Cape Panwa Hotel

We are a family of 4 and stayed at the Cape Panwa in late August 2010. It has taken over a year to get to writing this, but felt guilty about not writing a review because it was the best hotel we have stayed in. We had a family suite of 2 interconnecting rooms which were huge. This was because for the main parents room, it had been 2 rooms previously, and had been knocked into one. This seemed to be the way their target market was going and while we were there other rooms we having similar modifications, but this was only a minor noise during the day. The parents room had a double bed (which was greater than king size), there were his and her sinks, a big shower, and a separate bath. There was a jacuzzi on the balcony, big Plasma pull out TV, sofa and table. The kids room had a table and chair, with an equally good finish, though smaller, which is all they needed.
The main pool at the top was fine, but the kids preferred the pool at the bottom next to the beach which was often empty. The grounds were secluded as it was in a bay, with a great little snack bar near the beach serving good local food at reasonable prices. The beach was perfect sand, but with the tide extremes because of the month, at low low tides you would be walking on rocks & coral, which is good for exploring, but not for swimming. You could hire sailing stuff, but the canoes were free.
Day trips that we did were the Coral Island trip from the hotel, twice, which was a nice 45 minute ride. At the Island there were activities (not hotel run) you could do, but they were not cheap. We just played on the beach, did some snorkelling, and had a spot of lunch. We also used one of the guys outside the hotel to do a tour of the island. Passing through Patong was enough, and felt we were in the best place on the island. The malls they have are London prices, but Phuket town and their shops were reasonable. Robinsons department store was good, and lunch at the top was quick and extremely cheap. The best trip we did was Phang Na Bay. We did a deal with one of the guys out side. The speedboat, though more expensive, was well worth it. It included canoeing by a guide, through caves, etc and was magical. We will never forget it.
For food we stayed on a B&B basis. Breakfast was excellent with a wide range of choice and good quality. For dinner there were eating places a nice evening stroll away, though the bank from the Cape Panwa side to its sister hotel Kantry Bay on the other side is very steep. There is a regular shuttle bus if you want. We ate at James’s Seafood restaurant several times as the food and cocktails were good, and value for money, and does everything, not just seafood. The views were also stunning. Hill Top was also good. We ate at Little India a couple of times and was similarly excellent for food quality, though a bit more expensive. Sawadee’s was closed when we were here so can’t comment on it. We ate at the hotel on the BBQ night which was very good, and had a set Thai menu one night. I can eat hot food, but the Thai red curry was authentic and the heat was like nothing I have ever experienced before.
We booked our holiday through Emerald Travel [--], and was quite simply the best value holiday we have ever had. We then stayed 4 nights in the Somerset Sanplu Serviced Apartments in Bangkok, which was no different to a hotel (apart from being a lot cheaper) with buffet breakfast, swimming pool, etc.