Karona Resort & Spa

Rested from 18.10.2023 to 29.10.2023 Tour operator - Anex. A short introductory part of my story will not be devoted to the hotel, but to the organizational moments of the tour operator, but because we were going to this hotel, so I will tell about it here. Upon arrival checked in with the representative of the tour operator on the street when leaving the a/port on a small heel, we were distributed to LARGE buses, laid out luggage in the luggage compartments, seated on buses (not to say that it was all quick, but quite acceptable, about half an hour), and.....began the long journey to hotels.... I will tell you, it was necessary to be "specially gifted" to come up with this transfer format. So, in order. The shuttle guide in the bus said that now the bus will reach some place and we will be transferred there to another transport in the form of minibuses and taken to the right hotels, listed the names of the hotels and their corresponding minibus registration numbers (asked to remember and not to confuse - haha 3 times). The BIG bus went safely towards the city of Phuket, and then made its way through traffic congestion in the city for quite some time. The people, frankly, after a 7.5-hour flight and already tired, endured the hardships and deprivations of almost 2.5 hours of travel (children cried "with their last strength"). We reached some location right by the side of the road and started dropping off the tourists: again, everyone was clearing their luggage from the bus and dragging themselves towards the minibuses near the road. As it is not difficult to guess the numbers of the minibuses (which were previously voiced by the transfer guide) did not match the reality (because they were asked to remember and not to confuse 😊), as a result of communication with several drivers who do not even speak English from the word at all, found their vehicles and started loading again. The next stage is driving around the city again on the same traffic jams now in a small vehicle and finally we're in a hotel. For children, let's just say it's an exciting journey. Looking ahead to the return journey to a/port, the return journey has a similar pattern only in reverse order. I think if you take a taxi (using the InDrive or Bolt app) the road from the a/port to the hotel will cost ~350-400 baht and take 3 times less time. Once again, Anex was "pleased" that they stopped issuing free SIM cards for tourists (as all tour operators have always done), of course we are not critical, but "draught" remained. The hotel. At the hotel upon arrival, at the reception all formalities were quickly completed within 5-10 minutes. Don't forget to ask about the safe - the key to it is given in answer to your question. No deposits were required for the room or the safe. The hotel is situated on a slope, a little need to climb a little steps, there is a small swimming pool and sunbeds. Breakfasts are usual without frills (seen worse), not particularly varied. Partial sea views begin in rooms above the 2nd floor. The property is very small, neat - several bungalows, 2 buildings, swimming pool. The hotel is quite old and shabby, at 4* of course it doesn't pull. The rooms are rather bleakly decorated, otherwise everything is as usual, fridge, safe, hairdryer, soap and shampoo, 2 bottles of water daily. The TV(far from fresh, but there is HDMI 😊) has one Russian-language channel in its settings. Cleaning is daily, however in quality by 3.5 points. The cleaning schedule was not clear, can be cleaned as early as 10 o'clock, and sometimes even after returning from the beach hours at 11-12 o'clock the room was not yet cleaned, had to either sit on the balcony or go to the pool to wait out the cleaning. A couple of times the cleaner came in after two or three hours in the afternoon. The hotel is quite convenient on the edge of Karon Beach, closer to Kata Beach, on the second line, from the reception to the beach slow 3-4 minutes, if you need to reach Kata Beach - walk 15 minutes. The location of the hotel was very enjoyed, Karon at this time of year is just magical – the sea is delightful, the waves are almost non-existent, the water is warm, the singing sand.

Fantastic, helpful attentive front desk staff. We have stayed at this hotel when there was a crisis for guests to get back home due to the war in the Middle East. Staff did their utmost to help the stranded guests.

The room smelt of drain pipes the whole time, reception staff very unfriendly and unhelpful. We asked for a spray to help get rid of the smell or to change rooms and neither was provided. Location is good and rest of staff friendly .