ANANTARA VACATION CLUB @ MAI KHAO PHUKET
September 30, 2016September is full of weddings as it is the '8th' month in the Chinese calendar, which is considered an auspicious month for weddings. As for us, we've just celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary at Anantara Vacation Club @ Mai Khao Phuket :D When we were there, we also met a couple of Malaysians who were there to attend some weddings too; one on the plane and one staying in the same resort. Usually when we travel, we always like to be on the go, visiting the points of interests/landmarks but this time we thought, let's try somewhere we could just chill, relax and spend some quality time celebrating together with our baby princess. After hearing some recommendations from friends and browsing through a few options, hubby booked Anantara Vacation Club. I've been to Phuket a couple of times previously. I find it kinda commercialized, mostly catering for the Mat Sallehs (A term often used by Malay speakers as a colloquial expression to refer to white Caucasians). I personally prefer Krabi more, but the reasons why we chose Anantara were because hubby had never been to Phuket and the photos we saw online were pretty awesome!
The main entrance. Anantara Mai Khao Phuket Villas, JW Marriott Phuket resort & Spa and Marriott Vacation Club are also in the same area. |
The living room + dining area. The wines are not complimentary, ya? Lol. |
The fully-equipped kitchen which comes with washing machine and dryer. |
The bedroom. |
The simple deco and complimentary cake :D |
The view from our balcony. |
The next morning we woke up late, late enough to miss the breakfast session. It was really difficult to wake up coz the bed and pillows were so comfy (Also, thanks to the wonder of blackout curtains)! Luckily we were told beforehand that in case we miss the breakfast, we could use the vouchers (worth THB560 each) at any of the three restaurants; Chaam, Crust wood-fired pizza or the poolside bar, at anytime of the day. Guess they knew their beds were thaaat comfy and perhaps this happened to many of their guests before, eh? Lol. But what made us extremely excited was the bright sunlight coming through the window when we drew the curtains open! Why? Few days ago when we checked the weather forecast, it was showing rain/thunderstorm almost every hour and everyday. We were a little disappointed but I told my hubby, "Try to think positively. Maybe we'll bring sunshine to Phuket, who knows??" And yes, Lady Luck did smile on us! :D We quickly got up, ate some light snacks, fed our LO cereals, got ready and headed out to the beach.
The beautiful Mai Khao beach, overlooking the Andaman Sea. |
After spending some time there, we headed back to the resort for late lunch at Chaam. We ordered a Hawaiian pizza and Pad Thai. The pizza was thin and crispy, just the way I like it, but I didn't like the Pad Thai. Somehow I felt it tasted like rice noodles being fried in the tomato sauce for spaghetti -_-.
Hawaiian pizza. |
Pad Thai. |
The ingredients for Som Tam. Basically you just need to pound, squeeze and mix them all up! |
The inside of the kid's activity center. |
Tomyum Goong. Sour and spicy - Liked this very much. |
Jumbo Andaman Sea Prawn in the famous tamarind sauce. Prawns were fresh but lacked flavor. |
As I mentioned before, it was really difficult to wake up in the morning but somehow we managed to do that and reached downstairs for breakfast the next day. They had quite a fabulous breakfast spread - a wide variety to choose from but tastewise, so so. We attended the presentation of the Vacation Club program after breakfast (They will take the opportunity to invite anyone or everyone who is there/nearby anyway. If you accepted the complimentary stay offered by certain credit cards or were invited by a friend who is already a member, you are required to attend this). I was curious and was interested to know what and how these so-called time-share schemes work, so we went. The consultants were friendly, informative and professional. The program looked quite tempting and attractive, so much so it caught my attention, for like a second. *Grin*. I would have been interested but I found that most of their hotels/resorts are far from tourist attractions/points of interest, which didn't really suit our style of traveling. Though we decided not to sign in the end, they were still all smiles and polite to us. Kudos!
After the presentation, we went over to Turtle Village and had our lunch at the Coffee Club. Ordered stir-fry minced pork with Thai basil and the pork noodles, so I could share some noodles with LO. Food was so so, but guess what? The portion of the noodles was so small that my LO could almost finish the whole bowl of noodles by herself! Luckily I was still quite full from breakfast. Lol! But my affogato was good though.
Pork noodles. |
Stir-fry minced pork with Thai basil. |
My affogato. |
The first thing we noticed was the swimming pool; 3 lavish pools and waterslides in the kids' pool! The beach is easily accessible from the main pool. Their kids club was large; they had a 'teen zone' with a pool table, X-box, PS3/4, Wii, a movie room, as well as all the usual toys and crafty things. There's even a turtle shelter within the resort with some educational programs so they could educate anyone who is interested on what they do to protect the oceans and the turtles. Unfortunately, the shelter only opens during weekdays and we were there on a Saturday. There were quite a few restaurants/cafes there too, including a Japanese and an Italian restaurant. So it would seem there are more things/activities to do here. Perhaps we'll plan for a stay here next time so we can truly compare the services and facilities :)
Complimentary appetizer: Fried fish with tartar sauce. |
Fine de Claire No. 3, shucked on ice with shallot & cabernet vinegar, Thai spicy sauce & fresh lemon (THB750). |
Salt Brick Mediterranean Vegetables in garlic & coriander marinade (THB750). |
Mixed Seafood - sea bass, tiger prawns, scallops and baby lobster with citrus & coriander marinade (THB1,500). |
Complimentary dessert: Coconut macarons. |
Some of the samples we had. |
There were 16 different types of salt. |
- If you decide to stay in Anantara for, say, a week, I would suggest renting a car so you can drive around the island. Car rental cost about THB1,300/day. The hotel receptionist told us that the taxi fare to the nearest hyper market (Tesco-Lotus) or the Central Festival Phuket Mall would cost us THB800 - 1,000 one way, so you do the maths :P
- Booking using Citibank credit card would get you a discount of up to 40%.
- Some credit cards do offer complimentary stay (with certain requirements) but part of the deal is to attend the vacation club program presentation.
- If you happen to have friends who are already a member, get them to invite you. It will be compulsory for you to attend the presentation, but hey, you'll get to stay for free! Who's complaining, huh? :P
2 comments
Thanks for Sharing useful insights.
ReplyDeleteYour writing style effortlessly blends personal experiences, practical tips, and a touch of humor, making it a joy to read. Thank you for sharing your beautiful celebration with us! Wishing you many more years of love, happiness, and travel adventures. Here's to the magic of weddings, anniversaries, and creating lasting memories with loved ones! 🥂💖
ReplyDeleteFor great deal for Timeshare and Vication club contact with Corporate Consulting Associates