Banyan Tree Phuket Hotel Review

Phuket is one of the busiest and most popular tourist destinations in Thailand. If you are looking for quiet holiday with tranquil beaches and quality family time, the Banyan Tree Phuket Hotel is the hotel for you.

When one talks about Phuket, her notorious nightlife comes to everyone’s mind! However, if you are looking for a relaxing holiday, without the complicated nightlife, the Banyan Tree Phuket lives up to her billing. Located on Bangtao Beach on the West side of Phuket, Banyan Tree Phuket is located in a private enclave which offers guests the luxury of a Private Pool Villa, in total seclusion from the hustle and bustle of the Cosmopolitan city.

Recently. we visited Phuket with our 3 kids, to experience the luxury of Banyan Tree Phuket for ourselves.  Our Verdict: Banyan Tree does not disappoint, and totally deserving of her 5 Star rating from many travel sites.

If you wondering what the Private Villa looks like, check out what greeted us when we checked into our 2 bedroom villa. Located 20 minutes from the airport, Banyan Tree has 137 private villa with the 2 bedroom villas occupying  350sq m or 3767sq feet.  Check out our Video Walkthrough and you can sense our excitement upon discovering the space that was in store for us.

There was just so much space and the Villa felt like it was at least 4 HDB 4-room flats combined into 1 house. Together with living, dining and a fully equipped kitchen, there was space and facilities for us to “Whip up” a meal and yet spend quality time together. Each room also comes equipped with a toilet, so that we did not have long queues for the toilet when nature calls 🙂 

But the best part of the stay was own Private Pool.  As each unit is self-contained and away from prying eyes, you can swim in the middle of the afternoon or via moonlight.  And the best part is that we did not need to worry about noise pollution. The kids could make as much noise as they want in the Villa. Can you imagine them screaming, as they kept on jumping into own private pool! 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We asked the kids what did they enjoy most about Phuket. And they replied unanimously that … it was the pool time! From the smiles and the pictures, I believe that you can tell that it is a full bodied genuine response! 🙂

Besides the private pool. each villa comes equipped with her own jacuzzi. In your own comfort, one can just sip wine and have a cool beer in the middle of the afternoon, and easily relax in the comfort of one’s villa. For a better workout, there is a main pool at the Sports complex, where one can find bigger pool facilities together with a fully equipped gym.

Due to the size of the whole resort, one just can’t walk to the main lobby without working up a sweat. Although this was a feasible option, we took the complimentary golf buggy service take comes to each villa. But on most days, we just cycled to breakfast, which the kids simply loved! 🙂 

In fact, the bicycles are a big part of our resort life, as we loved the exercise and there was just so much to explore. In our down time, we even cycled around the whole hotel grounds, and discovered the surrounding lakes and even more private villas, that come with their own private butlers!!!  Maybe one day, we will get to experience that too! 🙂

Being Singaporeans who love food, we had to check out their breakfast buffet.  As someone who loves a good Eggs Benedict, I was simply delighted that they had these lovely eggs on the menu.

The breakfast is fully equipped, so you will find all your usual selections plus local Thai delights. I had green curry for breakfast together with the Thai Bee Hoon that was offered at the local counter. A key highlight was the Fresh Honey (Pic above), that was dripping from the honeycomb. It was a great condiment to waffles and other pastries, as the fresh sweetness of the nectar was simply refreshing.

As breakfast is in a common area, do head for the breakfast early, to avoid crowds 🙂

Next up is the beach. As our villa is located near the Hotel lobby, we had to cycle to side entrance of the hotel to head towards the beach. The only drawback of the Private villas is that you need to walk to the beach which is 500 metres walk from the resort.  Sunbathers will love the fact that the beach is rather private, and there is no one to disturb you, as you get yourself a good tan. 

Every Banyan Tree in the world has a Saffron Restaurant. Providing fine dining within the hotel premises, we got to experience the Award Winning contemporary Thai Cuisine on this trip to Phuket. Gents will need to bring your jeans and covered shoes for a visit to the restaurant, but the hotel will be glad to assist, if you need some assistance in this area.  We started our with the signature cocktails and moved on to a set dinner which the kids and adults all enjoyed.

If you are new to Thailand, you can check out their offerings of 4 different flavored rice served over a meal. From blue jasmine rice, pandan rice, saffron rice and to the normal Thai rice, there is a different flavoring that each guest can bring to his dinner plate.

The presentation of each plate exquisite which captured the full body of Thai Cuisine in a fine dining restaurant. Using fresh ingredients, we were pleasantly surprised from our starter to our desserts, as each plate was an gastronomic adventure. Simply an eye-opening experience and all within the hotel! 🙂

To occupy the kids, there is a kid’s club where parents can drop off their kids or where one can get the kids to experience some aspects of Asian Culture. We got the kids involved in a Batik Drawing class, where the kids could express their creativity on a Batik, and keep their final artwork!  Maximizing her lakes and lagoons. Banyan Tree Phuket offers Kayaks where the family can go for a paddle on the lake together. The whole lake is connected to other neighboring hotels, so the family went for a expedition to visit the other neighboring hotels.

Personally, I had great fun tutoring the kids on how to kayak and getting everyone to work together. “Trying something new” together was a definite family bonding experience, and although we came back with tired arms, it was worth it! 🙂 

Banyan Tree is also renowned for her spa, which is known as a sanctuary for one’s senses. If you are staying at the hotel, It is simply a “Must Do” on your itinerary. I have been to quite a few massages in my life-time, but the pampering at the Banyan Tree Massage brings personal service to a new level.

At a massage, one is brought to a private villa, where one is personally attended to by a Therapist. This is me having my foot washed a scrubbed by my very attentive Therapist who made me feel like a king. 

The massage was delicate and also a sensory experience that fully relaxed the muscles. Within the first quarter of the massage, I was sleeping like a baby. I must say that the whole experience felt like a mental and physical journey, which left me renewed and smiling as I left the villa.  The attention to details is simply impressive and  If i could afford it, I would go for a massage everyday! 🙂 

Overall, our whole Banyan Tree experience was unforgettable, as the hotel simply excelled in ensuring that we had a classy and yet peaceful holiday. Only drawback was that we needed to put on mosquito patches and be aware of other insects which nature could bring. However, being Asians, we adapted to these natural inconveniences very easily. And Yes! bring lots of sun block … the sun is really wicked and punishing to the skin! 🙂

But you will definitely love the fact that you are coming home with a nice tan! For more information, check out Banyan Tree Phuket.