Phulay Bay, A Ritz-Carlton Reserve

Wow we were absolutely blown away by our time at the Ritz Reserve. The property is beautiful, easily the prettiest and grandest hotel room we have ever stayed in, but where the hotel really shines is the people. Our butler Habib was incredible, he went above and beyond for us drawing up surprise bubble baths, responding to our text within seconds of them being sent and even gifting us things we had mentioned in passing . Habib really made our experience unlike any other hotel and we are so grateful to him. We were also lucky enough to encounter R who taught us in our Thai tea making class 2 days in a row , and served us dinner one night. R was such a sweet light and so kind, she even gifted us Thai tea to bring back to the states. We feel so lucky to have spent a few nights at the ritz reserve and hope everyone will be convinced to go.

Phulay Bay is the flagship resort in Ritz Carlton’s Reserve portfolio, and it truly exceeded all expectations for us on our recent stay. We chose this hotel for the stunning rock formations and sunsets - and pure magic was delivered. What truly sets it apart from other five-star properties is the exceptional service and attention to detail that go above and beyond any other property we have stayed at. Every guest at this property gets a dedicated butler service for the length of their stay. We have stayed at similar caliber properties such as St Regis that offer this service – however I have to say that the Ritz Reserve goes a step further by making the butler service feel truly customized to each guest. Khun Habib, our butler for the week, was hands-down the best we’ve ever had. His kindness, thoughtfulness, and intuition were unmatched. He often anticipated our needs long before we even asked! From nightly surprises of local treats, to mementos based on each of our day trips with handwritten notes, to a silk scarf gifted before our temple visit, every gesture was heartfelt. After a long hike one day, we called Habib to ask about running our hot tub - he said it had already been done and that he had anticipated our request knowing that we were likely going to be tired after our long walk. This is truly next-level service! We miss him already and have even referred friends who are now staying there because of him (and the hotel’s beauty). The staff throughout the resort were wonderful – everyone was warm, professional, and genuinely happy to help. The guest cocktail hour was a lovely personal touch, and the breakfast buffet was outstanding. Our villa was enormous and beautifully designed - from the ocean-view terrace and soaking tub under a skylight to the extra-long bed (felt built for NBA players!). Every detail was thoughtful, stylish, and luxurious. I especially loved the hidden artistic and branded touches throughout and the fact that each villa has unique art pieces that are a part of it. The spa is gorgeous, and the gym is brand new and private (special thanks to the attendant who always checked in!). The Hong Island tour, organized directly from the hotel, was a highlight – the stunning beach was one of the best we’ve been to and a surprisingly easy climb to a breathtaking 360° viewpoint. It felt like someplace out of a movie. The Tiger Cave Temple trek is tougher but completely worth it for the views and the golden Buddha at the top - we even heard elephants in the distance! The Phi Phi Island snorkel was fantastic, and Railay Beach was beautiful with its dramatic rock formations. All of these excursions can be conveniently booked through the hotel and offer first class amenities and transportation throughout the trip. If I had to name one tiny improvement: a few more tequila and mezcal cocktail options for next time 😊 (and maybe outsmarting those quick little ants who beat us to our surprise in-room treats once or twice!). All in all, Phulay Bay was the best resort we have ever stayed at, by far. We loved the intimate feel, the beauty, and above all, the hospitality of the staff that went above and beyond. We highly recommend this resort for memories that truly last a lifetime.

