TUI BLUE Mai Khao Lak

I needed to write this review just after 4 days as the negative reviews aren’t justified in my opinion and quite honestly as I worried about coming to mai khao lak because of them. The place is paradise- we are in a villa and it’s absolutely stunning. So much space, privacy and beauty! The villa is beautifully decorated and cleaned to a high standard. The staff here are all so polite and friendly and I definitely didn’t encounter rude staff on the reception- my take on that is maybe if you are rude you get what you receive?? Breakfast is great, a selection of everything you could want for breakfast. As for the wildlife- it’s a tropical climate and yes we had some tiny lizards wanting to sofa surf for the night but we politely asked them to leave via to open door and they did! The beach is idyllic, plenty of restaurants, a couple or shops and bars and massage is about £6 for 1 hour. Food in the hotel is good drinks reasonably priced too.

We had spent 7 nights here during our 14 night trip for our honeymoon and after 2 nights in another hotel in another area, we made the decision to come back to Mai for our remaining 5 nights. Every member of staff we have interacted with has been helpful, friendly and polite with a particular mention for Chon and the team of bell boys, Alonzo from the management team and the young lady on reception who showed us around the beachfront villas (unfortunately I didn't catch her name!). Chon never passed us without asking if we needed to go somewhere and would ask if we needed towels, to stop at reception etc or what time we were going for dinner and he would be outside the block waiting. We have had the most amazing time at Mai and are already planning to return. The resort covers a lot of ground but Chon and his team can be contacted on phones at the bottom of each block and in any 'communal' areas and they will collect you in a golf buggy and bring you where you need to go or, if they are driving past, they will often stop and ask if you need a lift. We mainly used the adults only pool and found this to be clean, a good temperature and actually kept child free. There is a swim up bar which is reasonably priced and can be charged to your room or paid in cash. There is a young guy that works on this bar that was also very friendly and polite and was often studying during quiet periods which was really nice to see. We saw people carrying out pool maintenance and cleaning often. Yes there are a few areas which are a little tired and could do with a refresh but this does not affect your experience at all, to us anyway. During our stay, we saw them carrying out external painting, pool repairs, general repairs around the resort and garden maintenance to name a few. Location wise, it is a 15/20 minute drive to bang niang where there is a night market and a few minutes further to khao lak centre. The hotel do a free shuttle hourly from 11-4, personally we would have preferred if this ran a little later as sometimes 4 was too early to head to the market but you can't grumble too much about something that is free. On the days the shuttle was already fully booked or we wanted to go a little later, there is a taxi stand on the left of the beach. Otherwise, we found the location to be great; it was peaceful and relaxing. WIth the stunning beaches on the doorstep, we could go for nice long walks, exploring around the rock pools, lunch and dinner on the beach, massages on the beach and grab any essentials at the shops all within a few steps of the hotel. We had 2 different rooms, both deluxe doubles, one in the adults only section and one in block 2. Both were spacious with a large bed, sofa bed, tv in lounge and bedroom, good sized balcony, fridge which was topped up daily with water, amenities in the bathroom like toothbrushes, shampoo etc, a beach bag with mats and the room was cleaned daily. Being a tropical climate, there are of course wildlife everywhere and when we noticed a few ants in our room late one night, housekeeping came up straight away to get rid of them and checked the area again the next morning. There is a kids club, pool slides and inflatables and various activities for children daily but we didn't pay much attention to these as we were child free. At the rear of the hotel you step straight onto a stunning beach with sunbeds and parasols, restaurants both sides, food/fruit carts and shops dotted along it. This is a great place to catch sunset! There are also some tour booking stalls, we used Mr Smith who was great. We were B&B as we wanted to experience the local cuisine and this worked great for us. Breakfast had a mixture of both Thai and European dishes with a made to order omelette station. There are water refill stations dotted around the hotel as they encourage you to reuse plastic bottles and the drinks from the pool bar were good. When we returned from the other hotel after a very different experience, Alonzo and the reception team were fantastic and for the remainder of our trip they went above and beyond to ensure we were having a good time. They really saved our honeymoon and we are so glad we made the decision to return.

