my friend sue and i went to cape panwa in october 07 what a fantastic holiday we had, we could not stop laughing the whole time everybody so kind and could not do enough for you they were very helpful we would like to say a special thankyou to tim one of the managers, pambrini on reception and the housekeeper who looked after as so well there is so much to do in phuket too much to mention so when we go back we will be staying twice as long
Just returned from 2 weeks at the Cape Panwa hotel, and I can only agree with virtually every review on this site.......... Had a fantastic time!!
We booked through Kenwood Travel at a very reasonable price, However a bit of a watch out if you are using two different carriers for the flight out to Phuket, We went Heathrow to Bangkok with EVA AIR and upgraded to elite class for only £500 both ways for the two of us.. Nothing special really except the obvious extra seat room. We then flew Thai Air for the Bangkok to Phuket leg. The problem lies in the fact that as soon as you get off the plane there are Thai Air signs every where say THIS WAY to Transfer to Phuket, so obviously we followed them for miles........ only to be told when we got to the Thai air desk no you are at the wrong place you need to go to immigration. OK maybe a little nieve I here you say, well no one told us different, after an absolute AGE in the immigration queue and a mad dash outside and back in again to the Departures desk, the flight was closed and we missed the connection.... not happy!!!! after a 5 hour wait we eventually arrived in Phuket airport 6 hours after we should have done............. Thankfully the Cape Panwa guy was stood waiting for us with abig grin and welcome. At last we had made it 28 hours after leaving home.
From this point it went much smoother. We had upgraded to the Jaccuzzi suite, and it was worth every penny. 2500 Bhat per night extra the room is doule the size of normal rooms and and a twin Jaccuzi with great views over the andeman sea and the palm trees.
We ate in all the restaurants with mixed results really.
Panwa House, Thai food - very nice and great service, beware of the mozzi's if you sit outside, you could be eaten alive
Andeman Cafe - main breakfast and all day restuarant. Its ok nothing special but totally adequate
Top of the reef, Fine dinning - expensive but very nice, go on treat yourself.
Uncle Naans, Italian - CRAP!!!! and I mean CRAP!!! overpriced tasteless overcooked food. if you want a pizza go downstairs to the clock house its 160 Baht and cooked in Uncle Naans, compared to the 360 Baht. also Aviod the mussels in here, Giant Green lipped Mussels straight from the sea........NOT! Giant Shells yes, mussels overcooked and chewy.
If you a wine drinker prepare to pay a fortune for a descent bottle. We bought a bottle of Jacobs Creek every night from the Trading Post and took to our rooms 700 Baht compared to 2000 for the cheapest decent bottle in the hotel. Or pop in Tesco in town if your passing.
We did eat out of the hotel quite a bit too, as everyone says SAWASDEE at the bottom of the hill is great, Good food cheap prices, an average meal for two with few large bottles of beer would be no more that 800 Baht, Bargin.
The staff at the hotel are all really helpful and the place is spotlessly clean. All in all a great holiday.
My husbsand and I stayed at Cape Panwa Hotel for 9 nights from the 13th November and would certainly rate it 5*. Ok it might need refurbishment but the location and staff certainly make up for that. The staff were so friendly and helpful especially the restaurant staff and the man who drives the shuttle bus.
Take a walk along the walkway at low tide and see the coral with the fish swimming. Our room had a lovely view over the sea and the balcony with the twin sunbed was just the job for relaxing and watching the world go by. We also had monkeys crossing the balcony first thing in the morning which was a real bonus. It was great that the beach was private as it meant you were not disturbed by beach traders.
We always read Tripadvisor before travelling and we certainly agree that this hotel takes some beating and will be visiting it again.
We also agree that Swasadee in the village is extremely good value for meals but make sure you get there early.
My husband and I have returned from a 3 centre holiday in the Far East. We spent 7 days at the Cape Panwa and could not recommend it enough. The hotel is a little dated but it retains a certain charm that cannot be found in many modern hotels. The rooms were clean and comfortable with the most amazing views of the beach and coconut and palm trees within the hotel grounds from our balcony. We upgraded to a jacuzzi suite for the last 2 nights of our stay which was great. The room was huge and it was so blissful to lie in the jacuzzi with lovely sea views. The hotel restaurants were lovely, slightly more expensive than the restaurants in the village but still much cheaper then the UK. We ate at a restaurant in the village called Sawasdee on a couple of occasions and the food was delicious and really cheap. The hotel also has a happy hour in several of the bars where they do excellent cocktails. I would thoroughly recommend this to anyone looking for a little rest and relaxation, especially if your holiday includes a city breaks as it can only be described as paradise.
My friend chris and i spent 10 days in october, what can i say ,fantastic.excellent. This was one of the best holidays we have had so far,we travelled to phuket from pattaya it is one of the most beautiful and peaceful place,s in the world .Whether you have a deluxe or an ordinary room you are treated like an honoured guest .the staff could not do enough for you The food was very good,room service excellent.The front of house staff were very helpful too when we could not contact our destination asia rep they sorted out our return journey details for us .
There is a lot to do in phuket,but if want to have a peaceful time CAPE PANWA is the place to be .
In fact the only disappointment in Phuket was the travel rep who forgot we were there so we missed out on trips we may have booked ,but Cape Panwa more than made up for any disappointment.In fact we started to save up the first week home to return...[WE CAN'T WAIT]