This resort was so spectacular that I don't know where to begin. Now I see why others gave it a 5/5. Walking into the front pagoda on arrival was incredible-so serene and calming. Never seen anything like it. We were met by our butler Habib who treated our family like royalty. Loved the in room check-in-made it feel very quaint. Habib told us about all of the resort activities. We couldn't believe our rooms which were upgraded to ocean front view beach villas with private plunge pools. May have been the most beautiful view I've ever had in a room/villa. We arrived in time to make the nightly beach dancing at the bar. So fun. Once there, we were greeted by Seen, the director of rooms and many of the other staff. Everyone was so lovely. We had a drink, watched the sunset and made new friends. We had a quick dip in our plunge pool before getting ready for dinner. We ate dinner at Jampoon because Sri Trang was closed due to renovations. Luckily, you could still order off their Thai menu. The food was delicious though a bit pricey for serving size. The next day my son and I went to the gym which was great. The gym attendant always asked me if it was ok-so cute. Breakfast was amazing-great buffet or you could order off the menu. Lots of southeast asian dishes such as indian which we love. Favorite dishes were french toast and pancakes. Sadly my family's breakfast was cut short because of the trip to Hong Island. They loved their trip to Hong Island. They provided towels, water, snorkel gear, sunscreen. I skipped the trip because I'd read that there were monitor lizards on the island. I did the right thing as my family saw 2 huge monitor lizards while there. They came back and Habib had mentioned we could eat more off menu since rushed for breakfast. We had a leisurely lunch that was so delicious. Next it was time for our mojito making class which was so fun. We hung out on our private deck and went in plunge pool and also saw a pretty good size monitor lizard in the bushes by our plunge pool. The kids and my husband loved this. We ended up seeing 2 more on our deck and our kids deck. Funny because I emailed the resort asking if there were any monitor lizards onsite at the resort and they responded no but we ended up seeing 4 of them in 1 day at both of our villas. The staff said they're always around. We wanted to play cards on our deck and swim and wanted some local beer which was a bit pricey at the bar. Habib filled a cooler with beer and pepsi for my husband and put it on our deck. So kind. We asked Habib to recommend a restaurant in town so he did and we got a grab and went to town. The restaurant was so good-very local, crowded with fantastic food and good prices. We'd go back. Came home to a goodbye note from Habib and some gifts. He noticed I didn't have a bookmark for my book so he gave me one with my name. He gave of us passport covers. So special. A quick dip in our plunge pool before bed. The next am we were all sad to leave. Went to breakfast and everyone was there to say goodbye including Seen. The staff had made our favorite french toast with a special goodbye on it. We drove away with the staff waving goodbye. We cried all the way to the airport. We knew we'd be back but weren't sure exactly when. Our son is coming to Krabi for a wedding at another resort in March so he's going to try and bring his fiance to the Ritz for a night beforehand. There was a saying that I read on trip advisor about this resort and it really resonated with me. It said "you don't just stay at Phulay Bay Ritz but you are truly looked after." That is right on. Everywhere you go, the staff is interactive and you are made to feel like they are family and this is your 2nd home. We travel a lot to nice resorts all around the world and I've never seen anything like this place. It's in your heart and will never leave. Already trying to get back because 2 nights wasn't near enough. Thank you everyone for making our stay so special and Seen for giving us such beautiful villas. See you soon!

This one for lae lay restaurant Dining at Lae Lay restaurant was an absolute delight. Khun Som was fantastic—warm, attentive, and truly made the evening special. We also had the pleasure of meeting the Director of Food & Beverage, Paul, a phenomenal leader. It was wonderful to have such a great conversation with him during dinner. His passion and care for guests really shine through. Thank you for making our evening so wonderful and pleasant—we’ll remember it for a long time.

First and foremost I’d like to be very clear: this is a review written entirely by myself and not somehow computer generated as suggested by Tripadvisor. This is the 4th time I’ve tried to enter this review and it keeps bouncing back by Tripadvisor. With this approach you are destroying a community of travellers who are trying to give an honest advice to others.. whilst I’m honoured that you might think that my English is good enough, I’m finding the whole process extremely tedious and time consuming. It is difficult to summarise in a brief review what the stay in this hotel meant to us. Not only we are talking ultra luxury resort, large and beautifully appointed rooms with a huge bed and a massive bathroom, wonderful gardens, excellent dining (both the Western and the Thai cuisine), fabulous breakfast, amazing infinity pool, breathtaking views and lots of onsite activities. But what truly stands out is the level of service of ALL the staff which is provided at this resort. I have never experienced anything like it in my life. Obviously one very special mention goes to our two butlers Khun Tik and Khun Haifa who made sure that our stay was the most memorable one. It was just quite amazing how both of them could anticipate our needs before we even thought about it! Communication with our two lovely ladies was excellent via Whatsapp and everything was done with passion and care and with an attention to detail which is hard to find elsewhere. As a goodbye present we got a framed picture of all of us and those are the kind of details which you'll treasure forever. So thank you from the bottom of our hearts! A few details I would like to address here which have come up in previous reviews: 1) There is a daily complimentary transfer to Hong Island in a long tail boat which I would definitively recommend, and 3 hours are just right for the whole excursion 2) The dining as I already mentioned was excellent and the choice was huge! We had chosen the dinecation package which included either lunch or dinner and was a lifesaver with 2 hungry teenagers 3) I loved the fact that there was no beach (although there are facilities to do SUP, Kayak etc), so there are no sun chairs by the beach but you can access from the pool. As Thai beaches are public this means that you don't have hords of tourists in front of your hotel at all times as it is the case in other resorts. 4) We went during the rainy season and had plenty of sunshine. On the odd rainy period we would use the gym or the activities offered or go out of the hotel 5) There is no lobby as such, but a welcome pagoda accessible over a waterway which instantly puts you in a serene mood. 6) Lastly and this would be my only constructive criticism: the layout of the bathroom and sinks is quite bizarre, you need to lean forward a lot to reach anything. Also the so called walk in wardrobe needs a complete overhaul as the layout is rather awkward and you cannot easily reach clothing items (I did mention this to the GM during the guest cocktail).