It was basically a typhoon when we arrived, so we trudged from the lobby to our room in pouring rain, then trudged back for dinner. The villas are connected by an ugly walkway system, like Amankila had in Bali. The villas themselves seem unnecessarily ugly on the outside; well, not so much ugly as sad and plain. The interiors are quite similar in size and decor to Aman as well, although the bathrooms need a design makeover. Importantly, there are one hundred villas at the Chedi, many times more than at the Amanpuri, so the sense of privacy and personal service that is an Aman highlight is definitely lost. But the service is still good, food very good (except a below average breakfast) and if you haven't been spoiled by some of the other great hotels around Thailand, the Chedi would make a very good impression. (Room: 7, Facilities: 8, Service: 8, Overall: 8)

Somchai golfed most days while I hung out by the pool. The rain would usually let up during the day enough for me to turn red and Somchai to get at least a few holes in, then would come crashing down in the evening. We mostly stayed around the hotel partly due to the rain and partly due to the ugliness of Patong, Phuket's heaving nonstop party. There are actually some decent parts of Phuket, but it's a big hilly island and not that easy to get around. On some trips we stay in northern Phuket, which is too far to get to Patong and so it's developed its own restaurant/beach/bar scene, which is much quieter and more upscale. But in the southern half, all roads lead to Patong...

101. Phuket, Thailand July '03

Thailand has over twenty public holidays, and with so many I tend to lose track. A four day weekend suddenly appeared, and we decided to fly to get out of town. Plane and flight bookings were in short supply, but we managed to get a flight to Phuket, and rooms at the Chedi. For those of you who know Thailand, July is in the middle of the rainy season, and understandably unpopular for beach holidays to Phuket, which is why we were able to get a flight. We were supposed to leave Thursday evening, but Somchai went golfing during the day and was stuck in horrible holiday Bangkok traffic so we missed the flight. But we managed to rebook Friday, and left rainy, depressing Bangkok to arrive at rainy, depressing Phuket an hour later.

Phuket has some of the world's greatest resorts, which is frankly the only reason we go there since the island has been destroyed by tourism. The top hotels were all booked out, so we stayed at the Chedi, which is an interesting choice for the more budget conscious. It sits right next to the Amanpuri, our favorite Phuket hotel, and was designed by Ed Tuttle, the Aman's main designer, so it has a very similar design aesthetic. The public spaces and pool are actually nicer than Aman, and they've got a much nicer beach as well. There are some downsides, but overall, it costs one fifth the Aman price, which is a pretty compelling advantage.

The issue about being so profit oriented, in addition to the offputting capital raising book, is really driven home when you get to your room for the first time. This is mostly an Asian thing, but almost every hotel here gives you free things, at the least a big plate of fruit, which costs about ten cents here. There's usually flowers, often a bottle of wine, almost always breakfast included. Here, nothing, and the room echoes with the absence of stuff. And because you're supposedly stuck at the Laguna, all the food, spa etc is ridiculously overpriced, and this is coming from someone who wouldn't think twice before drinking a $7 diet coke from the minibar. The Banyan Tree chain is known for its spa service, but even the spa is offputting as you have to book days in advance and there are two receptionists and a large waiting area as people are shepherded in and out of their appointments. Anyway, I know this sounds petty but it's the little things that matter at the high price end of the market, and they fail on almost all counts. Now, having said this, I do remember on this trip rather liking the hotel. We went back two or three more times and liked it less and less each time, so to be entirely accurate my ratings should probably be higher for this initial visit. Banyan Tree (5) Room-8, Facilities - 6, Service-3, Wow-3 (the pool, but remember it comes at the expense of any view) The photos are of the beach area closest to the Laguna, which is pretty and usually empty. Also the restaurant there is privately owned and serves really great seafood, mostly to locals and the few tourists who escape the grip of the Laguna. I can't remember the name right now, but it pops up in future trips, so stay tuned.

After that pretty negative introduction, you may be surprised that we returned in a couple weeks for our second anniversary. So obviously we had a great time during our first trip, we just didn't spend much time in Patong, and you shouldn't either. One easy way to avoid that is to stay at one of the many far flung hotels. We stayed at the Amanpuri, the grande dame of Phuket hotels. It's reasonably close to Patong geographically, but a world apart in other ways. And the ride from Patong to the hotel is about a half hour, on very windy hilly streets in the back of a pickup truck, Phuket's version of a taxi. That will naturally curb any desire you might have to overindulge, or you'll regret it at some point on your ride home.

Amanpuri was I believe the first Aman, which is far and away our favorite hotel chain, as you'll find out over time. It's also the first of the superluxe hotels in Phuket, although it now has some competition for that market from Banyan Tree and Trisara. In my opinion Amanpuri still winds hands down, but since we've stayed at all the others, I'll save my knocks against them for future entries. Amanpuri is about 20 villas, all scattered among the jungle overlooking the ocean. There's a communal pool and restaurant, but in general the point of an Aman is to stay away from other people, so you rarely bump into anyone. That's why it's the favored destination for celebrities, and why you'll usually be sharing the hotel with at least one famous person, but you'll also never see them.

The Aman villa is definitely spacious and impeccably decorated, but it's very understated bordering on plain. They don't compete on glitz, but on providing as much privacy as you want, and fantastic service. As a chain, they've perfected the art of service. Lots of high end hotels have armies of staff who mill about with silly jobs like bath concierge. But here staff is largely invisible until you might want something and then it appears. They're also very relaxed and friendly, not stiff and formal or too subservient, just nice, the way you want it to be on a beach holiday.