The Sands Khao Lak by Katathani - SHA Extra Plus

Second time in here and we loved it again. Of cource after covid everything feels different as the hotel was half empty. What we loved the most this time was that the prices in hotel restaurants have dropped significantly and we ate all lunches and most of the evenings in the hotel as well. We had standard rooms. The hotel is huge so be prepared to walk a lot, but on the other side no excersice needed The best thing is that the hotel is on a beach (feels like private beach) and we loved swimming in a sea more than in a pool, as the sea water is warmer. You can easily walk to the main street where are a lot of restaurants or ask the reception and they will take you with the “golf cart”. After lunch you can also walk to some main street restaurants etc via beach, when the sea level has decreased. I walked to “Angel nail & hair” salon via beach around 3PM as it was much shorter way. During day you can take kilometers walk/run if you turn to the right on the beach. As the hotel was quite empty we enjoyed beach area the most. Pool bar food and drinks are also very good! Super fast service from pool bar staff. They serve everything to your sunbed at the beach area as well. The hotel rooms are big enough and beds are super comfy! Very quiet during the nights. Room service was excellent as well, as we had to stay in our room, as it was the first day we arrived in Thailand.

location , facilities , kid activities

staff (they are friendly & helpful but should be trained to meet luxury hotel standard) for example, I booked for 3 but only get 2 sets of towels & beach towels. I went to restaurant with a 3 year old but didn’t get kid utensils unless asking. I went to beach massage & notice staff didn’t change the bed sheet & towel after one customer left. security system need improvement. for example I took my baby to kid club. there is no good security check. they only ask for room number without prove of key card. I traveled to different places. this should be high priority. I drove my rental car in and out. They should register the car that go in and out. it is about safety.

Nicely designed hotel next to the sandy beach and close to Khao Lak village. Waterpark- indisputable attraction for families. Kids Club. Many other water facilities for kids and adults. Many restaurants and bars (Coconut Bar!). Well equipped gym plus pool table. Mind blowing breakfast at Manta Ray Restaurant.

What we did not like is that we could not stay longer and relax for a little longer.

the gardens the beach the pools

old rooms and smell

Great rooms, very comfortable bed. Nice swimming pools. Nice restaurant with great food. Very helpful and polite staff.

There was ongoing building/ renovation work that we were not made away of at the time of booking, and as such there was the noise of building work around the swimming pool and one of the restaurants was not open.

beautiful and well maintained property

LCD TV in pool access rooms should be bigger and need more children English Channels.

What a great surprise this place was. We joined another family who already booked, without knowing anything about this property, and it was just perfect for a family. The water feature for kids are so nice, the kids club is great, the rooms are perfect.

The food (especially poolside) could use an upgrade. As the only thing we can order is from the room service menu, the choice is very limited and not really great, at that price. A poolside towel station would be much better than having to carry towels from the room every day. The showers at the beach need to be fixed.

the pool was great for the kids, the staff was terrific, helped a lot. the location was good. they have a clinic with a doctor that works almost all day, I had to clean my wound every day and he (and the nurse) helped a lot and were extremely nice and patient. overall, I felt that the hotel want my best and not only my money. different from some other hotels in Phuket. for example, the pool restaurant has very decent prices, and the extra services are mostly free

we had plenty of mosquitoes in the room the hotel offered a device to reduce the activity, but our kids have susceptible skin, so they got very itchy. the reason is that they have a static lake in the middle of the complex. and that's bringing lots of mosquitoes

At first glance it seems dated but that's the muted color scheme to go with Sands name I think. Large resort with places to chill, play, and eat. The kids club was fantastic, and we could leave our 8 year old there to play everyday for free before we'd spend the afternoon at the pool. There are paid arts and crafts that you can pay for too. There's something for everyone, even my teens took advantage of the classes and gym/ game room. The pools are plenty and water park is perfect for the kids. But there are many pools to get away from the noise and kids if you want. The beach was not as accessible because of really high tides but we still laid out by the crashing waters, every morning on one of the the plentiful beach chairs on the high wall surrounding the resort. You can walk the rocky shoreline when the tide is low. It's absolutely beautiful. The breakfast buffet was good enough and plenty, for all diets and cultural tastes. The other oniste restaurants are better but pricey. Take our advice and eat on the main street outside the resort at any of the little restaurants and street vendors. And buy some souvenirs, get a massage or tattoo too. Though everything is cheaper outside the resort, definitely visit the taxi counter in the resort for the best excursions and taxi prices. They upgraded us for free because of the rooms distance and the 2 bedroom was huge. The beds are comfortable and housekeeping was great. The area has a quite quiet beach town vibe but It was the best week ever.

Not a complaint about the resort per set but its really not a swimming beach because of the rocky beachside.

We had a great time at the Sands at Khao Lak. The property is very well maintained and well-equipped with everything you could look forward to, in a resort for relaxation. The staff were very courteous and prompt in responses. The water park was superb and kids could spend hours having fun in the aqua park area and slides. There are several lounges/ recreation rooms with books, Board games, table tennis and billiards and a very well equipped gym. The best part is that these are all regularly maintained and kept arranged. There is an excellent kids club on the property which is very well supervised with many activities and we could really see that kids were genuinely having fun there. The staff there were polite, caring towards kids as well as friendly and considerate. There is a first aid room with nurse available on the property. There are several options for a drink or a bite. The location of the property is excellent, and just within 5-10 mins walk there are several good Thai Reataurants as well as souvenir shops and cafes. Breakfast is served from 6 am onwards so it makes for an early start to the day. We didn’t take part in many activities but there is more than enough to keep you occupied such as Thai cooking classes, yoga, Thai boxing and many more. Overall we had a very pleasant time at the Sands and would highly recommend it to anyone wishing for a relaxing time at Khao Lak.

The breakfast menu could be improved.