If you are planning a trip to Thailand’s party beach of Patong on Phuket island, the Swissotel Resort Phuket Patong is a good choice. It’s an older hotel close to the beach with nicely renovated rooms, excellent service and an upscale rooftop pool & club straight out of Miami and without the crowds. Prices vary greatly, so read my review and check prices before booking!
Location: The Swissotel is located at the Southern end of Patong, about 5 minutes from the beach. It’s a 10-15 minute walk to the Jungceylon Mall on 2nd Road, giving you access to plenty of restaurants, bars, coffee shops and stores. You’ll also find more than enough tour operators to book whatever day trips, tours or activities! The ride from the airport is about 1 hour by taxi. Patong is my least favorite beach on Phuket, but within Patong this is a convenient location – close enough to the beach and restaurants, but not right in the middle of it.
Service & Rewards: We had two short stays here at the beginning and end of a dive trip from Phuket and the service was excellent. The mass tourism on Phuket, and especially in Patong, has somewhat dulled the typical Thai friendliness – but you wouldn’t notice at the Swissotel. The check-in was friendly and very detailed, ensuring that we had all the information we needed. Even though I have no status with Swissotel, we received an upgrade on each stay from the booked standard room, once to a Pool View Room and on our return to a Pool Suite. Similar to the Swissotel LeConcorde Bangkok, the Swissotel Patong seemed to value our return visit – that’s a nice touch you find less in the days of various elite level memberships! As a basic Fairmont Presidents Circle member, we received a welcome amenity of local fruits on each stay!
Housekeeping staff had prepared our room well and it was all in working order with all amenities stocked appropriately.
The restaurant and bar staff were my favourite. They were exceptionally friendly and attentive, even by my high standards for South East Asia. They took great care of us during our two stays!
Check-out took a little longer each time, partially due to the necessary room check all hotels in Thailand do and partially due to their systems that seem to be more complicated than usual, but staff was friendly throughout.
Room: The Pool View Room of our first stay is a standard room facing the pool rather than the street or other buildings. While the building is older, the rooms were in good condition. It had dark, shiny hardwood floors that looked very rich. The king-size bed had good quality sheets and comforters and a towel-elephant with flower petals greeted us on arrival.
Near the window is a seating area with a chaise lounge, a padded chair and a small table. A long desk with a table provides space to work, as well as a TV. A small bar cabinet has a mini-fridge/-bar and coffee/tea facilities. The wardrobe is spacious and has a laptop size safe. Our room had a small balcony overlooking the pool area with chair and table.
The bathroom is large and renovated. It has a vessel-style sink on the countertop with mosaic style backsplash and a large mirror and plenty of space for your toiletries. The toilet is in the center and to the left is a walk-in shower with a partial glass wall a combination hand-held/wall-mounted shower head as well as a rainfall shower head. A small bench was built into the shower, so you can sit down.
The Junior Suite on our second stay was larger and very nice. It features the same dark, shiny hardwood floors throughout. Near the entrance is a large wardrobe with safe and past it is the living area with a sitting area, chaise lounge and table, facing an entertainment center and work desk with chair. The window faced the street and there was an odd maintenance walk way in front, apparently used by staff.
To the right is the open bedroom with a king-bed. Behind it you’ll find the very large bathroom separated by a glass-wall.
It has a free-standing, deep soaking tub and a toilet in the corner behind it. Shades can be drawn for privacy. A vessel-style sink similar to the Pool View Room is at the center. You have a separate shower with partial glass wall and both a hand-held/wall-mounted shower head and rainfall shower head. The towels in each room were thick and of good quality, standard Swissotel amenities provided.
The free WiFi internet was fast at an average 8.8Mbps and reliable, both in the room as well as in the public areas.
Restaurant & Amenities: My favourite feature of the Swissotel Patong is the rooftop pool and lounge. It has a decidedly Miami beach club feel: You’ll walk across the roof with lounge style sofas on the left and cabanas on the right, all of it in bright red & white! The bar in the corner with similar seating has an ocean view, cool artwork and mood lighting at night.
There is a small pool, surrounded by loungers and sofas in the same decor. It’s a great place to hang out during the day or evening and feels like a very upscale oasis in not-so-upscale Patong…
A second, more regular resort pool is located on the 3rd floor, surrounded by rooms. It has a kiddie pool and a swim-up bar.
On the same floor is the gym with cardio and weight equipment for a basic workout.
The Swissotel Patong is family friendly with a long list of kids and teen activities, a kids club and kiddie pool!
The main restaurant is on the ground floor, serving a buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner. The seating is spread out, with enough separation for some privacy, so it doesn’t feel like a cafeteria. The breakfast buffet offers a huge variety of fruits,cereal, yogurt, pastries and breads, cold cuts and cheeses, as well as numerous hot Western and Asian dishes. There are two egg stations, one vegetarian one not and you can also get pancakes and waffles. Coffee is served at the table, a nice touch for somebody like me who drinks a lot of coffee!
Next to the lobby is another stylish bar and you’ll also have a small coffee shop. Connected to the hotel is an Irish bar & restaurant, so you’ll have plenty of choices to eat and drink without ever leaving the resort.
The Swissotel Patong has its own spa, but we didn’t try it – the prices seemed ambitious compared to stand-alone spas in Patong.
Bottomline: Patong is not my favorite beach, but if you want to be there, the Swissotel is a great place to be. Nice rooms, great service and a fantastic pool and bar make for an upscale oasis in Patong. Prices varied greatly – our first night was $140 and the second stay was $70/night, both including breakfast. At $70 it’s great value – about the same as the ibis Patong and Holiday Inn Express Patong, which offer far less. $140 are a bit of a stretch for an older hotel in Patong, so look out for a deal and make sure to check for current rates and best prices on HotelsCombined!