Even though I only spent two weeks in Thailand, I managed to cram a lot in. Bangkok, Railay, Koh Phi Phi and Phuket. By the time we arrived on the boat to Phuket, I knew I needed to relax. I mean, I didn’t do anything majorly energetic in the other places, but travelling around really takes it out of me and a low key few days in luxurious surroundings is what was called for. For that luxury, I chose Sawasdee Village in Kata Beach.
I booked into a cabana pool access room, which is at the back of the resort itself. The walk feels like quite a way from the main pool area, but the beautifully decorated walkways totally made up for it. In fact, the whole resort sticks to an oriental theme with exotic scent permeating the air, brightly coloured Thai accents throughout the décor and ample areas to completely relax, it almost feels like you are in the middle of nowhere. The resort is located on a fairly quiet sidestreet and around a 15 minute walk to Kata Beach. Before I take you on a tour of our cabana pool access room, let me show you what you can expect to see at Kata Beach.
I have never seen sunsets like them and, considering this is mainland Thailand, I was in total awe. So much so that I wandered down to the beach every night with a few beers to take it in, I couldn’t get enough of it. I still dream about those sunsets and plot my return, just so I can sit and admire them again.
Anyway, onto the cabana pool access room. Each room is vast with a large king sized bed, surrounded by the prettiest of mosquito nets and twinkly lights on the ceiling as the dark sets in. There is a smart TV mounted to the wall although ours didn’t work properly meaning we spent a lot of time on the private terrace area, complete with sun loungers. There is also a turn down service but we only received this on 1 of the nights we stayed here. I did try and raise this with the staff who advised that I had set my room controls to ‘do not disturb’ (I loved this by the way, you flick a switch to show you are busy and the staff know not to disturb you) although this was not the case. It wasn’t a major issue so I didn’t take it any further but it was a little frustrating that they claimed I had been in the room all day, when I hadn’t.
The bathroom is well equipped, separating the toilet, shower and dressing areas for the utmost privacy. The rain shower falls from the ceiling but still has ample pressure with all the toiletries you would expect from a luxury resort. There is a door from the shower to outside, which takes you straight to the pool.
The pool areas are not joined so this is more of a lazy river style swim around the cabana pool access rooms with a swim up bar in the middle. During the day you can enjoy a light lunch or cocktail at the swim up bar, but by night the twinkly lights are really a sight to behold. The pools being separate allows for extra privacy although you can choose to go and sit by the main pool, this is where you will get the most sun.
The resort has an award winning spa as well as a restaurant, where we enjoyed breakfast from a vast array of buffet options.
Despite the slight issue with the turndown service and TV signal, I would definitely stay here again. The prices are so reasonable (I paid around £70 per night) and it is close enough to nightlife, should you want it, yet far enough away that you feel encapsulated in your own bubble for some R&R. Next time I hope to get up the hill at the rear of the resort to see the Golden Buddha, I believe the views across Phuket from there are simply beautiful. If the sunsets are anything to go by, it is a must see.
