Best Western Premier Bangtao Beach Resort and Spa

it was unexpected holiday. i booked this hotel from 13.03. 28.03.2020. but i had to leave hotel due to closure of airspace and closure of airports and grounded airline fleet. anyway, all started well hotel staff upgraded my room and located us on the first floor in fantastic room with sea view. it was lovely 5 days, and than everything changed on 18 march when EU announce closure of their airspace for non eu citizens. it was sign for evacuation and since than my vacation was ruined. i spent more time looking for information on the web than swimming and relaxing. in the meantime, Thailand started executing parcial lockdown, thai massage were forbidden, Patong main street and bars were closed. my return flight to Sarajevo was cancelled and i had to get back earlier which i did 7 days earlier than planned. about the hotel, hotel provides two swimming pools, two building and seperate part far from the beach which i dont recommend to book. food was great, drinks were affordable, for example coca cola is 1 euro, etc. overall very stressful holiday

My husband and I stayed for 14 nights on an all inclusive basis at the end of February / begining of March. The hotel is lovely. Its very clean and the staff are a real credit to the hotel. They cannot do enough for you to ensure you have a wonderful stay. The food in both the buffet restaurant and sea food restaurant is good. Plenty of variety available which suits all diets. As others have said the concept of the All Inclusive is a strange one, soft drinks from 10.00 am and alcohol served from 12.00 noon. Did this spoil our holiday, definitely not. The dress code around the hotel is relaxed. The hotel sunloungers sit looking out over a beautiful beach. Loungers cannot be put on the sands as the tide comes right in. The sea is lovely and warm and is safe for swimming. You cannot reserve a lounger and should you do so before 9.30 am the pool boys remove your belongings. There are two main pools in the resort each with plenty of loungers. There's lots of shaded areas around due to the hotel being surrounded by palm tress. Take a walk along the beach, make sure to take your camera. You'll be surprised at the things you see. We booked a long tail boat from the beach on a couple of occasions and went snorkeling at Monkey Island and went to Banana Beach. We also booked to go out via the coastline to Patong and saw the elephants on the beach. We did a few excursions booked via TUI - James Bond Island by Speedboat, Phuket Explorer inc the Big Budha and The Green Elephant Sanctuary. We also used the hotel shuttle bus to go to Patong for the evening and we booked a local tuk-tuk to visit the local night market. We had a Thai massage in the spa and had a massage in the beach hut. Both really nice and reasonably prices. The local streets around the hotel are good for a walk about. It's really safe and the people are friendly. Lots of places to eat, drink and have a massage plus souvenir shops. The hotel puts on evening entertainment. We enjoyed the local cultural shows and the Cabaret show (Lady Boys). There is also a duo who come and sing popular music. The entertainment starts early and finishes early. Body boards, kayaks and paddle boards are available, free of charge to all inclusive guests. Pool towels are also included. Rooms have a fridge, kettle, tea, coffee etc and there's a hair dryer and a mosquito repellent machine with complementary tablets. We used to ask at the bar at night for a glass of milk so we could have an early morning cuppa in the room when we woke up. There's also complementary soap, shower gel, shampoo, conditioner and body lotion in the rooms. Free Wifi was good around the resort too. The only negative comment that we have to make is regarding the check-in upon arrival. We arrived just before 6.00 am and our room was not available until 10.00 am. After a long flight and you're feeling tired, you just want to get to your room, take a shower and get yourself together. However, when we left our pick up from the hotel was around 2.30 am in the morning, so actually we can now understand why the rooms aren't ready for new arrivals. Next time we will be prepared !!! There are no elevators in the hotel either, so if you are allocated a fourth floor room be prepared. Its really hot and humid when the sun goes down, so you leave the room feeling fresh and arrive at dinner all hot and bothered. But hey you're on holiday and everyone's in the same boat. We contacted the hotel with a couple of enquiries before our arrival and we received an immediate response. We had a fabulous holiday at the resort. It was our first visit to Thailand. Having travelled to many places around the world, I have to say this was one of the best experiences we have had. We will definitely return and are happy to recommend the hotel to others. Thank you to the hotel for the beautiful flowers for our birthday and anniversary celebrations and also the little floral arrangement which was left when I didn't feel too well. Also thank you for the phone call to check how I was feeling. It's the little touches that mean so much. We look forward to returning to the hotel in the future. Stay safe everyone. xx