Approachable luxurious and exquisite sunsets: A evaluate of the InterContinental Phuket Resort in Thailand

Booking

Location

The InterContinental Phuket is positioned on Kamala Beach on the western aspect of Phuket.

From the mountain view or pool view rooms, the resort feels secluded.

You’re not removed from off-site eating choices, an evening market and a few vacationer points of interest, although. A Wyndham timeshare property is underneath building subsequent to the resort, so I may see the development crane and sometimes hear mild building sounds whereas on my balcony.

Finally, these conversant in the tsunami that occurred on Dec. 26, 2004, might know that Kamala Beach was considerably broken. As a vacationer immediately, you’d hardly comprehend it, as the one noticeable reminders are the Tsunami Memorial Park in Kamala and tsunami warning indicators posted throughout the island.

Check-in

I landed in Phuket at 5 p.m. and took an roughly 40-minute Grab (a ride-hailing app common in Asia) to the resort. A bellhop and a reception agent got here out to greet us as soon as they realized we had been there to test in.

Check-in went comparatively shortly regardless of having three reservations for my four-night keep: an award night time booked by me, a free night time certificates from an IHG bank card additionally booked by me and a two-night award keep booked by TPG’s govt editor Scott Mayerowitz. We’d reserved all 4 nights in a Classic Room (with a avenue view), however the resort upgraded me to a Classic Room Mountain View for my total keep.

Room

All the Classic-category rooms at this resort have related layouts, although the views differ. Our Mountain View Room supplied views of swimming pools, the spa and a forested mountainside.

As you stroll into the room, you will discover a closet subsequent to the entryway. I appreciated the ten hangers within the closet and the open cabinets subsequent to the hardy baggage counter, which additionally had space for storing beneath it. Additionally, the closet holds quite a few different facilities, together with an additional pillow; a protected; an emergency flashlight; two fluffy robes; a laundry bag and worth record; a shoeshine package with shine, brush and shoe horn; two pairs of slippers; an umbrella; and an iron and ironing board.

Continuing into the room, you will see a king-size mattress (or two single beds, relying on what room kind you e book). I discovered the mattress and its bedding very comfy. If you do not like the massive sq. pillows, you’ll be able to request completely different pillows from the concierge.

On both aspect of the mattress are nightstands with a USB charging port and a common outlet. The mild switches aren’t labeled, however I shortly realized which switches to push once I wished to sleep.

On the aspect of the mattress towards the closet is a counter with espresso and tea provides, plus a minifridge. On high of the counter, there’s an illy espresso machine, a teapot, a shaker, espresso cups, complimentary InterContinental-branded bottled water and water glasses. A number of illy tea and occasional are supplied, too. Inside the minifridge, which sits beneath the counter, are varied chilly drinks, akin to an assortment of beer, tender drinks and contemporary milk for espresso. There are additionally a scorching water kettle, an ice bucket and quite a lot of glasses underneath the counter so you will have all the pieces you have to eat your beverage of selection.

Across from the mattress, there are a 41-inch TV and a counter with two drawers. The counter served as a superb place to drop objects when returning to the room, and the drawers is perhaps helpful for prolonged stays requiring extra space for storing.

A sitting space with a unusually formed sofa (maybe meant to resemble a seashell?) is on the opposite aspect of the mattress close to the home windows. There’s no desk within the room, so this sitting space is the closest it’s a must to a workspace if you happen to plan to work throughout your keep.

To the aspect of the bed room is an extended rest room separated from the bed room space by a sliding door and a curtain.

Along the home windows, searching on the patio — and, in our case, a mountain view — is a deep bathtub, which may be very comfy for a soothing soak.

Unfortunately, the home windows present no tint, so different company might be able to see you within the bathtub if you happen to do not decrease the shade (which then eliminates your view). I additionally discovered it unusual that the InterContinental did not present a loofah, bathtub salts and even bubble bathtub.

A protracted counter with one sink is alongside the wall in the course of the lavatory. I appreciated the ample counter house and did not miss having two sinks. Across from the sink space, there are two hooks on the wall that I discovered helpful for hanging clothes and towels. Above the counter by the sink is an extendable, lighted magnifying mirror.

Next to the counter is a stand with a purple sea fan artwork piece, towels and a drawer containing an unbranded 1,800-watt hair dryer. Under the counter are the room’s sole trash can and a scale.

By the stand, abutting the outside hallway, are two stalls with frosted doorways. On the left, there are a bathe stall with a hand-held wand and an overhead rainfall bathe. I most well-liked the hand-held wand because the rainfall bathe had minimal water strain. There are a bench within the bathe, an extendable twine for hanging moist clothes and Harnn Mystique physique wash, shampoo and conditioner as nicely. Additionally, the correct stall is the place you will discover a bathroom with a shelf above the bathroom paper holder.

Finally, there’s the patio. You can entry the room’s patio by sliding doorways from the lavatory or bed room. Each sliding door has a handbook locking mechanism to make sure nobody can open your door from the skin.

I appreciated the 2 comfy chairs on our terrace and the small desk, which I seen some company utilizing as a laptop computer desk. The window shades do a superb job blocking the sunshine if you wish to sleep in.

Accessibility

When I searched on IHG’s web site for handicapped-accessible rooms on a number of dates, my searches returned no outcomes. This property would not supply any rooms particularly designed with options for these with disabilities.

However, my room probably would have labored nicely for many company with restricted mobility. My main issues could be the slippery bathe ground (the resort supplies a bathe mat) and problem entering into and away from bed. There’s 2 3/4-inch clearance underneath the mattress if you happen to want a carry, and the mattress’ high is 26 inches above the bottom.

