Centara Grand Beach Resort Phuket

I stayed in Room 447 for two nights and paid around USD 550, expecting a proper 5-star experience. Unfortunately, while the property itself is beautiful, the service, staff attitude, and overall guest experience are nowhere close to what I would expect from a hotel of this category. Let me start with the positives: the property is genuinely beautiful and the room was very nice, although the property does feel slightly under-maintained in some areas. Unfortunately, the beautiful surroundings were completely overshadowed by the poor service. From arrival itself, I was disappointed. This is the first international hotel I’ve stayed at where I had to drag my own luggage to reception instead of receiving proper arrival assistance. I arrived around 4 PM, an hour after the official 3 PM check-in time, and was still told that I had to wait another 45 minutes for my room to be ready. Once inside the room, I was told that the Centara Concierge app would handle most requests. I ordered a simple orange juice and even called reception to confirm the order. I was transferred to in-room dining, but nobody picked up. Reception then told me they would contact in-room dining and ask them to call me. No one called. This happened three times within around 30 minutes. After approximately 40 minutes, I cancelled the order. Then, unbelievably, 10 minutes after I cancelled it, I received a notification saying my orange juice order was confirmed, followed by a call from in-room dining asking if I had ordered orange juice. By then, obviously, I didn’t need it anymore. I also had a problem with the soap dispenser in my bathroom. I called reception and was told someone would come. The housekeeping room was literally opposite my room, but I waited around 20 minutes and nobody came. I eventually had to walk to reception myself and ask again before someone finally came to fix it. The room itself was beautiful, but even basic functionality was disappointing. The charging sockets are placed extremely low, practically on the floor, with no convenient charging points beside the bed. I have stayed in many hotels and this is honestly the first time I’ve seen sockets positioned like this. The service problems continued throughout the stay. One night at around 11 PM, there was a lizard inside my room. I am genuinely very scared of lizards, so I immediately called assistance and asked them to send someone quickly. It took three calls before someone even picked up. After explaining the situation, I was told someone would come. I waited around 15 minutes, but nobody arrived. I had to call again and raise my voice before someone finally came to help. The next morning at breakfast, I couldn’t find tomato ketchup at the buffet and asked a waiter named FRANCIS for it. Instead of simply helping, I was told, “It is self-service, I can’t get it for you.” Again, it’s not about the ketchup — it’s about the attitude towards guests. I also needed a laundry bag because my clothes were wet, and I was shocked to be told that I had to pay for the bag. This is the first 5-star hotel where I have ever been asked to pay for something as basic as a laundry bag. Then there is the pool towel system, which is unnecessarily complicated. We were three people and were given three towel cards. Without the cards, you don’t get a towel. Once you take a towel, the hotel keeps your card, and if you want to take the towel to your room, they won’t return the card until you bring the towel back. It feels more like a system designed to police guests than provide a relaxed resort experience. The breakfast queue was another disappointment. The line was so long that it looked like the hotel was doing charity for guests, rather than providing a paid breakfast service. I will be attaching a photo of the queue with this review. The attitude of the reception staff was probably the worst part. At one point, I told the receptionist honestly that the hotel property was good but the service and hospitality were not good at all. Her response was simply “Thank youuuu” in an extremely sarcastic tone, as if she was mocking me. I have never experienced such a response from a hotel receptionist after giving genuine feedback. Even after checkout, the same problem continued. Instead of assisting with the luggage and placing it in the car, the staff were telling me to load my own luggage. I eventually had to ask for help because the bags were heavy. There were a couple of exceptions — Mr. O at Ripple Pool Bar and the captain were among the few genuinely pleasant and helpful people I met during my stay. Unfortunately, apart from them, I found the overall staff attitude extremely disappointing. For approximately USD 550 for two nights, I expected hospitality and service that matched the hotel’s 5-star positioning. Instead, the experience felt more like 3-star government-hotel service in a beautiful resort. The property is beautiful. The room is beautiful. The location has great potential. But a beautiful property cannot compensate for rude staff, poor communication, slow assistance, unnecessary rules and a complete lack of warmth in hospitality. This was genuinely one of the most disappointing hotel stays I’ve had. Beautiful property. Very poor service. Extremely poor hospitality. Not the 5-star experience I paid for. Pls dont visit this resort...either go to any 3 star hotel....dont waste ur hard earned money to this resort.... 🙏🙏

I want to comment kids club, my child they like to do activities and play toy, kids club have many activities to do and staffs May and Kwan they very nice to kids.

We booked Centara Resort in Phuket, Thailand for our 10 year anniversary and we’re so very glad we did. Not only are the facilities and beaches outstanding, but so is the staff, especially Waew, who took care of our every needs. Thank you Waew and everyone at Centara Grand Beach Resort. Very truly, Dr. Andy Michaud, Winter Park, Florida

PANG MAY MON KWAN are verynice and kind！WE will come back again.这里很棒，下次还来。棒棒哒👍很好的旅行感受。太好了😄

Me and my Wife visited this hotel for the second part of our Thailand trip with our stay covering my Birthday. We stayed for 7 nights and had an itinerary mixing rest and multiple day trips to make the most out of Phuket. The location of the hotel is in the west of the island on Karon beach with amenities nearby, albeit a 15-minute walk. The hotel does not have a private section of Karon beach to itself which was a shame, but you cannot have everything. The only redeeming feature is that the hotel was at the northern most end of Karon beach, so it was quiet. The only thing I would look to improve is for the hotel to build a well-lit path to from the hotel to the pavement leading to Karon town. Yes, taxis are cheap but having a stroll to get dinner and drinks would give it a better 5-star feeling. The room we went for was the Deluxe Double which had a partial ocean view which got excellent sunrise and sunset views, so not bad at all. The room was spacious with standard amenities to make your stay comfortable. In all, what you see on the website is what you get. The service staff cleaned the room every day, and it was very tidy so I cannot pick a fault. The main attraction for us was the pool area which had everything, lazy river, adult only section, swim up bar, and general the grounds were lovely. The food and drink on offer were good, and I we wished we ate more at the hotel rather than venturing out. The breakfast buffet was of standard fare with a more western theme with limited local dishes on offer, overall, a good start to the day. However, what I found fantastic was the two lunches I had, the club sandwich was one of the best I have ever had, and the fish and chips was comparable to what I get in the UK. Having had these two meals, I do wish I ate at the hotel more than we did, a missed opportunity. The service was fantastic just like what we experienced in Bangkok. This was another hotel where the Thai service staff proved that they are one of the best in the world. They did not put a foot wrong and made you feel welcome, were always polite, and offered help whenever you needed it. Overall, the hotel met my expectations, but I would not rate this one a 5-star compared to others we have visited. That aside, the food here was so fantastic, and to earn the extra star, they should offer an all-inclusive option. The pool area was magnificent, and I would have quite happily not left the hotel to eat in the evening which would have improved my visit. To summarise, if you want a beach front hotel away from the centre of Karon beach, then this is a good option.