facilities, price, staff, size of pools, private beach
Disadvantages:
location for some - but you would know this before booking anyway? !
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
When i stayed at the merlin beach hotel i stayed in a deluxe room type which was lovely and we paid £45 per person per night for the room which was already based on a breakfast basis. Normally i wouldn't say to do this in thailand unless the hotel rates already include breakfast but, on this occasion it works well as the hotel breakfast was very nice and also the hotel is a set on its own so it';s nice to actually eat instead of having to make your way into patong area first and then finding somewhere to eat.
location: The hotel may be set on it's own but this is really a advantage for this kind of hotel and if you do see location as a disadvantage, then this clearly isn't the hotel for you! The location comes under tri trang beach and the hotel is set in 3 ''blocks'' that each have their own swimming pool in them and all rooms overlook these pool areas. Guests can use any of the pools and the middle one is the biggest which also has the swim up bar in. The beach it is set on is immediately in front of the the pool areas. Now the thing to note with this beach is that it is absolutely empty! rather starnge considering guests have the exclusive use of it but it has quite a few large rocks near to the shore so it's not that easy to go for a swim in! However if this doesn't bother you, then you're pretty much garunteed an empty beach and th epool is only yards behind you anyway to go for a dip. There wasn't any sun loungers out though when we were there so you'd also have to use a towel to lie on. Another thing to note with the location is that you get the best of both worlds - the hotel is away from noise and bustle but if you want to go into patong the hotel operates a free shuttle bus there and back so you don't have to worry that you're going to be paying out loads in taxi's there and back all the time(there is a last shuttle back at about 11.30 so you'd have to make your own way back after this though!)
First impressions and Staff: The hotel is quite large and on arrival you notice how big the entrance way is - it has a fountian in the lobby and lots of marble flooring and open spaces. When we arrived at the hotel we were greeted by the check in staff who gave sat us down in the lobby while they took our passports to check us in and we were offered a cold drink and a cold towel(lots of hotels in thailand do this and the cold towels are always scented of some kind - very refreshing!). Once we had our room key we made our way to our room and within minutes the porter had called with our luggage. The staff were always very helpful and smiling(not come across one hotel in thailand where thye aren't yet!) and anything we asked for was done quickly and easily.
Restaurants: The merlin beach hotel has a variety of restaurants to suit a good range of tastes. Amazingly we only ate in one of the evening ones as most nights we did go into patong. It's always much cheaper to eat outside of hotels but what you should remember is that if you if do eat in the hotel restaurant, it's still normally a good price even with the upmarket hotels compared to eating in the equivalent in the uk. First of all the breakfast room is in the middle section of the hotel and it has an air conditioned inside area and the terrace outside that is just set back from the pool. They have a hot and cold buffet breakfast which has a good range with a good selection of fresh fruits and cereals too. hot food is tasty and is kept covered so it doesn't lose heat either. Overall a really good breakfast - one of my favourites! The restaurant we ate in was called 'tri trang seaside'' which is actaully just the same room as where the breakfast is served but it becomes a nother restaurant in the evening(it was a while since i was here so this may be different now though). It's mainly a seafood restaurant but you can get other dishes and when we were there they served it as buffet so you could help yourself or ask the chef for a particular item if it was something that needed cooking to order. I actually had a steak that was in spicy sauce from the buffet - the only reason we ate in here was so that my other half could try the lobster which he thought was lovely. I can't rememebr how much we paid exactly but i do rememebr that when we'd looked at the menu before we made the reservation that i swas approx £12 for the lobster so that gives an indication of how how good the prices are! The hotel has other eatieries though so if seafood isn't your thing they also have an italian named 'la gondala' whci looked nice too, a thai restaurant called 'chang thai' and they also then have a casual eatery which is the 'bhukit coffee shop' where you can get a mix of fdifferent types of food and in the day this is hence the name, a coffee shop with internet access! they have a bar called the 'sabai club' which is more of a chill out area with darts and a pool table and also has a big screenn tv (they show matches if something major is on). It also has internet access and a small bar where you can get drinks and order light snacks. They actually have two coffee shops in the hotel but one is a proper one thats serves lavazza coffee and has fresh sandwiches and other light snacks etc. Lastly, they have the lobby lounge which is in the main entrance area but set at the back. You can sit and look out over the pool and they have a live band on who sing a medlay of songs - very chilled out and view is stunning from here as the pool is lit up beautifully in the evenings. It is open air as ther is no windows either so the breeze blows through and it's just lovely.
Rooms: I stayed in a deluxe room which is the second room category up. The categories they have are: Superior - base room type with either twin or double beds and they have view of pool. good sized bathroom with shutters that can be opened to look into bedroom. All have balconies and a table for in room dining. Deluxe - second room type up. Only real difference between this and superior is that these are slightly larger. These rooms have disabled access also. Pool access - these are all located on the ground floors and hence the name have a patio that leads directly into the pool. These rooms only have king size beds and there are no twins at all - they are kind of geared towards couples. They are also actually same size as the superior so you really are just paying more for the pool access but not size. Merlin suite - this is pretty large. Not sure how many guests are supposed to be able to fit in but it has a king size beds, two bathrooms and a whole living room area. size wise, you are looking at double the size of the superior room types. Presidential suite - This is the largest of rooms at the merlin beach and not sure how many of this category they have but the suite itself consists of a king size bed, two bathrooms and a large living room with full dining room and has a full dvd theatre system with surround sounds speakers. The bathroom in this suite also has it's own jacuzzi. Size is again jumping right up and is just over three times the size of a deluxe room type. All room types have trheir own tea/coffee making facilities and a mini bar. All have a tv and telephone, safes and hairdryer and all rooms have internet access through the telephone which you have to get a code for and pay for at reception.
Other facilities: The hotel has a few other things too. First off it has a childrens club which didn't look that big to me and i think you'd have to book in as when we were there it wasn't open and i think this was due to the fact that nobody had booked to go in so hadn't bothered to open. There wasn't many children in the hotel though but worth knowing that they do have one for parents! the swim up bar in the pool was a pretty good one as it stuck outinto the middle of the pool allowing for seats on either side so quite a lot of people can sit down at any one time. The pool itself, just to give a bit more detail, is quite impressive. Each of the three sections are rather large and have shallow sections and deep sections and childrens area. The one to the right side and the one in the middle are linked by a bit that goes through the underneath of the two wings. it has a waterfall in this bit(small one). For guests, they can walk over this by a little bridge. The third pool is seperate because this is where the pool access rooms are and this area has a larger waterfall so that if you are staying in a pool access room it's a bit quieter too as not as many guests swimming here usually. You can go in this one even if you're not a guest in this wing. I have to say overall one of the best pools i've seen in a hotel. On the beach there is a small stall where you can get your hair braided - not sure on costs asi didn't go over but again it's there if you want it. The hotel has a spa - i didn't use as this really isn't my kind of thing but had a look in and looks nice enough. I could hear some lovely music coming out of the doors so it sounded very relaxing anyway!!! lol The hotel has a few shops on site for gifts etc and you can get things like camera film etc from here.
Overall i would recommend anyone to stay here as it's good location, staff, amenities, room are lovely and it doesn't fell crowded even though it's large.