The resort provides complimentary buggy service, however it’s exhausting to keep away from many stairs, even if you happen to use it. I additionally did not discover many ramps or pool lifts on-site.

I like to recommend contacting the resort with particular questions to find out whether or not you’ll get the complete resort expertise.

Food and beverage

The InterContinental Phuket has a group of eating places and bars for company to take pleasure in. The concierge also can prepare for off-site eating, and several other eating places are inside strolling distance of the lodge.

Amenities

The resort has 5 completely different swimming pools. The pool by the seaside is the most well-liked, because it provides views of the seaside and proximity to a number of close by eating places and bars.

On the seaside aspect of the resort, the Club InterContinental space has a solar deck and a small infinity pool overlooking the pool by the seaside.

On the mountain aspect of the resort, there are swimming pools on either side of the Club InterContinental lagoon villas. There is not a bar or restaurant close to these swimming pools, however there’s self-serve water, a cellphone and a menu for ordering meals.

The most important lagoon pool has a kids’s pool hooked up to it, however it was very quiet throughout my keep. Meanwhile, the serene pool subsequent to the occasion garden is smaller however appeared just like the extra common possibility throughout my go to.

The reception constructing has an infinity pool on its rooftop as nicely. The pool would not supply any seaside views, as a substitute overlooking the road and the doorway to the seaside aspect of the resort. However, there is a tiered sitting space subsequent to it, which supplies good views of the spectacular spa constructing and lagoon swimming pools.

Near the beachfront pool, there’s a big seaside space with loads of chairs and two bars serving foods and drinks. Vendors stroll the seaside however do not normally method company sitting within the loungers and are not aggressive of their gross sales. You can get foods and drinks service from a shared Pine and 333 on the Beach menu delivered to your seaside chair.

There’s a tunnel between the resort’s seaside and mountain sides. It’s not your stereotypical tunnel, although. Instead of a bland design, this one is made as nice as attainable with music and art work. You also can take a cart from the seaside aspect of the tunnel to the mountain aspect of the resort.

Unlike different InterContinental resorts I’ve been to just lately, there aren’t many complimentary actions. The solely possibility was a day by day train class, which was already full once I tried to e book it for the following morning.

If you are set on breaking a sweat throughout your go to, there is a 24-hour gymnasium for company on the resort’s mountain aspect. The gymnasium wasn’t crowded once I visited, and it had a formidable number of tools, together with a nonmotorized treadmill and a rowing machine.

Below the gymnasium is the jungle-themed Planet Trekkers youngsters membership. The membership operated from 9 a.m. to six p.m. day by day throughout my keep. Children had been utilizing the amenities every time I finished by, so I did not take any images, however the membership appeared common and had a cute inside.

Near the gymnasium and youngsters membership is a multistory constructing with an astroturf tennis courtroom on the roof. You need to e book the courts with the concierge, however I took a peek when one other visitor rented the courtroom to play for an hour with a employees member.

Wi-Fi is out there all through the resort, too. It capabilities nicely if you wish to work or put up on social media whereas sitting on a seaside lounger. When I did a velocity check in my room, I recorded 86.14 megabits per second add, 81.86 megabits per second obtain and 18 milliseconds ping.

Service

Service on the InterContinental Phuket was a mixture of highs and lows. One instance of nice service was once I snagged a seaside towel to cowl my shoulders from the solar whereas consuming lunch at 333 on the Beach. A seaside attendant seen I took a towel and introduced over an umbrella with out my asking. And after we known as to ask for a conveyable drying rack for our bathing fits, it was delivered in simply 12 minutes.

But we frequently keep in mind the service failures rather more than the wins, and sadly, there have been a number of failures throughout my keep. For instance, a employees member entered our room when the do-not-disturb change was on to test the minifridge. She knocked twice after which shortly entered, as one would possibly do if you happen to suspect a visitor has already checked out. Once she seen me enjoyable on the mattress, she did not depart or apologize however went forward and silently checked the minifridge.

The check-in agent suggested me to make use of the HandiGo app for resort info, bookings and to talk with the lodge about any wants. The app supplied restaurant menus, room service ordering and the flexibility to e book wellness actions. However, the app was typically complicated. For instance, though it allowed me to e book a wellness exercise and despatched me a push notification indicating my request was obtained, the exercise was already totally booked.

Likewise, the app would not permit me to make a same-day reservation for Jaras. When I despatched a dwell chat message, an agent confirmed the restaurant was open and requested whether or not I’d wish to make a reservation. Additionally, once I tried to order room service breakfast by means of the app one morning, I bought an odd message. In quick, the app induced extra service frustrations than it resolved.

There had been additionally a number of massive teams on-site throughout my keep, so some venues had been closed to lodge company with none discover. For instance, once I tried to go to the rooftop infinity pool one night to see the solar set earlier than the pool closed at 7 p.m., I used to be turned away resulting from an unannounced personal occasion. Another night time, a personal celebration with a DJ raged at 333 on the Beach till midnight.

On the optimistic aspect, the personal celebration on the seaside bar included a fireplace present and fireworks set off from the resort’s seaside round 9 p.m. Restaurant employees at Pine advised me concerning the fireworks as I completed dinner, so I knew to come back again out to the seaside and watch. I appreciated this small contact, because it let me benefit from the present as a substitute of grumbling concerning the noise in my room.

Overall impression

If you are in search of a (largely) enjoyable luxurious resort with a reasonably seaside, the InterContinental Phuket stands out as the lodge for you, particularly if you happen to take pleasure in a resort that feels secluded but is inside strolling distance of facilities like eating places, an evening market and a comfort retailer.