Top Resorts in Phuket - Keeping the Family Together

The island of Phuket in Thailand is formerly known as Tha-Laang or Talang. It is the largest island on the west coast of the Andaman Sea. The 570 square meter area of Phuket provides spectacular scenery and soft white palm beaches. More tourists come to see the warm hospitality and great accommodations of fun-filled family resorts in Phuket. Here are the top family resorts you may want to visit.

JW Marriott Resort & Spa
JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa is an award-winning resort in a vast tropical landscape paradise. It lies on Mai Khao, the longest beach in Phuket. The 11 hectare resort offers tropical gardens, lily ponds and the preserved coastal wetlands. It is close to Phuket airport and a few minutes away from Blue Canyon Country Club.

This five star resort has 265 guestrooms, 10 meeting rooms with 10 restaurants and bars. There are three swimming pools that include the main, the shallow bubble pool and the waterslide. You can also workout at the gym and relax at their magnificent spas. The kids can enjoy playing at the area called kids club wherein they can play computers, doll houses and wooden toys.

The resort was ranked 8th among the top 25 Spa Hotels and Resort in the region by Smart Travel Asia.

Laguna Beach Resort
Laguna Beach Resort lies between a tropical lagoon and the Andaman Sea. This low rise resort is located at the land of Bang Tao Bay. It is just 20 minutes drive from Phuket International Airport. The 20 acres of land embraces a Thai architecture of local landscape and architecture.

The resort features a number of sports and leisure facilities. This includes three swimming pools and a waterpark. Families can enjoy playing tennis in one of the three outdoor courts and one indoor court for kids. A class of batik is also offered with a visit of the resort's two baby elephants. However, sailing on the beach and playing computer games will add fun to your stay.

Holiday Inn Phuket Resort
Holiday Inn Resort is at the heart of Patong Beach that offers white sandy beaches, tropical scenery, excellent food and a lively nightly. The resort provides a 265 themed room for the entire family. This includes a kidsuite, a pirate theme children's room, a standard room and a family suite. Rooms can accommodate two adults with 2 children less than 12 years old. Room's amenities offer electronic games, toy box, TV and video and a play station for kids.

The resort also offers premier resort facilities such as large swimming pools, Jacuzzis at the Busakorn Wing and a freeform pool at the Main Wing. Hence, a world class spa and a fitness center is an ideal place to relax and be healthy. Food lovers can enjoy a choice of Thai, Italian and international cuisines at the resorts restaurants and steakhouse.

Movenpick Resort & Spa
Moevenpick is surrounded by Karon Beach that showcases 140 elegant villas. This includes Garden Villas with outdoor showers with private pools and a Penthouse Pool. There are 194 Garden View and Deluxe Ocean Rooms set in an international standard of accommodation.

Resort facilities include a fitness center, four swimming pools, pool tables, tennis courts and gaming rooms. The Spa at Movenpick offers Eastern and Western treatments and exotic ambiance. Guests with children can play at the Play Zone. It is the largest club for children that provides indoor and outdoor entertainment such as a play station, internet access, a reading room, DVD lounges, sport utilities and craft activities.

Mövenpick Resort & Spa has something to enjoy for every family who visited the place. The fine golden sands and clear waters have made the place a dream destination for a family vacation.

Ramada Beach Resort
Ramada Resort in Karon Beach is a newly opened resort that features a unique Mexican Hacienda theme. It has 121 rooms and suites with warm lightings and comfortable design. This includes a standard room, deluxe room, duplex adventure suite, junior suite, two-bedroom adventure and a two bedroom family suite. There are also magical theme rooms like the Outer Space, Underwater and Castle rooms. Other rooms offer spectacular views of the sea.

The resort offers leisure facilities like the Kidzclub, Siam Adventure Club, Main and Dino Pool and a Tour Desk. Other services include audio and visual equipment, baggage handling, babysitting, dry cleaning, handicap facilities, a limousine, smoke detector and a switchboard.

Phuket's family resorts offers excellent services like any other top resorts in the world. This fun island presents a smile-filled holiday with its secluded and luxurious resorts to keep the family together.

