Gerald is off to Australia with his grandparents, and we decided to bring Mandy to a chillax family kid-friendly destination and where else better than Phuket!
Disclaimer: This is a backdated post. Actual travel was from 22 Oct 2013 to 29 Oct 2013. So a lot might have changed since then and especially after covid. For example, Jungcelyon was closed when we were there in November 2022. (See post here) But I understand the hotel has recently undergone renovations so for all you know it is now better! Check out their reviews on Tripadvisor here
It will be Mandy 1st time taking an airplane, and I heard all the horror stories of kids crying non-stop on flights due to their ears being stuck so trust me I googled up all the 101 ways of how to ensure your kid gets through a flight despite it only being 2 hours. Haha
We had an early flight at 8am, so we have to be there 2 hours before at 6am so 5am in the morning we had to set off to the airport. This kid is surprisingly super awake and super hyper.
Flight went well. She was well-behaved during take-off and landing (Tip: prepare small bites that they can eat during take-off and landing so their ears won’t get clogged due to the movement of their mouth – in my case I had grapes and apple puffs the entire container of them) and she slept mostly throughout the flight..thankfully.
1st part – Holiday Inn Mai Khao
As we had a week in Phuket, we split it into 2 parts and stayed at 2 different hotels. Reason being I wanna try a room with direct pool access, and it is too expensive to stay for a week in a row 😜
So I found Holiday Inn Mai Khao. Not only do they have pool access rooms, but they are also well known for being super kid friendly and for their kids club. Double ticks for me. We went there first because they are closest to the airport.
Mandy wanted to jump into the pool straight but no no – wait – lunch first. We found a small eatery next to the hotel as we were exploring the grounds and decided to eat there.
We went to the beach for a walk after lunch, and I must say the beach is absolutely beautiful. Just that the waves are a little too big so we didn’t end up swimming in the sea.
Way too hot to be sun tanning on the beach with Mandy so it is back to the privacy of our room for some swimming time! Another good thing about the corner room, it is very well-shaded with planters all around.
After the entire afternoon in the pool, it is time for dinner. We had dinner in the in house restaurant. Just some simple Thai dishes ala-carte before making our way to the kids club. Gosh getting her out of the pool was hard, getting her out of the kids club was harder.
Day 2 was the same itinerary. Started the day with a sumptuous buffet breakfast. Yummy…
After breakfast, I went for a full body massage by the beach while Rick hung out with Mandy at the kids club.
Ended Day 2 with another visit to the in-house restaurant for dinner and the kids club. Checking out tomorrow. Gonna miss the pool access room lots.
Part 2 – Thavron Palm Beach Resort Karon
Day 3 we checked out of Holiday Inn and moved to Thavorn Palm Beach Resort Karon for the next leg of our holiday. I did my research, and it has good reviews about being a nice kid-friendly hotel with lots of swimming pools (5 to be exact) and nice gardens. We decided against Patong and chose Karon because it is a quieter beach and away from the crowds.
One thing I really like about Thavorn is its beautiful landscaped gardens .. and the animals .. they have birds, free-roaming rabbits and chickens!!! Mandy loves them.
We ate lunch at the restaurant just by the pool before heading straight for the pool.
Day 4 is spent exploring the hotel grounds, the gardens, the swimming pools and the surrounding streets of Karon.
After swimming, we went out to explore for dinner. Walked out of the hotel towards the left and came across a small Thai eatery and ordered a few standard Thai dishes.
Day 5 The hotel has a shuttle service to Phuket Old Town where we went exploring after breakfast.
Went back to the same eatery the previous night as the food was really cheap and tasty…
Day 6 After breakfast, took the shuttle bus to the hotel to Patong Beach this time.
Day 7 is Beach Day. The hotel is located just right opposite Karon Beach. Previous few days were super hot and sunny. We thought the lucky streak will continue into today. Unfortunately not.
After yesterday’s bad western food dinner, we decided to go back to the same eatery we ate at the first few nights. Cheap good tasty food. By then they already knew us and greeted us like regulars… And we ordered a feast since it was our last night in Phuket.
Bye Phuket and Home sweet home.
