Khaolak Merlin Resort

We recently completed a 10 night stay at the Khaolak Merlin resort. We have not previously stayed at this hotel so it was our first impressions and a direct comparison to other 5 star resorts in Thailand we have stayed at. We opted for the garden pool access room for this stay with a mix of eating in and out of the hotel. The room was well presented in a modern décor with a lovely garden/ semi jungle view surrounding the pool. The shower was great with good water pressure, bed very comfortable and the room was kept clean and tidy by the hotel staff. The local TV stations are not that flash but the room has a smart TV so you can access your apps such as You tube / Apple etc and log in to your account. when you leave remove your account from the rooms television. The pool was big enough to swim laps or laze in the water to cool off with easy access back to the balcony where you can watch the squirrels move around the trees while enjoying your well earned drink. There are 8 rooms only that have access to this garden pool area with no access from outside to other hotel guests I would recommend this room to anyone who normally purchases pool access with the Caveat the hotel was quiet when we stayed so we only had 3 access rooms at the time of the stay that were full. The grounds of the hotel are well managed and have a jungle feel to them with well lit pathways at night and great access to the beach. The beach is a scenic walk for those who enjoy exercise and ocean swimming The hotel was very peaceful and quiet during our stay as it was the commencement of the low season and numbers down slightly due to the Iran war as well. We ate Breakfast every day at the garden restaurant and had approx. 30% of our dinners at the hotel restaurants and the rest in the small village approx. 10 minutes walk from the hotel The breakfast was good quality with regular change of menu and plenty of variety for everyone. My only slight negative in comparison to other 5 star resorts is the tea and coffee were self service only where all other 5 star hotels we have stayed at have been waiter service. That was the only variance and it did not bother us. The evening meals we had in the 2 hotel restaurants were of the highest quality with good variety in both Asian and western style. The presentation of the food was first class. The staff at the hotel were both friendly and helpful during our stay, there is an understanding of other languages such as English but only minimal but always seemed someone on hand to interpret if required. There is a small village a short walk from the hotel with plenty of 7 eleven type shops, gifts and restaurants with generally good food. Khaolak town is a stunning 10 minutes drive by car through national park rain Forrest where there is plenty of variety for all Overall we would recommend this hotel to anyone who likes a medium sized generally quieter hotel with nice gardens/ several pools to choose from and good quality in house food. Overall good value for money a quality stay at 4 to 4.5 stars Regards Mark and Carol Australia

This was our 2nd visit to the Merlin and we have already booked to return in January   the staff were outstanding , room clean, food good, excellent in the a l a cart restaurant' The gardens and lovely and very well kept. One thing that we did miss from our first visit was the in bar which use to be inside the hotel. unfortunately, i do have one ask from the management, please please stop guests from smoking at the beach bar, I don't think it is acceptable to expect other guest or members of your staff and children to have to sit or work in clouds of smoke, there are dedicated smoking areas in the gardens surely they are there for a reason. Other than the points above we loved our stay and i expect we will be coming back for years to come.

We arrived before the official check in time and our room was ready. Staff were very pleasant. The room looked newly renovated. Complimentary safe. Open wardrobe area (take wardrobe dehumidifiers) and a large bathroom with walk in shower. Robes and flip flops (didn't use) provided. I did feel more storage, drawers and hangers could be provided. We were All Inclusive but probably made the wrong choice with that. There were no buffets (apart from breakfast) the whole time. Order from menu from The Veranda Restaurant for lunch and dinner either at The Veranda or Garden Restaurant. We did find this a bit repetitive. Some of the dishes used poor cuts of meat. The Thai options were usually nice enough but the Western dishes (mostly at lunch) were either not very nice or of poor quality. There are a small amount of shops and bars nearby. The centre of Khao Lak is not walkable. Whilst I would not go AL at this hotel again, unfortunately I would want to be somewhere with more restaurants around, if B&B or room only. We did dine out a few times and booked a few excursions that included lunch & dinner. No entertainment to speak of really. Plenty of sunbeds but if arriving in the afternoon after a morning out, you would probably find none in the shade. We did see many beds reserved with towels on all day, and no use using them. There was always a yellow flag for the sea (caution). Apparently there are jellyfish but we never saw any. There is only one bar at the beach, the other bar is a swim up. No bar near the lobby. There are two pools near the lobby which were very quiet and good to use in the morning, they were often cleaning around this area until 9 am. The main pool as you go down nearer to the beach with the swim up bar was much busier. We did get bitten a couple of times. We used plug in repellent, wore repellent and also the hotel supplied a plug in and a spray in the bathroom, not sure if we got bitten in the room or in the evening. In all we had a lovely time and the excursions booked made our visit. I would not recommend to those with young children as there isn't much to entertain. However, I would not go AI at this hotel which leaves B&B or Room Only, yet I feel I would need to stay somewhere with more restaurant choices nearby.