Review of Crystal Wild Resort Panwa Phuket 4*

Situated well away from the hustle-and-bustle of Patong, Karon or Kata beaches, this little gem is tucked away in the lush tropical mountainside in the Southwest of the province. We stayed for 5 nights during the last week of December 2016. We had initially booked the family room, however it was under renovation at the time so the hotel staff were generous enough to upgrade us for free to 2 superior deluxe rooms instead. Both rooms were identical and located on the second floor (top floor). They were clean, tidy, spacious, modern and certainly very comfortable. Furniture consisted of a Queen size bed, a medium size sofa, side tables, a chair, a large desk, and an outdoor mini-lounge set in the balconies. The attached balconies overlooking the pool provided a stunning view of Panwa Bay. They were covered, clean, and well-maintained. The ensuites were spacious consisted of a very large shower-space in addition to a generous wash-basin and toilet area. Staff were friendly, well-mannered, helpful and generally accommodating. The Manager provided excellent customer service and ensured all our needs were met. We hardly had any language issues as all staff were able to speak and understand basic English. Options for food included an on-site restaurant (Kong Kang) and room service until late-night, provided by the same restaurant. The restaurant has been reviewed separately. Room service was excellent in terms of the quality and taste of the food, however it lacked seriously in service and timely delivery. We ordered dinner twice and both times it was delayed by an hour. We had to call multiple times to remind staff that we had actually ordered food. A buffet breakfast was included as part of our reservation. This was served from 6-10am daily and consisted of continental and local dishes. Vegetarian options were scarce but at least one dish was available. This is in addition to omelettes, pastries, and bread, which were all always available. The quality of the food was very good and the variety was ok but not great. By our 3rd day, however, we got a little tired of eating the same sort of dishes. Finally, a mini-bar was also available in the rooms that was free-of-charge (unless listed otherwise) and refilled daily. It consisted of various alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks in the fridge, and chips, cashews, and packaged dried mango and papaya. Tourist facilities included taxi orders and tour. Taxis are fairly expensive. In summary, Crystal Wild is truly a relaxing getaway and perfect for couples or families who wish to truly relax and enjoy some time-off from the daily grind. The resort is more suited to this type of holiday, as opposed to a daily 'get-up early, travel, sightseeing, go-home' type holiday. The latter is still very do-able from the Resort, however for the sake of saving time and money in to-and-fro travel and taxi fares, it might be worthwhile finding another resort closer/more convenient to the main attractions.