When you step off the ferry at Koh Phi Phi’s pier, you are inundated with cries of ‘hotel? hotel?’. But the best advice I can give is to ignore them all and head straight to the main information desks, where they have pictures and prices for pretty much all the hotels and guesthouses on the island. After some deliberation we eventually chose the Andaman Beach Resort on Long Beach…not the most expensive but not the cheapest either.
For our own bunaglow, with one double bed and one single, an ensuite bathroom, TV and fridge, we paid roughly £25 each per night, considerably more than we’ve paid for any other place we’ve stayed on this whole trip, but you’ll be hard pressed to find somewhere nice on Koh Phi Phi for much less. And anyway, this island is one of those places where you don’t mind spending the money as its just so beautiful. The price also included a pretty extensive buffet breakfast, with a whole host of different foods, from cereals and fruit to French toast to chicken and rice.
The hotel is just steps from the stunning beach of white sand and blue sea, and is surrounded by plenty of shops, bars and restaurants, so you’ll always be entertained. It’s about a 10 minute walk along the beach to the pier (the hotel will transport your bags for y upon arrival and departure), which is nice as it means you’re slightly out of the really touristy area, but close enough to get involved in everything going on. There is also a very nice pool, although its opening hours are slightly disappointing (10am – 7pm) and you’ll need to bag a seat pretty early as its always completely full.
I really can’t fault this resort, it is maybe my favorite of the whole trip so far…maybe the only downside is that they charge for the use of their WiFi and computers in the lobby (60 baht per half hour), which when you’re already paying a fairly large amount (on a backpacker’s budget) seems a bit of a rip off. But it’s ok…there are plenty of cafes just down the road with free wifi!
Dates stayed: 12 – 14 Dec 2011
My Rating:
Overall: 93%
Atmosphere: 90%
Cleanliness: 93%
Location: 98%
Staff: 95%
Safety: 91%
Value for Money: 87%
Roo Around The World 