John Lopez

Review of Courtyard by Marriott Patong B...

I have nothing but great comments about our stay a...

I have nothing but great comments about our stay at this resort. One thing I will especially be thankful of them is for allowing us to have an early check in as we traveled all the way from Miami. After a 24 hour journey, all I wanted was a shower and a nap. The flight times arrived either too early or too late and I was willing to wait couple hours, but Marriott Merlin Beach accommodated us and I want to thank them very very much for this gesture. I know its not common practice and I'm sure they have to have rooms available and perhaps at least be an Elite member for them to grant such request. Not to say it will always happen. The resort itself is very well kept, gorgeous views, the AC in the room worked phenomenal and never failed (AC is extremely important anywhere in Thailand as its usually scorching outside). They have many pools and we had the pool access room which was great since we opened the door and had steps in to one of their main pools. These rooms with the pool access are away from the main resort pool which faces their private beach and has a bar inside. Merchant Cafe just behind the main pool of the resort offers a fantastic buffet breakfast! Not your standard eggs, bacon etc. No, this is pretty much breakfast lunch and dinner all in one! Room service was great too. The private beach itself is a beautiful setting, but its not your average type of beach. Its all coral and reefs. In the morning when the tide recedes, it exposes all the coral and in the afternoon it looks like a beach again. Do be careful walking inside the beach. Its more for snorkeling in my opinion but again, gorgeous. The Spa was amazing. Very clean. Had a great massage. Patong Beach sadly isn't walking distance to this resort. You do need to go on a cab. The hotel does offer transportation I believe 4 times a day. The taxi situation in Phuket is a bit chaotic (too many scams and they love to stop at tourist offices to sell you endless tours). Uber doesn't exist here, but their version of it is a website called "grab". That should take care of any transportation issues. For those who want to explore Phuket, the resort sells a 5 hour tour that takes you to all the main attractions in southern Phuket including the Big Buddah. Highly recommend this tour, it was great. Also note the resort is 1.5 to 2 hours away from Phuket Int'l Airport. Make time to get to the airport when you depart back home. I would stay here again. Thank you again!