong, right in the middle of Patong. It's a sister hotel of La Flora in Khao Lak, a place which I remember from (almost) 5 years ago. You know, the tsunami. It's still strong in my mind, I mean, nearly 5 years. Our son was born on January 11th 2005. He's nearly 5. Tsunami was nearly 5 years ago. La Flora in Khao Lak was hit hard. The Kings grandson was killed near La Flora. So the name La Flora has some meaning around here.

La Flora in Patong - so if you want to be in the middle of Patong, in the middle of the most touristy place in Thailand, but also want a fantastic resort... well, La Flora has to be a top choice. Location - most central possible. Want bars, restaurants, shops... great. I say again, not for me, but if you want to be in the center of everything, La Flora looks GREAT.

La Flora - Booking & Reviews

• La Flora - Rates and Reservations at Agoda.com
• La Flora - Hotel Reviews
• More Patong Beach Hotels

La Flora - Photos

 

Phuket Hotels - More Information - Online Booking

• More of Jamie's Phuket Hotel Suggestions
• Top 10 Phuket Hotels
• Phuket Hotels - Book Online at Agoda.com
• Thailand Hotel Booking at Agoda.com

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Mai Khao Beach - Seaside Cottages

There is a question that comes up quite often, maybe asked by people who don't realise that Phuket has moved on since the 1970's. "Where can I find a beach hut or little bungalow right by the beach in Phuket?". Ah, well, I am sorry to say that for the most part, beachfront land in Phuket is now much too valuable to allow such cheap accommodation to exist. On the main beaches in Phuket like Patong, Karon or Kata, no chance of finding that kind of accommodation. In fact I was not sure there could be anything like it in Phuket, but was recently in contact (via Facebook) with Mal, owner of the Seaside Cottages which is found on Mai Khao Beach, the very northernmost beach in Phuket, north of the airport. Mai Khao Beach stretches for about 10km from the airport right up to the northern tip of the island near Sarasin bridge. That's a lot of beach.. and so far there is not TOO much development on Mai Khao. OK, you have the Marriott and Sala Phuket and a few other things but this area of Phuket remains quite rural.





The Seaside Cottages has been open for a couple of years. They offer simple accommodation in bamboo huts, slightly more rugged wooden huts and a couple of fancier concrete huts. No aircon, no cable TV. Little huts right by the beach. There is also a restaurant, but otherwise, just nature. The huts are set back a bit from the beach - they found that if the rooms were too close it was not good in low season when wind blows in across the sea. They closed up last low season but might try to stay open this time. Mal told me they are pretty fully booked for the next month. They are listed on Tripadvisor, which does seem to help and also on Hostelworld. The prices start at 500 Baht/night for the little bamboo huts up to 2,000 Baht for the concrete huts. If you want it quiet and simple, good choice.







If you want a few days doing absolutely nothing, sit on the beach, lounge in a hammock, it's for you. The restaurant is not super cheap, and it would be a bit of a hike to find anywhere else to eat, though they can arrange bike rentals for you, and when I was there the owner gave some customers a free ride out to the main road to catch the bus. It's a small and friendly place and I am happy to have found a place like this in Phuket that I can recommend. Oh and if you have a tent they will let you pitch it on the grounds too for about 200 Baht a night.

Oh, one drawback, at least for now.. there is a resort being built next door. You can't see too much construction from the front, but there is bound to be some noise. The other drawback might be getting bored with having miles of beach all to yourself. Anyone looking for parties and crowds, look again! Mai Khao Beach will surely get more developed in years to come, but for now, this part of Phuket is still nice and quiet.

For more info and bookings - Mai Khao Seaside Cottages Website.

More Phuket Hotel Information

• More of Jamie's Phuket Hotel Suggestions
• Top 10 Phuket Hotels
• Phuket Hotels - Book Online at Agoda.com
• Thailand Hotel Booking at Agoda.com

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Booking Phuket Hotels Online

I hope if you browse this blog you will hopefully find that Phuket is a wonderful place. My blog is mostly about the "other" Phuket, not so much the main tourist beaches, tours, shops and shows. But whether you come here for the beach, a family holiday, a honeymoon, a quick trip or a erm... "gentleman's holiday", every visitor has one thing in common. You need a place to stay! Phuket has it all. You can get a dorm bed for 200 Baht, you can rent a luxury villa, or there are guesthouses and hotels to suit all budgets. If you care to search Google for "Phuket Hotels"... you get over a million search results. There are hundreds of online hotel booking services. So how do you make a choice?! Which are good? Well, I hope that Jamie's Phuket can help in making your choice ...

Some people like to book direct with the hotel. Others prefer to book everything in a package through their local travel agent. But very often, if you want the best rates and the best choice of hotels - an online hotel booking agent can be the best choice. Over the last few years I have experimented with several hotel sites, linking to them from this blog. The blog has been online for more than 5 years and I have found one online site to beat them all ...

Agoda - maybe not such a common name in Europe or North America, but in Asia Agoda is well known, being based in Singapore. The site is well designed, very easy to use, they offer rewards when you book (equivalent to a discount on a future booking), and guarantee lowest rates. Now the site has been around for a while there are also many (sometimes hundreds) guest reviews for each hotel. Have a look!

• Agoda - Phuket Hotels
• Agoda - Thailand Hotels
• Agoda Rewards Program

Agoda is also available in many languages such as German, Japanese, Russian and many more. You'll see a language menu at the top of every page on the Agoda site.

So before you book, have a look at Agoda. Plenty more out there if you want to look, but here on Jamie's Phuket I stick with Agoda when it comes to hotel booking. If you are reading, hope you can make it to Phuket soon! Any questions about hotels, please do ask!

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