We have just returned back from our two week stay here with a few extra days after flights being cancelled due to the Middle East. We found the hotel very accommodating and helpful during this and were offered an evacuation flight to get home safely. Although the TUI staff didn’t seem to know much or be of much help. But I have to say there was one member of staff Chon, he absolutely made our stay there he was the most friendly and kind gentleman, working 6 days a week morning until midnight he was so helpful and everyday without fail he’d be there happy and welcoming. We booked two rooms but on arrival they upgraded us to two swim up rooms which was great! We went for my birthday and both rooms were decorated beautifully with balloons and flowers and towel animals on the beds, it was lovely to walk into after long flights. Yes the place does need some updating here and there but for us we couldn’t fault it. Some of these reviews are ridiculous and I think people clearly expect too much, if you stay there and see how hard the staff work constantly keeping the ground clear and the pools cleaned, gardeners everyday out working. It didn’t go unnoticed how hard they all worked. We were only bed & breakfast but the breakfast choice was brilliant plenty there all fresh and lots of choice. Our four children really enjoyed it and being their first time abroad they had the best time. The beach is literally at the end of the hotel who you’ll be greeted by the most gorgeous ice lolly lady 🥹 she was amazing ! The laundry lady across from the taxi as you turn left onto the beach out of the hotel is also amazing, she will have all your laundry washed dried perfectly folded and sealed up and delivered to the lobby the next day for literally pennies. The place is beautiful. People on here complaining about too many children etc! Wow it’s a family hotel and surely seeing children and their families having the best time and making memories is a good thing! Ignore the bad reviews on here we were wary after reading them and nervous as we were arriving but we are already looking to book for next year and we only got home this morning. Recommend the swim up rooms, we were so lucky to be in the location we were the pool was lovely and it was nice and quiet but with enough people around. Rooms cleaned daily. Every Thai we met was so happy and friendly, our first time on the island and definitely not the last. Chon needs a pay rise , what a man 🙏 Myself, husband & children loved everything about our stay here

I’ve just finished a 10 day family holiday which I found very disappointing. The Hotel requires a lot of improvement and seems to suffer from lack of direction and leadership from the management team. Positive points: - The rooms are spacious, modern and clean. Albeit there are many signs of wear and tear. - Good location near a fantastic beach. - Food is good with plenty of choice and also caters for different dietary needs. - Family friendly with an excellent Children section. For some reason Families choose not to use it and prefer using the main pool near the older hotel? Negative Points: - I personally found the reception staff quite rude and not accommodating, there seems to be kids operating the front desk with no real direction from the management team. - The main guy who coordinates the golf buggies at the reception needs to get fired in my opinion. He is rude to guests, especially the older generation. He also has some kind of dealings with the taxis. The Hotel charges 550 and the local taxis charge 300 to Khao Lak. Definitely some kind of racketeering going on. - the Hotel looks tired and requires a lot of work to get it to a 5 star hotel. The maintenance doesn’t seems to get completed. - The gym is cramped, poorly equipped and no air conditioner in the main area works ether. I know some people don’t go on holiday to workout but this is an important part of my life and I’m sure others agree. - The TUI reps seem to only be bothered about selling over priced expensive excursions and don’t really help. Top Tip! Buy and book your excursions on the beach with local booking agents. It’s a lot cheaper and more personable too. In General the country is amazing, the location is great but honestly look at alternatives before booking this place as it is a dive! Some people have noted the amount of young families which is true. There are loads of young babies and children of all ages everywhere so if your after a nice chilled break I would recommend the adults only area.

This hotel definitely does not deserve 5 stars. The rooms are very dirty, the shower is rusty, and the rails and bathroom elements are neglected and clearly not properly cleaned. The standard is far from what is shown in the photos online. The staff is not helpful and seems unprofessional, and reported issues were ignored. For the price, this was a huge disappointment – I definitely do not recommend it.