Khao Lak Bhandari Resort & Spa

This is a lovely little hotel/area.The only reason i did not give it 5 stars is that i thought the pool/area was getting very tired.Loads of decking planks loose and broken tiles around the pool.Apart from that it was very nice.Excellent and always happy staff that will do anything to help.Food in both breakfast and evening restaurants was fantastic.The rooms are clean and spacious.I would go for a upgraded room if you can.The big tree bar is also faultless. Bit of a note though.Check your arrival time as you may not get your room until 2 pm.We arrived at 7am so was a bit annoyed about that.Not the hotels fault,but tui’s.They dont make it clear enough.Bit of a pain because you could pack so that all your pool gear is ready available. Also the beach is not great unless your prepared to walk 30mins. Wasn’t keen on the resort because there was maybe 4/5 good eating places unless your prepared to walk up to the top road,where there are dozens.It is only 10 mins walk,but you are sat next to a dual carriage way and was not ideal for us.So we stayed down at the hotels surrounding area.Nice and quiet.

This lovely hotel is Thailand in a nutshell. So friendly and authentic. The moment you enter the open dark wood reception, you are greeted with a welcome drink and smiles. The staff Are the best we have come across in all of our travels. We have seen a few reviews saying that this hotel is tired and outdated. It’s not at all! It’s very traditional in style, everything is neat and in working order. This is not a hotel for you if you like modern Holiday Inn type of accommodation. Or a marble palace. The hotel is not sat on the beach, but is a 1 minute walk on the path through a lovely wooded area. There is a gorgeous beach bar/restaurant just to the right where you can watch the beautiful sun set with a cold drink. The pool area is large, tropical and never busy, with lovely comfy padded sun loungers. The hotel does an activity every afternoon just outside the pool bar/restaurant, from Thai deserts to fruit carving. We also paid to do the hotel cooking course which was fabulous! Chef Tommy taught us to make mussaman curry, Tom kha gai, and pad Thai. And we got to eat it afterwards. 👏🏼 There is a bar attached called The big tree that is open in the evening. They have a happy hour from 9.30 to 10.30. The restaurant attached is called Le Siam, is next door and is fabulous! Wonderful authentic southern Thai food cooked to your heat preference. They have a Thai buffet night on a Saturday night, so you can try all the dishes. They also serve western food and have a BBQ night twice a week. There is a beautiful Spa on site, but we didn’t get a chance to use it. Time ran away too quickly. I had my 50th birthday while we were here, and was given a beautiful cake while all the staff sung happy birthday! It’s was a big surprise. We have thoroughly enjoyed our stay at the Bhandari, and hope to return as soon as possible. Many thanks to Bas, Soda, Su, Charlie and Hana for looking after us at breakfast and lunch. And to Dan in Le Siam for making sure everything was perfect with our evening meal. Thanks Bhandari for a wonderful Holiday xxx