Mandarava Resort & Spa

Very nice location, beautiful room and pool, did the SPA treatment in the resort, therapist Apple is very friendly

Amazing resort composed of villas inside a tropical forest setting, with five laguna-style pools. Chom Talay restaurant is a refined Western eatery, Charm Thai is an elegant Thai Southern diner. The breakfast buffet is definitely above standards. All the staff is very attentive, service minded and polite. Even of not directly on the beach, the location is excellent for going around and exploring the nicest areas of Phuket Island.

I had an AMAZING time! Air was my masseuse and she took all my notes.

Very relaxing . I fell asleep. Was sad when it was over. Will come again!

Loved it and will be back!  We stayed as a family in January 2026, with two teenagers. We did a lot of research to find somewhere in the Karon / Kata area, as we hadn’t been that far south in Phuket before, and landed on the Mandarava for several reasons – the reviews were very good, we loved the pictures of the gardens and pools and once we started emailing the resort for a quote etc, their customer service was top level!  We stayed in two Seafan Deluxe rooms, which we managed to book side by side.  Again, we did a lot of research on which rooms, as the resort has a lot of options.  We were very happy with our choice, based on the quality of the room and their location.  We asked for the hotel’s advice on room location, as we were looking for quiet, not too close to the pools and restaurants etc.  The Seafan  was nominated as matching what we needed, and it was spot on.  The rooms were very clean and were hugely spacious, probably one of the biggest rooms we have stayed in.  Our rooms had balconies that looked out onto the gardens, which again was peaceful.    It was only a short walk from our rooms to the main restaurant, gym and the Coconut Pool.  It must be highlighted like other reviews that the resort is very hilly and if you have any mobility issues, it would be a challenge to walk anywhere without a cart picking you up, which we saw happen a lot, as the resort has multiple small carts zipping around and picking up guests.  We enjoyed the hilly aspect, as being quite active we enjoyed the regular workout by walking anyway. We looked at all the pools and found the Coconut Pool to be our favourite.  It was relatively quiet; had a large number of sun lounges and the pool bar was pretty quiet all day, including happy hour.  Our favourite aspect was an afternoon swim to the section of the pool that provided views out to the ocean, while enjoying a happy hour drink.  We ate breakfast every morning in the main restaurant and as per the staff’s advice usually were at breakfast by about 8.30am, which allowed us to get a table with a view over Karon and the ocean.  It does get quite busy by 9-9.30am and be prepared to wait for a table.  The view from the restaurant was amazing and worth savouring.  We had dinner one night at the same restaurant and the food was good and enjoyed it.  We found a lot of guests go into Karon for dinner, which is obviously a cheaper option.  There are several small restaurants on the road leading to the resort, which we tried and were very happy with.  There are also a couple of laundrette options, that are very cheap and provided good service. We would recommend the Thai Buffet night at the main restaurant of the hotel, which is weekly.  The food was amazing and very plentiful.  We also strongly recommend the Charm Thai Restaurant for dinner.  We did this one night and sat outside with amazing views over the ocean.  It wasn’t cheap but the food and service were fantastic.  We also sampled the Cheeva Spa as a treat and were very impressed with the quality and staff.  It’s also not cheap, compared to the massage places on the entrance road, but the ambience is much better.  Overall, we would highly recommend the Mandarava as an option.  Staff were great and importantly for us, it was removed from the hustle and bustle of Karon, which was quite busy in January.  The gardens in the resort made it feel like you were emersed in nature, which we loved.  We ventured into Karon most days for shopping but were happy to get back to the Mandarava to again relax and decompress.  When we go back, we’ll probably again look at Seafan rooms, but maybe closer (and up the hill) towards the gym and Coconut Pool.  From what we could see these rooms have amazing views of the ocean from their balconies.