We researched reviews on TripAdvisor before booking our Phuket hotel. As this was our first visit to Phuket, we were relying strictly on word of mouth. From the moment we arrived, we were treated exceptionally well by the staff. I had made several specific requests in our online booking, all of which were perfectly carried out.

Additionally, we were completely surprised the second day of our stay. We had booked an all-day tour, and upon return to our room, they had left a birthday cake for my husband, with a personal message attached. Definitely above and beyond.

The property is much nicer than we expected. The rooms are older, but very roomy and we had a great view of the pool and garden area. The breakfast was nice and had a good selection, and the garden massages at the pool were great!

There were lots of activities at the property during our stay, which happened to be during Songkran (Thai New Year).

We LOVED the location and proximity to shopping, night life, and great restaurants.

We would definitely return to the Thara!

This rooms in this hotel are the equivilent of a Motel 6. Nothing special at all. The reason it IS good is because it is right in the center of all the action of Patong. So if you are going to party in Patong then this would be a perfect place to be. It is also right across the street from the beach. No walking or taxis are necessary with this hotel. They also have a great seafood buffet. But the rooms are very unimpressive.

Myself, hubby and 2 kids stayed here in August 2007 and LOVED IT! Some reviews have stated that rooms were a bit old, but they were starting renovations as we left, so may be more modern now. Huge varied buffet breakfast every morning, pools beautiful and vacant a lot of the time (we went in the wet season). Staff friendly and helpful and resort beautiful overall. Close to main road and beach, but lovely and quiet once in resort. 'Games' room rather dated, could probably do with a couple of video games and some English language magazines/books. Would definitely stay there again and recommend it to friends. Cheap rates through Latestays.com.

Resort was better than I expected, the staff were friendly and the room was clean. We had a pool access room, which was great. I would rate the hotel about 3.5 stars.