Pacific International Phuket Beach Resort and Spa

We stayed at the Pacific International for 5 nights in Jan 2007. It is a new hotel designed in traditional Thai style, set around water canals. It was absolutely beautiful and as it is a new hotel everything was very modern. We stayed in one of the standard rooms, all rooms had their own balconies. The room was really nice, cleaned properly everyday (unlike a previous review stated - maybe they have ironed out any teething problems by now). The views around the hotel were breathtaking, the restaurant is set on a beautiful lagoon with a water feature and carp swimming around. The pool was stunning and as the hotel is not in a main touristy location it was very private, very easy to get a sunlounger by the pool and after staying at the Patong Merlin for our first 5 nights, it was a nice to be able to relax around the pool without hundreds of other people around. The pool was open till late at night too which meant we had a few swims on our own in the dark after dinner. The main drawback for this hotel is the location, in the middle of nowhere so nothing in walking distance. We hired a taxi from the reception area and went to the Laguna beach area most days, which had the Lotus Restaurant on the beach . We also had a few really cheap massages there right on the beach. Because of the location the hotel really needs to offer a free shuttle more regularly to the Laguna area. There was a shuttle offered but you had to pay for it and it only went a few times per day so we ended up getting taxis. I think this hotel would be ideal if you hired a car. The hotel was beautiful and very private so makes it nice for couples, i would just recommend hiring a scooter or a car for your stay.