Travel blogger Thatraveller, Holly O’Sullivan, recently sampled the family friendly attributes of the Holiday Inn Mai Khao, in Phuket. Here’s her verdict.
A few steps from Mai Khao Beach, the Holiday Inn Mai Khao is everything you expect from a family-friendly hotel – and to make it even more appealing, kids stay, play and eat for free.
The resort has a wide range of family activities, large lagoon-style pool, a wide selection of food options, free wifi and in-room entertainment.
This is one of those resorts that really is what you make of it, a relaxing getaway from the hustle and bustle of the city, or (with the convenient transfers that the resort provides); you have the option to explore the rest of Phuket.
If it’s a secluded getaway you’re after, the resort has 36 Pool Access Rooms and Suites which open up directly to the pool from your own private terrace – and this pool is open 24 hours a day.
Kids have no excuses for boredom, with a fantastic kids club, complete with an indoor ball pit, an outdoor playground and a long list of daily activities to keep them entertained.
Back in your Family Suite, the kids can run off into their rooms, plonk themselves on the comfy beanbags provided and play on their in-room PlayStation. They even have their own little bathroom with lowered sinks and toilets. Suites also have two DVD players and two flat-screen TVs with satellite channels – so no arguments over what you’re watching!
While the kids are occupied with kids club activities, there is plenty on offer for the grown-ups, including the Tea Tree Spa, yoga classes, Muay Thai classes, batik-painting and cooking classes – even cake-decorating classes
The resort also offers a range of activities that families can enjoy together, such as Thai language classes and towel folding classes or a game of volleyball.
The Tea Tree Spa welcomes children as well, with spa treatments such as the ‘My First Package with Mum’ or ‘My First Massage’.
If you’d rather leave the kids in kids club however, there are also relaxing signature treatments such as the Indian Signature, which starts with a neem scrub, followed by a combination of Ayurvedic massage and a soothing Indian head massage.
Or there’s the Burmese Signature, which combines ancient Thai, Indian and Chinese techniques using trigger-point therapy and stretching to relive muscular and skeletal aches and pains, and finishes with a traditional tanaka body wrap and yoghurt splash.
Teens are not left out of daily activities either, with their own exclusive Teen Zone equipped with pool table, board games, flat-screen TVs and DVD players, and there’s usually a game of volleyball, water polo or table tennis on offer as well as movies at the open-air cinema.
The hotel has two dining options as well as a pool bar. For buffet breakfasts and views over the gardens there is J’s Café & Restaurant and for delicious Italian cuisine there’s Pesto Restaurant located by the pool and beachside.
The Holiday Inn Resort Mai Khao is located on the tree-lined white sandy beach of Mai Khao, 10km (15 minutes) from Phuket, International Airport and only 30-45 minutes from Phuket’s main attractions. More information here.