For more information on Family Resorts and Family Resorts Hotels please visit our website.

Tiger Muay Thai Camp Review (Phuket, Thailand)

This is a review for Tiger Muay Thai & MMA in Phuket, Thailand. I turned up and originally planned and paid to stay here for 1 week... 1 week turned into 2 weeks. Then I came back for a month.

Pricing
The cost for training is about average for a Farang training in Thailand, and is as follows:

• Half day 300B


• Full day 500B


• Week 2500B


• Month 9000B


• 3 Months 24000B

A strong recommendation I will make, is that if you are coming here on a budget and/or have not done much intense training before, then only pay a week or so in advance. Time and time again people pay up for 3 months in advance, then only train a few times a week. Pay a week in advance and then see how much you think you will train before shelling out loads of cash in advance.

Payment is accepted via cash or credit card (Visa & MasterCard).

Accommodation

Rooms vary from 2,500B (small room with fan) to 20,000B+ (room with air con and all modern facilities and a swimming pool)/month. I was paying 12,000B for a very nice double room with cable TV, Wi-Fi, hot electric shower etc. at a place just down the road called 'The Nature House'.

My advice for accommodation is to only pre pay a few days or a week to start with. As you may find something much cheaper or if you already have a cheap room you may not like it and wish to upgrade.

A good (but not exhaustive) accommodation list is available on the TMT website.

Food

Eating in the local area can be anything from 40B a meal to 350B+ depending on where and what you eat. The cheaper meals tend to be Thai food (generally consisting of rice or noodles dishes), western food is much more expensive. A restaurant called Mama's is one of the cheapest around here and has a solid reputation. They also have cheap rooms available (9,000B/month).

Whatever you do, DON'T pay in advance for the food plan at the gym. It is overpriced and many people end up missing meals. There are plenty of other places to eat, variety is more fun than eating at the same place every day.

Training

As well as Muay Thai, the gym offers classes in MMA (mostly no gi jiu jitsu and sparring), Western Boxing, Krabi Krabong, Yoga and Circuit training.

In all honesty, the Muay Thai classes are overcrowded, and you will unlikely be recognised and given individual attention unless you stay a long period of time, or pay extra for private sessions. But you can still get a good work out.

The western boxing classes are good, with two world champions and a stadium champion instructing. But can still get very busy.

The MMA classes I have mixed feelings towards. The mornings are just no gi jiu jitsu (which is taught to a fairly decent level by Ray Elbe) and the afternoons are fairly intense sparring. And they do have a nice cage to train in. However no wrestling is taught.

If you want to do MMA here then my advice is to get the best of it by training the morning no gi BJJ class and then do the Muay Thai or Western Boxing class in the afternoons.
The gym also hosts seminars often (most of which are free) with visiting fighters. Whilst I was there Royce Gracie, Alberto Crane and Roger Huerta gave seminars!

Facilities

Tiger Muay Thai has some of the best facilities in all of Thailand. At the time of writing they have 6 rings, a MMA cage, a weights room (with enough benches, racks, machines and weights to get a really good workout), another weights area with lots of kettlebells and several spinning bikes, and many heavy bags. They are also having a large extension built.

Location

Phuket is a very large tourist destination. However, Tiger Muay Thai is located in the subdistrict of Chalong, which is cut off from most of the distractions this brings (beaches, bars, nightlife etc), but these are easily accessible by taxi or if you rent a scooter for 3-4,000B per month.

I'd recommend a scooter if you are staying for any period of time (just be careful, there are some 10,000 accidents a year in Phuket alone involving bikes).

With the freedom of a bike you can access the food and clothing markets, Central Festival shopping centre (including cinema), Beaches, Bars & Clubs, the local Zoo, the aquariam, Elephant trekking, Snake shows etc!

Equipment Shop

The price of most things in this shop are jacked up. Shop around unless there is something really specific you want here.

Personal Comments

Your time at Tiger Muay Thai will be what you make it. It can be a serious training camp or you can come here with the best of intentions yet get caught up in boozing most nights and spending your days on the beaches... or you can do a bit of both.

