Stayed here for four nights in August 07 (two nights at first and we came back for two more nights a few days later, after visiting Phi Phi Island).

Hotel: a Chinese-traders themed boutique hotel with only 10 rooms, located in the heart of Patong (side street from a main road) at five to 10 minutes walk from Patong Beach. The theme of the hotel is used throughout and in detail, giving it a special intimate atmosphere. Clearly a lot of work and love has gone into creating this place. The hotel has free in-room broadband Internet access (wired in every room, and in addition wireless in some rooms), plus free usage of an Internet PC downstairs for those without laptops. Breakfast is available until midday in the restaurant next door (owned by the hotel), an excellent feature for those wanting to sleep in. The hotel is owned and managed by a Canadian/Thai couple. It opened less than a year and a half ago.

Location: the hotel is located on a side street, a minute or two walk from a main road in downtown Patong Beach. A number of excellent and economical seafood restaurants operate on the sidewalk of the nearby main road, and banks, convenience stores, beauty parlours which also offer good massages, and other shops are located nearby. The whole of the Patong downtown can easily be walked from the hotel. The beach can also be easily walked to.

Room: the rooms we had (204 initially, and 203 the second time) were of a good size, one themed in blue and the other themed in pink and green. As elsewhere in the hotel the overall theme was Chinese with a lot of attention to detail. The website of the hotel offers an interesting explanation about the philosophy of the differently coloured rooms (each room in this hotel has a different colour theme). Items in the room included a working desk and chair with ethernet port for Internet access (wireless also available as mentioned earlier), TV with up to 50 satellite channels (although some were a bit snowy), in-room electronic safe, wardrobe, a good split-cycle air conditioner with remote and room temperature indicator on the wall unit, and an excellent, firm and comfortable king-size bed. The room had a decent sized balcony overlooking the street, with chairs and a table. There is a fridge in the room which can be filled with drinks available for purchase from the hotel (at reasonable rates; 40 baht for a beer for example) or from elsewhere. The bathroom also was great with a very big showerhead, and a Chinese designer wash bowl, in line with the overall theme.

Cleanliness: very good.

Breakfast: choice of breakfast was available at the restaurant next door, which is owned by the hotel. We chose American breakfast each morning (included in the room rate) which was good.

Staff: friendly and helpful, although some had limited English. However the Canadian owner, who speaks English as well as French, is often around, usually in the mornings.

Booking: had booked at wotif on the day of arrival, only about five hours beforehand, and the booking went through fine - we were expected when we arrived. We paid 950 baht per night, a good low-season rate.

Internet: whilst most large luxury hotels still charge for Internet access, this place has free broadband Internet access available in each room. Both wired and wireless Internet is available in the hotel plus a PC downstairs near the lobby which guests can use free of charge. An excellent initiative.

A few comments: the rooms are on levels one, two and three and there is no lift, so people with mobility problems who cannot climb stairs should not stay here. Hot water is solar powered, and the second two days that we stayed at the hotel there was no sun, and subsequently the water was relatively cold (this was in room 203). However as the days were hot anyway this was only a minor inconvenience. The Aman Grill restaurant located next door, where the breakfast is served, has no air conditioning nor fans, which means that on hot days it can be quite warm there if you get a late breakfast. Management could perhaps look at installing a few fans in there.

Restaurants: next door to the hotel is the Aman Grill restaurant, a small place which is owned by the hotel. Despite it having a full dinner menu, when we stayed it was only upon till noon (for breakfast only). Other than that, within a few minutes walk there are various other restaurants on the main road which serve good quality seafood dinners as well as a large variety of other dishes (beef, chicken, noodles, etc.). Additionally, the entire downtown area of Patong, with its hundreds of bars, restaurants, shops, massage parlours etc. can be easily walked from the hotel.

Shopping: as the hotel is close to the centre of Patong, shops line virtually all streets in the area.

Transport: shuttle van from the airport to the door of the hotel costs 150 baht per person, taxi 550 baht.

Climate: we were there in late August and the weather was above 30 degrees most days and relatively sunny with infrequent showers. The second two days we stayed there the skies were overcast. However these were the only two overcast days in a period of several weeks that we stayed in the Phuket area.

Conclusion: this character boutique hotel was creatively designed and appears to be well managed. The fact that it is clean, economical, in a central location in Patong, with good aircon and has free Internet makes it an excellent option for those who do not require a beachfront hotel. Due to its Internet access it is suitable for both tourists and business people.

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