Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Grand Centara Resort @ Krabi Vacation 2016

It was just a recent holiday that we've been to which was still fresh from my memory.

We chose Krabi as our destination for 3 nights because we previously experienced Hua Hin and we totally loved the atmosphere and serenity of the resort.

The resort we chose this time was the Grand Centara Resort, which was quite a pretty huge resort compared to the rest we've been.

We had to take Tiger Air to Krabi airport because there were not many airlines that were offering such route. Upon arrival, we flagged a cab for THB 600 baht which would bring us to Noppharatara pier where there were complimentary speedboat transfer to the resort itself. Do reach out for the timetable which was provided from the resort when you book.


~ Noppharatara Pier ~

~ Riding the speedboat ~

After 15 min, we reached the entrance to the resort, which was isolated in an island.


~ Grand Entrance ~

Finally reached!!!

I'll break this down into the most important factors for looking into the resort, in case anyone would like to book the same in the future.


1.) Location

It's not the most convenient location as the only way to reach the resort is via a boat which we have to take from the pier. 

In order to travel to Ao Nang or Krabi Town area, you'll have to take the boat again to the pier and make your way out from there.

Since it is isolated in an island, it also means that it's very difficult to reach a supermarket to grab drinks or snacks and there are a number of limited restaurants for you to take your meal inside the resort.


2.) Beach & Nature of Resort

The resort is an absolute stunning nature lovers. 

There are plenty of butterflies, lizards and monkeys flying around the resort, and the resort sparks a very open and friendly environment towards nature.

The beach is amazingly huge and was very child friendly as the water is clear and the sand is soft on the touch.

It was Oscar first experience playing by the beach and he absolutely loved it to the core, especially when the wave starts to spill over to the sandcastle we were building in vain.

Throughout our stay, the weather was absolutely great and it was sunny hot throughout, which sparks a great number of tourists to lie down tanning on the beach and the pool area.

Delight Play With The Sand

Beach
~ Oscar @ Krabi ~

~ Daddy B 3Fs ~

3.) Accommodation

We chose the Ocean Suites Luxury which was located on the 3rd floor.

There is no elevator or lift, so you'll have to exercise up and down. We did that throughout and were flat tired everytime.

The room were huge, similar to what we have back at Hua Hin. However, they were a few tad signs of aging and I had very much preferred the one we have at Hua Hin.

There were a balcony overseeing the ocean and there were bath-up outside. We used them quite a bit and my son totally love it. You can see from his expression that he was genuinely excited when the water fills up.

~ Room ~
Bath Time!!!


4.) Facilities

The resort was very huge and there were plenty of facilities that we are able to use during the stay.

There is the spa club, which I stupidly signed up on the first day to try on a 4 hands massage since I was longing for massage for the longest time.

There is also the fitness center, which we went in a few times to enjoy the aircon... hahaha.

There is the recreation club where you can play xbox or playstation, and there is also a table tennis table which I played a few rounds with my wife.

~ Recreation Club ~

There is also the kids indoor playground which we brought our son to play inside. There were not too much crowd since everyone is hanging out by the beach and pool area so he has all the toys and games to himself.

~ Indoor Playground ~

The swimming pool is huge. And the view is amazing as it oversees the mountain and the ocean.

There were also not much crowd as most people were sun-tanning when we went so we had the pool almost all to ourselves. It was a very enjoyable swim.

~ Swimming Pool ~

5.) Service

I had to include this in the review as I believe it is one of the most important factor.

The service was not the best as compared to the one we stayed at Hua Hin but it was decent overall. We had experienced much worse elsewhere.

There were a few times when we had to remind for housekeeping and call for service but I guess because of the huge size of the resort they couldn't accommodate all the guests' request.

Still, I will rate the service as only decent as I had much expected better from a 5 star resort.


Overall

There were some great and misses throughout our stay but the overall stay was great.

It is definitely something which I do not regret choosing to go for a staycation for a chill and relax and the money spent is definitely worth it.

P.S: The review is purely based on my own experience and I do not receive any compensation for writing this review.