Pulsating Phuket
We stayed in a very contemporary hotel located in the heart of the 'strip’ called Bangla Road. It was also a very short walk to beach and shops and approx 30 mins drive from the airport. If you are looking to fall out of a club and into your hotel, this is the place, it was ideally located.
The hotel had some great features like a rooftop terrace and cocktail bar with live music. Swimming pool with swim up bar, sunbeds, free pool/beach towels. A totally open front reception and it has a gym, pool table and table football.
We stayed in a deluxe pool view room. There was a full sized fridge for own use, no mini bar, the rooms were big and included a day bed and a balcony (ours was overlooking the pool). The room has an open plan bathroom but does have sliding doors for privacy. It included a lovely stand alone bath and a separate rain shower.
Patong is a very busy and lively resort, even in low season in April. It is full of bars, nightclubs, ping pong shows, girlie shows, shops and beach sellers plus of course plenty of restaurants and food outlets.
You can do excursions for many things from here, one of them is Muay Thai boxing which is heavily advertised in vans that drive along the streets.
Drinks are not as cheap here as other Thai resorts, I would say the same price as England and watch out for extortionate prices in the adult only shows, charging £24 for one alcoholic drink!
Patong beach is also busy, lots of peddlers trying to sell their wares every few seconds and of course you can do all the usual watersports. The beach is wide and long, the sand is soft and white but is so busy with watersports and people that it is not what you would call a paradise beach.
The water is cool and shallow, with soft sand under your feet. It has all amenities such as a shower, toilet, somewhere to get food and drink and you can put your own towel down for free or purchase two mattresses (no beds) and umbrella for £4 for 2 people (2015 prices).
If you are looking for peace and quiet you are in the wrong resort. This is the busy and raucous side to Thailand. It is like Marmite - you will either love it or hate it!