Cape Panwa Hotel

This was our second holiday to Cape Panwa Hotel. We stayed here two years ago and enjoyed it so much that we decided to return. The setting of the hotel is very tranquil, set among beautiful gardens with its private beach. Even though this is a large hotel, as the grounds are expansive, it never feels crowded, including the pool areas. The selection of restaurants is very good serving both traditional Thia food and also French and Italian cuisines. A special mention must go to Maggie who surprisingly remembered us from our last visit. It was like meeting an old friend. As with our last visit, she was very helpful giving us excellent advice. She also arranged for us to go on one of the first sailings of Pisces. This was a wonderful trip on a fantastic boat. The food and drink on board were delicious. One of the highlights was the floating pool, paddle boards and jet skis from the back of Pisces that my daughter and I precipitated in. Thanks, must also go to James and Lisa in Café Andaman is who always looked after us very well. Our two week holiday just went too quickly but it was great to return and have a lovely relaxing time with a few new experiences.

The hotel didn’t meet my expectations of a five star resort. I’d rate it as a very tired 4 star. First of all, no one met us at the airport despite booking a transfer directly with the hotel well in advance. We’ve been given the room in the main building with the sea view on the forth floor. The rooms are very tired, outdated, and poorly maintained. The doors are dirty, some furniture is chipped, the room layout was very strange, the bathroom was kind of in the middle of the room with only a thin sliding door between a toilet and a bed. The rooms are not sound proof. We had a full board package with Luxury escapes, but it was a quest to book a restaurant for a dinner. There would be always a closed restaurant on the day, or fully booked for a function, or just fully booked even if you try to book two days in advance. So the full board package was rubbish, as most likely you’d end up eating the same meal at the same place due to limited options. Another thing, what’s going on with irons at this hotel? You have to book one through the app but there was never one available. The turn down service is on request. Why? The egg station at the breakfast is veeery slow. Coffee comes from a Coffee machine, self service. The only thing that was satisfactory was the beach, clean water, white sand, enough sun beds. Also the sea is very much swimmable even off season. There was a tidal activity provided in the room. I don’t think I’d ever come back or would recommend it to my friends. Disappointing.

We stayed at the Cape Panwa Hotel for three weeks, and we absolutely loved everything about it. First of all, I'd like to point out the hotel's superb location, it's very peaceful and perfect for a relaxing, quiet getaway. The hotel beach is ideal – a private, well-maintained stretch of shoreline with excellent facilities. At first, we were worried about the low tides during the summer season, but this was not a problem at all, because the hotel took care of it and made a schedule of the low and high tides for each day, and put this schedule in each room, meaning we always knew what time to go swimming. The entire territory is very green, and the buildings blend seamlessly with the natural surroundings. The hotel is very cozy, staff is very kind and attentive, and speaks basic English. We'd especially like to thank Maggie, who speaks perfect English and Russian and was incredibly attentive and caring to us. She made our stay as comfortable as possible and made us feel right at home. She promptly resolved any issues we had, advised us on worthwhile activities, and helped us organize a fantastic fishing trip. Thanks to people like her, we want to return again and again. The food also left us satisfied, breakfasts were great, especially freshly prepared omelette and variety of Thai delights. The à la carte restaurants are excellent, offering a wide selection of Thai and European dishes. Don't worry about the spiciness; the cuisine is tailored to European tourists. It's very convenient that the hotel has a regular shuttle that takes guests down to the embankment, where there are numerous cafes where you can have great Thai and European food at very reasonable prices. You can always find street vendors selling fruit and other delicacies. It's worth trying. There are two good stores: Top’s and a 7/11, a currency exchange, a small pharmacy, and massage services. We also really enjoyed using the hotel's guest app, which makes it incredibly easy to order food, services, and resolve any issues. All in all, the hotel is a great place for relaxing family or romantic holiday. We are looking forward to coming back and will recommend it to relatives and friends.