Our first stop in Thailand was at the Sofitel Krabi Phookeethra Golf and Spa resort. The resort is quite famous for its biggest pool in Thailand, so I couldn’t wait to see it.
OUR JOURNEY TO SOFITEL KRABI PHOKEETHRA
We started our journey from our home in Penang in Malaysia around 9 am. We booked a minibus which cost us only 18 dollars. Fights to Krabi are about 200 dollars for a return ticket. My last trip to Thailand was without any problem, so I didn’t expect any on this trip.
Once we crossed the bridge to the mainland our driver took a wrong turn and instead of driving us north to the Thai border he drove east and realized it after an hour of driving in the middle of nowhere. So we got about 3 hours delay just with this driver. When we got finally to Krabi we booked a taxi which cost us 900 baht – more than a ticket from Malaysia to Thailand, and it took about half an hour. In the end, we arrived at the resort exhausted around 10 pm instead of our planned time 5 pm.
The lobby had a palace-like feel with huge and comfortable looking daybeds. Since we were taking the bus we only brought our backpack and we were dressed in comfy home clothes. Standing at this gorgeous hotel we felt a bit awkward in our not fancy but comfy clothes together with the backpack and me holding a big pillow. We were sitting in one of their sofas and they also brought us fresh rosella drink and iced towel. After that terrible journey, we really appreciated it. Once the check-in was completed we were taken to our room.
LOCATION
As I mentioned before, this resort is pretty far from anything. You can rent a bike (150 baht a day) or take a taxi (800 baht each way). The resort is next to the beach which was quite empty…the beach isn’t really for swimming but we enjoyed a few walks there. But at the reception, you can book a trip to one of the islands around and enjoy snorkelling and their beaches.
Unlike the other 5-Star resorts in the area, Sofitel Krabi Phokeethra does not own a private beach. You would have to cross a road to get to the beach. You should be careful when crossing the road – most of the time it is empty, but time to time heavy vehicles were there due to the mining location close by.
THE ROOM
Our Luxury room was spacious and decked out in a classic style with colonial-style wooden furnishings and polished teak floors. First, we jumped into our huge king size bed which was very comfy and with lots of pillows. A fruit platter together with small chocolate balls were waiting for us in the room, and it was delicious. Our room had a very small balcony with two wooden chairs and with a view to their gardens, but we didn’t use it since we were sitting around the pool.
Our bathroom was amazing, a huge bathtub as well as a spacious shower corner and lots of towels. One of the shower heads had a nozzle which had a fine mist spray and we loved it. But what made me really happy is that Sofitel uses cosmetic products from L’Occitane. I really love that brand and the scents of their soap, shampoo, conditioner and body lotion….simply said, scents of everything! I had to take them back home with me 😀
One thing disappointed me in our room and it was their WIFI. Most of the time we were not able to connect to any WIFI signal and when we did, it was a very week signal and we could only access it in one part of the room. 🙁
THE SPA
The So Spa was like a temple with a charming water feature set in the middle and beautiful private spa rooms around it. The spa here is really traditional-looking. Treatment rooms are decked out with ornate wood-panelled walls and polished floors. All spa treatments are done with L’Occitane products. Yaaayyy again! I just love it! 😀
We had delicious drinks before our massage. The massage was amazing – I was so relaxed that I almost fell asleep. It is a pity it was just an hour. After the massage we were escorted to a lounge where we sat in comfy chairs and ate delicious biscuits accompanied by tea.
THE FOOD
Sofitel Krabi Phokeethra has three different restaurants – Italian, Thai/Indian and International. We had a lovely Italian dinner at Ristorante Venezia. The restaurant is very classical with a lot of different lights which creates together with Italian music a very romantic atmosphere. The kitchen is an open-plan affair with a traditional stone pizza oven, so you can watch your meal being cooked in front of your eyes. First, we ordered a bottle of wine. What else to drink when eating delicious Italian food. 😉
This romantic looking restaurant changes every morning into a chaotic buffet eatery. We choose to sit outside enjoying the lovely views of the hotel gardens instead of sitting inside where all the guests and chaos were. However, the food was fantastic. Breakfast had tons of choices including fresh honeycomb, healthy options, an egg bar, a pancakes bar, lots of bread, cereals, fruits and vegetables. I really enjoyed the variety of food and their fresh juices and smoothies.
THE GROUNDS
The pool is getting here the biggest attention. With its seven thousand square metres of swimming space, it’s the biggest pool in Thailand and it goes through the hotel’s tropical gardens. There is also a pool bar where we really enjoyed few bottles of chilled beer. Those who pay for a VIP room will get an access to a private part of that pool which is hidden behind one of the hotel buildings. We pretended to be VIP guests and went there to explore it. We found an outstanding huge hammock in the pool. I should call this resort a resort of million hammocks 😀
In the resort, you can find a small gym with only a couple machines (it was empty anyway), a coffee shop with a selection of homemade delicious cakes and a gift store. If you are coming with kids, you can spend your time around the kids’ pool or take your kids to the kids club, where your kids can enjoy lots of different workshops and activities. And if you are fans of golf, you can enjoy their 9 hole golf course with a sea view – I think we should learn how to play golf so we can test it next time.
Sofitel Krabi Phokeethra offers a lot of activities you can do within the resort but also offers plenty of possibilities to leave it and see the rest of Krabi or the islands around.
QUICK TIPS
- If you don’t have a big luggage and want to explore more than just the resort I would recommend you to rent a bike which is about 150 baht a day (taxi is 800 baht one way to Krabi)
- Sofitel Krabi Phokeethra is far from the main part of town, but there are a few stores and restaurants just a few minutes away – we visited one small restaurant 15 minutes away and enjoyed walking on the beach too.
- For more information and to make a reservation, visit their website.
Disclosure
I was hosted by Sofitel Krabi Phokeethra. Nevertheless, all pictures and opinions are my own.
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