This place is aimed more towards the casual trainer on holiday with plenty of cash to spare, so unless you are quite tight fisted you can easily spend a lot of money.

I made lots of friends and enjoyed myself and what all the different classes had to offer, but after a time I grew tired of the overcrowded and commercial side to the gym and decided to switch over to Dragon Muay Thai just down the road...

Check out my blog for more reviews: MMA & Muay Thai blog.

Where to Find the Best Places to Stay in Phuket

Are you longing to feel powdery sands beneath your toes and take a dip in crystal clear waters? Then head on over to beautiful Phuket for your next beach holiday. Tourists and beach lovers not only go to this destination for its amazing beaches, but also for the wide range of activities and adventures they can experience here. Phuket tourism definitely knows how to take care of their guests.

While Phuket tourism is known for its breathtaking scenery, it was put on the map because it was badly hit by a killer tsunami back in 2004. Top destinations are the Phromthep Cape which is known for its breathtaking view of lovely sunsets, the Wat Chalong Buddhist Temple off Chalong Bay, and the numerous national parks and waterfalls.

There are plenty of places where you can stay at in Phuket. You can choose from a five star hotel to an ordinary village hotel, or you may opt to check in to a resort or a guest house, depending on which suits your taste and what fits your budget.

The Patong Resort Hotel situated conveniently at the heart of Patong Beach is a highly recommended place to stay for beach bums and lovers of aquatic sports and adventure. It is also an ideal place for family vacations as well as for honeymooners. A wide array of sports activities is available at this hotel which has swimming pools and tennis courts. Aside from that, it has a handful of restaurants that offer international cuisine such as Italian and Japanese food.

Similarly, the Kata Beach Resort and Spa is a recommended haven for spa regulars and beach lovers. Aside from its well-maintained rooms, it is also popular because of its lush gardens and gastronomic offerings. It boasts of lush palm trees, a beautiful fountain in its lobby, and two exquisite beach-side pools. Tourist come-ons such as first class amenities and unlimited internet access are also available and the resort has a number of restaurants and coffee shops to satisfy everyone's taste buds.

If these hotels seem too expensive for your budget, it doesn't mean you cannot enjoy the Phuket adventure. You can also find several guest houses just around the areas of Kata and Patong Beach. Accommodation is equally pleasant but much more affordable. You can avail of your meals at a minimal price. Besides, street food in Thailand has been proven to be amazingly delicious too.

Personal choice and preference should be the top determinant in deciding where to stay in the island. If you love to be in the center of fun and activity, the Patong Beach area should be your choice. However, if you prefer the secluded surroundings, the Kata Beach area should be an option. While it's not as popular as Patong, it is still a prime destination.

Phuket Island has a lot to offer for everyone and it is a distinctive destination for adventure lovers and those out to discover exotic places. However, you should be prepared for things that can possibly go wrong. While a holiday and vacation is meant as a time for relaxation and fun, it should also be a well-planned one. One's budget and financial limitations should be a consideration and a thorough preparation is always a wise move for the regular tourist and traveler.

Michel Gerard is a Travel author based in Asia. Visit the Phuket Guest House website to book a room online and download your *free* ebook: "Stories of Authentic Eco-adventure Destinations for Travellers in Thailand" =>> http://www.guesthousephuket.com/ebook.html

Phuket Tourism - Amazing Thailand

The glory of Phuket tourism is in its resplendent coast. This southern island is surrounded by warm turquoise waters of the Andaman. Thailand beach travel does not get any better than this, with coral reefs, cliffs, spectacular bays that range from calm and blue water beaches to rocky forelands pounded by high raging surfs. And while the coastline is considered as the icing on the cake, the cake itself is just as desirous. Phuket Tourism offers its tourists a lot more than just beaches. The island is a mixed bag of temples, aquariums, theme parks, golf courses, waterfalls, war monuments, museums and wildlife sanctuaries. A few of the must-see places in Phuket include:

o Hat Patong (Patong Beach)
Located approximately 15 kilometers from the city, this beach is one of the most vibrant and most visited in Thailand beach travel. With a picture perfect postcard view of a 3-kilometer long white sandy beach this one is perfect for swimming, lazing, and enjoying challenging water sports such as jet skiing, windsurfing, snorkeling, sailing and parasailing. The beach offers all ranges in accommodation, shopping and a dazzling night life.

