Thailand Trip Part 11a – Remodeled Hyatt Regency Phuket Resort Hotel Review

The Hyatt Regency Phuket Resort was the base for the one-week stay on Phuket Island . I wanted to put the entire review in one post but one post would be really long. This post reports on the room I stayed in and the hotel’s public areas. The next post in the series will cover the breakfast buffet and evening lounge service.

Other posts from this Covid-19 Thailand trip:

Greetings From Thailand 

Thailand Trip – Part 1

Thailand Trip Part 2 – American Airlines Concourse C Admirals Club Charlotte, NC

Thailand Trip Part 3 – A Trip Down Memory Lane And A Tale Of Potential Disaster Over Lake Michigan

Thailand Trip Part 4 – Japan Airlines 777-300ER First Class Chicago, IL To Tokyo, Japan

Thailand Trip Part 5 – Japan Airlines First Class Lounge Tokyo Narita

Thailand Trip Part 6 – Japan Airlines 787-8 Business Class Tokyo, Japan (NRT) To Bangkok, Thailand (BKK)

Thailand Trip Part 7 – The Strange No Quarantine Quarantine, A Guide For Travelers To Thailand During Covid

Thailand Trip Part 8b – Grand Hyatt Erawan Breakfast Buffet

Thailand Trip Part 8a – Grand Hyatt Erawan Grand Club Room

Thailand Trip Part 8c – Grand Hyatt Erawan Club Lounge Review

Thailand Trip Part 9 – New Miracle Lounge – Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) Concourse A’s Stealth Priority Pass Lounge

Thailand Trip Part 10 – Thai Smile-domestic-a320-and-the-post-arrival-snack/e Domestic A320 And The Post-Arrival Snack

Why The Hyatt Regency Phuket?

Phuket is an island 222 square miles in size lying just off the west coast of Thailand in the Indian Ocean’s Andaman Sea. Phuket is one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations. It offers crystal clear waters, friendly people, great food, numerous tourist attractions, and hundreds of hotels, hostels, guest houses and Airbnb’s. I almost always stay in hotels (usually chains) for comfort, amenities, frequent-guest benefits, and assurances of quality and cleanliness.

The Hyatt Regency Phuket Resort is a beautiful 5-star, luxury hotel. It has 201 rooms and suites ranging in size from 44 sq m (473 sq ft) to 250 sq m (2,690 sq ft). The hotel had been closed during the pandemic while the owners conducted extensive renovations of the rooms and facilities. It reopened only two weeks before I arrived. Everything was in tip-top shape maintenance wise.

This hotel would normally not be my first choice for an accommodation because the cost is usually out of my comfort zone for a week-long stay and the hotel is not located near restaurants and other services. Thanks to pandemic pricing that was further reduced by a deal that gave five nights for the price of four, the price for this stay was a very reasonable $85/night.

The price alone made this stay an excellent value. Plus, combined with stays at other Hyatt hotels on this trip and the remainder of the year, the stay bumped up my status for 2022 from Explorist (middle tier) to Globalist, Hyatt’s top status in its World of Hyatt frequent guest program.

Normally, Globalist requires 60 nights in Hyatt properties in a calendar year. But because of the pandemic, last year Hyatt cut the requirements in half for each elite level. This stay helped me reach Globalist with 30 nights on the nose for 2021. It helps that five nights each year are earned just by holding a Hyatt credit card that also comes with one free night annually.

The hotel’s location is it’s only drawback. It is about a 12-minute drive to the shopping, restaurants, and bars of Patong, Phuket’s largest and liveliest tourist area. Walking is not really an option.

King Bed Ocean View Room

I booked the cheapest room – one with a garden view. At check in, Explorist status was good for an upgrade to a 48 sq. m. ocean view room with a king bed. The same room type with a plunge pool or outdoor jacuzzi would have been even nicer, but I didn’t push it this time even though the hotel was less than half full. Maybe a better upgrade would have materialized if I explained that I’d be reviewing the hotel on my blog? Ha ha!

The entry hall is flanked by closets on the right as you enter and the bath on the left.

The bath is huge in contrast to the one in the Club Room at the Grand Hyatt Bangkok. This bath includes a soaking tub, separate shower, and an enclosed toilet.

A glass wall in the bath provides views of the bedroom and the Andaman Sea. The glass wall has a remotely controlled shade for privacy.

The king bed with high-thread-count sheets and pillows to fit multiple preferences for softness is the primary feature of the bedroom that also sports a large TV, desk and minibar.

The room was supplied with six glass bottles of water. Any usage was replaced daily.

The balcony has great views of the pool and the ocean.

The room is a no-smoking room but makes allowances for those who want a smoke break while enjoying the view and sea breezes.

The Site

Phuket is a hilly island. Like many large, luxury Phuket hotels, the Hyatt Regency is built on steep terrain. Guests can walk or request golf carts to go from their rooms to other locations on the property.

Carts came promptly, but I usually walked unless it was raining. From the restaurant to my room was a 4-5 minute hike that would leave me huffing and puffing. Taking advantage of nature’s Stairmaster at least made made me feel better about skipping visits to the fitness center.

Lobby

Reception, concierge and public lounge areas are housed in the beautifully designed lobby. 

The hotel has 1,288 sq m (13,600 sq ft) of state-of-the-art indoor and outdoor meeting and conference facilities that overlook the pool and the ocean.

Pool and Beach

The attractive infinity pool is one of the largest on the island.  It provides a serene setting even for those who don’t get in.

A quiet beach borders Kamala Bay just on the other side of a small lane in front of the hotel.  The bay contains a reef that provides opportunities for snorkeling and scuba diving.  Diving and snorkeling excursions and lessons can be arranged at the hotel’s dive center.

Fitness Center

The hotel has a well-equipped, 24-hour fitness center located behind the lobby.

Nahm Spa

Nahm Spa provides a range of soothing therapies, massages, and facial treatments. It is located in a secluded spot near the lobby. The shaded path to the spa is lined with waterfalls and bamboo. The body and mind begin to relax even before entering the spa.

Other Features

Because of the distance to town, the hotel provides free, scheduled transportation to Patong and the town of Kamala Beach. Traveling to Patong by tuk tuk or taxi costs about 400 baht or about $12 one way.

The hotel provides free valet or self parking; so, rather than deal with shuttle bus and overpriced tuk tuks, I decided to rent a car for the first time ever in Thailand. The rental car companies I use in the U.S. had no cars when I checked online in Bangkok and they levy a surcharge on renters who are age 65 or over.

Arriving at Phuket airport I found a local company that had cars available. I wanted a car with GPS rather than relying solely on my phone for navigation and the only one with GPS was a large SUV. It cost about $300 for one week without an “old man” fee. That was substantially more than their smaller cars but still about half the price international rental car companies were charging online for subcompact cars.

Driving the huge SUV on the opposite side of the road and on narrow, twisting and steep roads with motorbikes in close proximity required some getting used to. I became comfortable driving it after a couple of days. The hotel’s garage mandated backing into the narrow parking spaces. After spending 10 minutes backing in the first time, I always asked a valet to put the car away.

Overall Impression

The bottom line is the Hyatt Regency Phuket Resort delivered a 5-star experience for an extremely reasonable price. The room was spacious and comfortable. Staff was always helpful and friendly. The views were amazing, and the breakfast buffet and evening lounge services were outstanding. The buffet and evening lounge will be covered in the next post from this trip.

Thanks for taking time out of your day. What do you think of this hotel so far?