As you know, the hubby and I are going on a 5-week getaway this November – originally it was September, but since it’s the rainy season in Southeast Asia we pushed it to November, instead – and one of our main stops is Thailand (as well as France and Vietnam). Because it is quite an extensive trip, we started weighing our options way in advance; trying to figure out what we wanted, where we wanted to splurge, where we wanted to save and determining our priorities for this entire vacation prior to actually booking anything.
As it turns out, we want this trip to be absolutely relaxing, romantic and memorable. We want to eat well, sleep well, enjoy the outdoors, visit some important sights, escape from the “rat race,” and have fantastic views staring directly at us from our villas at all times. And because we will be gone for a very long time, we decided to distribute our trip visiting both cities and deserted beaches, this way we don’t get bored of doing absolutely nothing all the time.
One of our stops is Phuket, Thailand. We’ll be there for 7 nights. We contemplated a lot about this one. Phuket is probably the most “touristy” and developed islands in Thailand, and I really wasn’t too keen about it at first. I wanted something more isolated, private and less crowded, a “hidden jewel“. However, since we’ll be staying at the Six Senses Resort in Con Dao, Vietnam for an entire week right after Thailand, I figured it would be good to stay in Phuket and enjoy it’s craziness, after all. The Six Senses Resort in Con Dao is completely isolated, deserted, there’s not much to do, so we’ll enjoy our time just relaxing, meditating and mentally preparing ourselves for our return to Guatemala.
There are TONS of different luxury hotels in Phuket, it’s overwhelming. I’ve looked at several of them again and again, trying to decide which ones we’d like best, and that still fit within our budget. Some were big chain hotels (Bayan Tree, our original choice, Anantara, W Hotel, etc.,) until I finally narrowed our search down to two: The Pavilions and Sri Panwa – keeping in mind an ocean view is a requirement we will not compromise on.
Both are gorgeous hotels and have fantastic reviews. The villas are also very spacious, which we like. Both are a little distant from the busyness of Phuket, which is a plus. So, with those things in mind, which one would you rather stay in? It’s a tough choice!!
faviorodas 
Love the pavillions ! Siince you are going to vietnam did you check on going to halong bay? It's amazing!!! Have a great day!!!Gabriela C.
Im from Guatemala and I live in Taiwan, on Monday I'm leaving to Thailand, Combodia, Laos and Vietnam. This trip for foreign (not asians) is really famous, going to this countries is what every one does, Once you are there, everything is really cheap especially in Vietnam, and the major cities like Hoi An, what I would recommend is to go to haloing bay, one of the seven wonders of nature in the world, http://nature.new7wonders.com/archives/wonder/halong-bay (on internet this trip of 2 days cost around $300 but once you are there the same trip with the same things costs $60. Is just amazing how much prices drop, especially in Vietnam, that is the cheapest countries from the 4 (thailand, cambodia, laos, vietnam) and on thailand don't forget to ride on the elephants, believe me is really cheap. and tickets to entry to the tourist places don't go above $20 per person. Im going to this places for a month, and people from central / south america go only to Europe, US, but this part of the world is amazing.. is worth every pennyEnjoy your trip
Try "The Surin" it's amazing, you'll eat and relax, and the people… oh the people, thats the BEST from this countries, they are so nice, so pure… always smiling!The Surin has a private beach (a must in Thailand)wich you'll find hard to get in most "big chain" hotels so it's really private and not "noisy". Remember to try all the fruit they have, they are soo delicious!! stiky rice with mango is a must, you'll love it. Take the tour to the small islands (of course Phi Phi and the "James Bond" one) this are pictures that you HAVE to have! it'll be crouded, but its worth it (plus it will only take half a day) Also remember to pack lots of maxi dresses and shirts with sleeves, Thailand is a Buddist country so you can't wear shorts (anything above the knees) show your shoulders or cleavege in presence of anything related to Budda (temples mostly), the same applies to guys, so pack your hubby some confortable pants!You'll love it! Hope this helps you!!
Sri Panwa in my opinion! But they BOTH look AMAAAZING!!!! Envidia de la buena… 😉 Enjoy, you deserve it!!!!! love,Marie