Myself & two boys (16yrs & 5yrs) arrived a bit nervous from our trip from airport - unscheduled stops unexplained by driver who just pulled up & jumped out, leaving us wondering 'what the heck?...' & then accosted by tour sales people - twice!
We arrived at lovely lobby in good spirits nevertheless. We had booked jacuzzi rooms & were informed, after a long stare by the desk attendant, that she was upgrading us. Hmmm....we had wanted separate rooms but went along with it happy enough to check it out. Wow! She'd given us a beautiful two bedroom, two bathroom suite with kitchen (best suited to the chef who requires no stove!), huge living room & two balcony plunge jacuzzis. The kids were delighted. Free wi-fi, & a dazzling array of food & drink coupons we never even had to use! We loved the restaurant also. I heard many guests grumbling about lack of transport & the 'impossible' taxis. I found this odd - when I requested a taxi, indeed i was told it was impossible - she seemed apologetic....nothing to be done but squish into the shuttle bus I guess!...which was a great adventure for my little one!
Where this hotel excelled, for us at any rate, was when my card failed at the ATMs & I was left penniless - no taxi would take us back to hotel from shopping centre as I was 200 baht short for the trip. Stranded with child, having missed the last bus. Despite knowing the 'impossible' , as a desperate last resort I called the hotel & after a few minutes of 'can't help' we somehow arrived at my describing myself as 'Red dress with chatty little boy'. Less than 5 minutes later a gorgeous Mercedes pulled up to take us back! A little kindness goes a long way at this hotel. In addition, after several lovely treatments at the spa I experienced a small disaster which almost led to second degree burns - i spent quite a while trying to wash off extremely strong, pure essential oil from my burning face! Upon check-out I was disappointed they had not removed it from the bill (over $100). It took quite a while & several patient, respectful conversations with several different managers until the general manager agreed to remove it from the bill. Again, respectful communication & friendliness does wonders....as we awaited our taxi upon leaving, an unusually flashy Mercedes pulled up & we observed the suited, executive gentlemen next to us casually rise & head toward it - only to be ushered away horribly confused toward the Tuk-Tuk behind as the hotel had organised the car for us! We don't know what one woman & two kids did to warrant the special treatment we received throughout our stay, however we greatly appreciated it! We like to think it was simply being respectful of their ways, being kind to staff & showing appreciation for all the things they did well rather than showing displeasure when things didn't go to plan. We love this hotel & will be returning on our next trip!