The Haven Khao Lak, Takua Pa

Pros: absolutely beautiful. The most beautiful views of pool/palm trees/ocean. The pool was good, the beach was clean, the sand was soft, and the ocean was crazy warm. Rooms were clean and comfortable. The bathroom in the oceanfront villa was beautiful. Included breakfast had a wide selection of Thai/western food. Cons: the bars are expensive (~$7/drink) although that's somewhat to be expected. The AC in the oceanfront villas was only ok. It kept it from getting hot, but it didn't get as cool as I would have liked. The restaurant is the biggest con. It's expensive, the food isn't very good, and service is crazy slow. Also, of the two times we ate at the restaurant they forgot one of our orders both times. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Fear not though, because a short walk up the road there's a much better and cheaper restaurant called The Andaman Restaurant. Also, a short walk south on the beach brings you to a cute restaurant with tables on the beach that is also better and cheaper. So the restaurant shouldn't dissuade you from staying here, just don't eat there.

This is low season so the hotel was not full. We had pool access rooms which were spacious and led straight to a separate pool section shared by about 8 rooms but this depended on where your room was located as one of our party shared with only 3 rooms. The actual pool area is well set out with 2 swim-up bars and plenty of loungers and direct beach access. The hotel offers (paid) activities and we attempted to take part in the bike ride tour to the local waterfalls. Unfortunately the staff seemed reluctant to take us so we took a taxi and did the hike ourselves- a great trip out. We had wanted to canoe but the sea is very rough at this time of year so the red flag was flying for the 4 days we were in Khao Lak. I did not see any other organised activities taking place during our stay. Generally the staff were apathetic but never directly rude. My daughter asked at reception for information about what to wear to the temple but the answer was, surprisingly, that she did not know! No offer was made to find out-as one would expect from a hotel calling itself luxury. There are 2 happy hours and the food was good but the evening buffets did not seem good value so we only had dinner in the hotel once and chose to eat out in the local restaurants the other evenings. This is a good value hotel which needs a little updating/maintenance to make it better. The staff may be more enthusiastic in high season which would make for a better experience.

I find that when you look at any hotel, you view it with a pinch of salt. Rooms never look as good as the photos, the water isn't really that clear, everything is brochure ready and doesn't depict real life. The exception is this hotel. I can't fault this hotel in any way. On arrival, we were treated to a welcome drink and complimentary fruit bowl in our room. The hotel is a short walk away from a 7/11, a number of restaurants and bars which means you have choice on your doorstop if you opt not to eat at the hotel. If you decide to venture further afield, all taxis have a pre-agreed set rate for popular destinations throughout Khao Lak - 300bht from the hotel to market(s) or central Khao Lak. That is the equivalent of ~£7.00 each way, but once you get into central town you can easily find restaurants with main meals £2-3. We opted for the swim-up room, and would recommend it for anybody who wants an elongated stay. If you are only at the hotel for a few nights, the main pools is large and with the swim up bar, and you wouldn't miss the private pools. I plan to go back to Thailand in 2020 if not before, and certainly will be re-booking at the Haven.

The Haven is a lovely hotel. Unfortunately they had no record of our reservations (annoyingly as I had emailed them with a couple of queries and they Replied! ), which caused a headache on our first day, luckily there was a villa available but not until later in the day so lots of hanging around, though they did provide a rest room. The pool is fantastic, allowing for nice long swims. Only ate in the restaurant once for lunch which was nice. Ate out locally the rest of the time. We had a jacuzzi villa. The villa was nice but had no storage apart from a wardrobe which is very poor. There is plenty of room for lots of drawers etc so no excuse. The fridge is actually a cooler so pretty poor, no ice box so always needing ice. The Outlook from the villa patio area is stunning and when it is quiet it is heaven, they are not very private. The beach is lovely and peaceful and you can walk both ways a fair distance. It is a difficult walk in parts due to the sloping! Lovely staff, special mention for May the villa cleaner and all round carer. The free shuttles to town are a bit early and the bigger bus of the two is old and uncomfortable. All in all a lovely holiday.

The pool is the hotels best feature but didn’t seem to be as clean as last time . The food was nice but over priced at the hotel ,when you could walk down the road to small restaurants and pay half the price. It looked like everyone from the hotel was doing the same thing when it came to dinner. The pool and swim up bar are definitely the hotels best assets. Breakfast at the hotel was good with plenty of options. Service from staff was great always very helpful. On our last day check out was at 2 pm so we requested a later check out which they granted to 4 pm , since all flights to Australia are at 10.30 pm in the evening the hotel should look at giving late checks out so you aren’t sitting around in the heat for 2 hours . Although they do have a guest room to sit in after check out but it would be easier to just stay I. Your room . Over all the Haven is a lovely place to stay at the staff are wonderful this was our second visit to the Haven . The pool is the hotels best asset . Thanks to all the staff for a great holiday .