o Phi Phi Island
With just a short 45-minute journey from Phuket, you will be transported to the tropical paradise and famous islands of Ko Phi Phi. It's the ultimate tropical getaway in Phuket tourism, where every moment is picture perfect.

o Phuket Fantasea
Located on Kamala beach, Phuket Fantasea is the ultimate night-time cultural theme park of Phuket. It has won several awards including the 'Best Attraction Thailand Tourism Award' Attractions include the Culture-Illusion Stage Show, Fantasy of the Kingdom and a spectacular buffet restaurant Golden Kinnaree Restaurant.

o Wat Phra Thong
A temple which remains as mysterious today, as it did centuries ago. A major attraction in Phuket tourism, the temple has a solid gold idol of Buddha. But here's what should interest you - the idol apparently cannot be moved. The legend goes that hundreds of people who have tried to move it since it was first found, have died. Located in Thalang, away from highway 402, this mystery temple attracts thousands of tourists every year.

With an array of international and domestic travel options and its grand hospitality, Phuket tourism offers everything you can dream of in Thailand.

Willium Taylor is a travel author. Visit Phuket tourism website to enjoy Thailand beach travel along with many other Thailand tourist attractions.

Alternative to Bali Villa Accommodation in Peak Season

Being one of the most sought after tropical destinations, Bali welcomes million of foreign tourists every year. Along the year, number of visiting tourists significantly increases in certain periods known as peak season. During the peak season price of all tourism-related products increases, and even if you can afford the price, availability is getting very difficult.

The situation also applies to luxury services including private villa accommodation. With its continuously increasing popularity, Bali villas are now even more popular than resort hotels, and getting one available in peak season is only possible if you make your booking way in advance, even more than a year ahead.

Other than holiday season in the tourists' origins, these periods are also related to seasonal weather cycle in Bali. By calendar, peak season in Bali falls between July and September, two weeks around Christmas and New Year, and the whole week of Chinese New Year and Easter holiday.

To those who do not want to pay more or hate the crowd of spending tropical holiday in Bali, Phuket is a perfect alternative. Providing almost similar atmosphere and attractions, Phuket has different holiday seasons from Bali. Except for Christmas - New Year period, when Bali is in peak season, Phuket is in low season. The other way round works the same, when Bali is in low season, Phuket is in peak season.

Getting to Phuket is not more difficult than Bali anyway. There are flights available from almost all international hubs like Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, and Jakarta. If you prefer low ware airliners, AirAsia X flies from London and Gold Coast to Kuala Lumpur where you can easily find a connecting flight straight to Phuket.

Those who prefer to stay in ultimate privacy of private villa will find Phuket the perfect alternative to overcrowded Bali in its peak season. Most villas will be available and therefore offered at significantly lower price. With a little luck you can get a bargain price of less than 50% off the published rate. Other tourism services such as restaurant, car hire, tours, activities, even souvenir shops are also significantly cheaper and easily available. Talk to your travel agent to find suitable villa accommodation in Phuket.

If you have been visiting Thailand too often you want to go even further, try Vietnam or Cambodia. Luxury accommodation have gone so far even to this newly emerging destination, you can easily find and rent Vietnam villas and enjoy the same level of luxury villa living, just like in more matured destinations. With less tourists coming, you can avoid crowds almost all year round.

Adi has been spending more than five years focusing on helping his clients in private villa and holiday rental industry in Asia-Pacific to gain better online exposure. Combination of information technology and marketing backgrounds brought him to become the man behind most commercially successful websites. Find more about Adi at his blog adiarifin.com

Phuket Hotels for a Thailand Experience

One option for a Phuket resort is Serenity Terraces. This hotel is secluded by coconut trees on Chalong Bay. They have thirty seven beachfront suites and four residences to take advantage of. With a twenty five minute drive to Phuket City and Patong Beach guests can experience a great deal of enjoyments around Phuket hotels. There is a complimentary shuttle bus that brings guests into the shopping centers such as Jungceylon, as well as bringing them to Central Festival.

