Travel: 2014 Jul Marriott Mai Khao Beach Vacation Club Phuket, Thailand

Hubby got invited to stay at Marriott's Mai Khao Beach Vacation Club Phuket[1]. We have no idea who recommended us, but I for sure am grateful to whoever he/she might be. The 4D3N stay was free (air tickets not included of course). The only price to pay is to sit in for their sales presentation for at least an hour. The sales talk took place at Marriott's Phuket Beach Club. In fact, there are 3 Marriott's property within that area: Marriott's Mai Khao Beach, Marriott's Phuket Beach, JW Marriott@ Phuket. By the way, this is not a sponsored post (in case you are wondering).

Sales presentation venue

We went when QW was just 3 months old. Well, some might say she is too young for a plane ride. At least our paediatrician (PD) Dr. Ho of Australia Clinic think so. I still remembered his words when we told him about the trip, "Baby, can you don't go? You are too young and you haven't finish all your vaccinations yet."

I wavered. Had it not been that hubby had already bought the tickets and booked the room (which was expiring by end Jul), I probably would have asked him to cancel the trip. But not surprisingly, we did see younger babies (at most a month old) on board. Kudos to their parents. Seeing them did put me at ease by a little though.

Good thing about going to Phuket is the plane ride is short enough for QW (2 hours) not to become too cranky. To better prepare ourselves for the plane ride, I did some research and found the advices given by Mama Natural[2] pretty useful. Hence, I faithfully nursed QW when the plane took off and landed. I was glad that QW cooperated pretty well though she did not seemed to like the baby/infant buckle.

Not sure what are your feelings about Phuket Customs. I am totally loving them! For both our arrival and departure, the Customs officers immediately led me to a new counter when they saw me carrying QW. The same goes for those parents who were carrying their babies. They get cleared faster as well. Clearing the Customs faster to me meant that I have more room (freedom) to move about in case QW becomes fussy.

Once we cleared the Customs, our ride to the Vacation Club was already waiting for us. Took us about 15 to 20 minutes to reach the Vacation Club.

Foyer

Lobby

Reception

Welcome drink

Before I forget, we went with his family and my siblings. A total of 6 people because we saw from their website that their typical 2 bedroom villa sleeps 6[3]. Check out the interior of their villa apartment:

Entrance

Bedroom 1 

Bedroom 1 toilet 

Bedroom 2 (King size bed)

Bedroom 2 wardrobe and TV

Bedroom 2 toilet

View taken from living room

Dining area

Kitchen cutleries

Kitchen cooking wares

Kitchen dinnerwares

Washing machine, dryer, iron, ironing board, etc.

Balcony

Most of the stuff you need to whip up a meal can be found in the kitchen, ranging from cutleries to dish washing detergent. The only thing you need to get hold of is your ingredients.

Being quite a distance from touristy places like Patong beach and Phuket center, it does not mean you will be bored stiff there. Rather, I find this place is tranquil and helps to revitalise a lot! A good place if you want to just wind down and recharge. Here are some things you can do within their compound:

Play a game of snooker in their billiard pavilion

Relax at their swimming pool

Dine in at their restaurant 

Vegetarian menu

Play a ball game

Join one of their activities

Some other to-dos within their compound but I did not take a photo of are

• kids club: activities for kids
• gym
• yoga pavilion
• bicycle rental
• table tennis tables
• Not forgetting, SPA!

If you finished occupying your time using the facilities within their compound, here are some other activities that you can do in their surrounding:

Take a free shuttle bus to explore their 2 other properties

Shop and dine in at their next door Turtle Village 

Buy your ingredient to cook a meal
(located within Turtle Village)

Take a stroll

Go to the beach 

Panoramic view of the beach

One thing I really liked about their beach is it gave me the feeling of a private beach. True to what you see in the panoramic view, there is no/hardly anyone at the beach. The waves are pretty strong here, so I won't recommend swimming in it. But, a walk would be pretty relaxing when you want a place to de-stress.

Before I forget, there is another thing you can do at Turtle Village apart from shopping and dining. They have a couple of booth which promotes their property: Anantara Phuket villa. For, again, the price of attending their sales presentation (when we visited them), you can sign up for their freebies which may be Phi Phi islands tour, body massage, etc.

Maybe, it was because of all the freebies. Maybe, it was because we just relaxed around the very spacious villa. Or maybe, it was because we did not go to where most tourists go. I find that Phuket is a pretty good place to relax and recharge. Hence, I do think that Phuket is worth at least one visit. But, my personal preference is still Taiwan or New Zealand for repeated visits.

Would I visit Phuket again if not for those freebies? Unlikely, since I have already seen most of Phuket. Anyway, we enjoyed our Phuket trip and returned home fully recharged. Goodbye Phuket, maybe see you again~

References:

1. Marriott's Phuket Beach Club
2. YouTube - Mama Natural: 10 Tips for Airline Travel with Baby
3. Marriott's Phuket Beach Club - Villas & Amenities
4. Tripadvisor - RYWsg in Mai Khao, Thailand