We spent 10 nights at JW Marriott Khao Lak for our honeymoon and it was absolutely perfect for our needs! An utterly beautiful hotel with clean rooms and facilities and the kindest, most helpful staff I've ever come across in a hotel. Our room was spacious and beautiful, with direct access to the 2.4km pool - this was a great feature and it felt like we had a bit of private pool whilst being able to swim all the way to the main pool. The pool also adds to the feeling that you're in a village community rather than a commercial hotel, as we made friends with our ”neighbours” and would see them from time to time when we were out swimming. The hotel's beach is clean and stunning, the sun beds are thickly padded and comfortable, and we made use of the bodyboarding and kayaking equipment on our stay. The restaurants at the hotel were incredible! The main ones are Ta-Krai (Thai), Sakura (Japanese), and Olive (Italian). Before arriving I was a bit sceptical at how authentic the restaurants would be but the hotel has ensured they've brought in the best chefs who could bring authentic cuisine to Khao Lak. The sushi at Sakura was probably the freshest and tastiest I've ever had (albeit, I've not been to Japan yet, but it's still better than all the London sushi places where we live and even better than Nobu). We loved Olive restaurant too, in particular their Sunset BBQ evening where you're spoilt for choice on meats, seafood, sides, salads, and a full-on Italian cheese and ham bar with really delicious, authentic selections. Chef Enzo there was dishing out cheeses to us and making recommendations what to pair each cheese with and was so helpful (and the cheeses were incredible). We opted for the Breakfast and Dinner package and we're really glad we did as we loved going back to those restaurants over the 10 days. For lunch we'd eat at the hotel cafes, or out at excursions, or at local restaurants adjacent to the hotel, such as Phen's (delicious!). We also bought a spa package at Quan Spa in the hotel and booked in lots of treatments throughout our stay. The spa is beautiful and the massage therapists were excellent; it's a bit pricier than outside the hotel but the spa environment is worth it for that luxe feeling (and still cheaper than in the UK!). Overall, I don't think we found and faults with our stay at JWM and we will definitely come back in the future, perhaps for our anniversaries! And we would highly recommend it to all our family and friends!
Was so impressed with this hotel 5 years ago that we returned again in October 2023 and they gave us the same room we occupied before. This was a water pool access room which is a must if you stay here. The rooms are large with a massive bed and has all the facilities you could wish for. Although we did no eat our main meals in the Italian restaurant we had breakfast which covers all variety of foods and freshly cooked eggs and bacon on request. All the staff are very pleasant and helpful. A particular mention to Tounchai the barman who served us daily at the pool bar during Happy hour with delicious cocktails. Also to the maid (sorry can't remember her name) who cleaned our room 1123 and left wonderful creations on our bed. The hotel is situated within 5 minutes walk from the beach and close to many bars and restaurants. Bang Niang Market which is 2 mins walk is open every Mon, Weds, Thur and Sat which does street food and has many stalls. The Waters is highly recommended.
We were very pleased with our stay at the hotel Wanaburee. It is in a prefect location, on the beach and surrounded by forest which is lovely to hear the sounds of nature. There are 2 pools, one right on the front looking out to the sea and my favourite was the 2nd in a beautiful location surrounded by the trees (adults only). The food at the restaurant was really good every night and I was happy to see they served frozen cocktails which are lovely in the warm heat. The staff are what really helps to make this hotel, with everyone very friendly. We hope the hotel appreciates their staff. Special shout out to Sinny who was a wonderful member of the bar/restaurant team, friendly and helpful at all times with a smile on her face every day. We also very much appreciated her good English, as our Thai was limited to hello and thank you! This hotel is good value for money and prices not so different from the main ***** in khao lak (unless you go to the outskirts). Having a massage right on the beach was also a wonderful experience. We stayed in a forest view room which had great space and the hotel cleaning was good throughout.