Your dream vacation will be complete with Phuket hotels when you see the private pools many of them have as part of the residences. Every comfort you could desire will be at Phuket hotels where luxury is the name of the game. The hotels offer a tropical architecture with modern appeal.

As you check in you'll be pampered by top staff, willing and able to make your stay perfect at Phuket hotels. Wonder out to one of the pools and find it is an ocean front pool with only a wall between the pool and ocean. Windsurfing, scuba diving, and other water sports are possible right from the pool deck.

Never gone scuba diving before? Sign up for lessons and see the wonders of the underwater world. Thailand is known for their reefs, sea turtles, tropical fish, the occasional reef shark, and crystal clear water. Rent a boat around Phuket hotels for a day cruise.

Phuket resort have more amenities than just the activities of the town and tropical location you have chosen for that dream vacation. You'll find modern amenities are offered in each of the rooms such as iPod docking stations, flat screen TV, internet access, en suite bathrooms, blackout drapes, in room safes, maid service and much more.

If all that is still not enough hotels in Phuket offer relaxation in their spas. A Thailand experience is not complete until you find the time to relax with a salt, honey, or herbal scrub, full body massage, and other therapies.

The business guest can also find some wonderful options at Phuket hotels. Whether you need personnel to help you or equipment to talk with your partners around the world, you can find these modern amenities. Phuket hotels are designed to ensure you have luxury, comfort, relaxation, and any service you could possibly need for the perfect vacation or business holiday. Luxury is synonymous with Phuket accommodations with reflecting pools, spas, and any water activities you could wish to try.

You can check out for more information on Phuket Hotels.

Bang Pae Waterfall - Wonder of Phuket

The coastal areas of Thailand are among the most sought after beaches in Asia by holidaymakers, and the Island of Phuket in Southern Thailand is among the top favourites. While Phuket is famous for its white sandy beaches, there are other natural tropical wonders hidden in this blossoming isle that are worth the time spent visiting. One such magnificent place is the Bang Pae Waterfall, the largest waterfall in Phuket.

The Bang Pae Waterfall is located towards the north of the island, within some distances from theTwo Heroines Monument at Amphoe Thalang. After a road trip of about nine kilometres, you will arrive at the Band Pae Waterfalls park car park. From there onwards, just take a ten-minute hike along a wooded pathway and you arrive at the majestic Bang Pae. Most days of the year the waters near the falls are warm enough to comfortably bathe in, and you will find that it has become a favourite bathing and swimming spot for the locals, as well as tourists who are aware of its existence.

Apart from enjoying the picturesque beauty and clear mountain waters of Bang Pae, you can also spend some time in the Gibbon Rehabilitation Centre situated close by. It is a shelter for Gibbons injured or lost, founded in 1992 by an American zoologist named Terrence D. Morinto rescue and rehabilitate these endangered unique ape. You can make a donation for their benefit and observe these amusing animals in replicated natural habitats, as their caretakers slowly reintroduce them to their original homelands where they can roam free through the emerald canopy of the forest. Apart from hitting the sunny beaches, be sure to venture inland and enjoy excursions to places such as the Bang Pae Falls, and your Phuket adventure will be one worth talking about time and again. Just be sure you're careful with your camcorders around the falls. To enjoy a relaxing swim surrounded by musical thunder of Bang Pae, you will find it easiest if you found a place to stay in Phuket which is within an easy driving distance. Although the city is studded with attractions choosing a hotel wisely can ensure that your holiday is a memorable one.

Any Phuket hotel is more than welcoming to foreign visitors, greeting you with well-known and well-loved Thai courtesy. A tasteful and comfortable Phuket resort like the Millennium Resort Patong Phuket offers favourable accommodation deals for the traveller.

Pushpitha Wijesinghe is an experienced independent freelance writer. He specializes in providing a wide variety of content and articles related to the travel hospitality industry.