Review of La Flora Khao Lak - SHA Extra Plus 4*

Unfortunately I did not warm to this hotel from the moment I arrived. My check in process was too slow at 10 minutes, considering I booked direct with the hotel on their website before I left the UK, paying in full and providing all my contact details, and the hotel sent me an email confirming my booking, I still had to complete a form writing out my home address and email! I booked a deluxe room which for me was perfect, however there was a problem with the hot water. The hotel team dealt with the situation quickly and moved me to another room. Situation sorted and in fact I think I benefited from a being in a deluxe room in a better building. My room was very good, very comfortable bed, good aircon, and always kept very clean. Rooms seem to have good soundproofing too as you don't hear any noise. The hotel is located on the beach, it sits on a raised position, above the actual beach, as do the other hotels that are adjacent. Depending on the tide the beach can be narrow or deep, but overall it's a good beach and you can walk for a reasonable distance. The hotel has a sun bed area above the beach where you can pick a sun bed from one of the three compact rows that sit behind one another, or if you want a bit more space you can choose a sun bed around the pool. The sun bed area above the beach is a mix of grass and sand and in my opinion looks very untidy. The decking area outside the View 59 restaurant and pool bar is also in a very poor state, it's uneven, there are holes and bits missing in places, so you do need to be careful when you are walking on this area. The entire deck bounces up and down when anyone walks on it which is not a great experience if you are eating or drinking! The decking area is now out of use until later this month for improvement works, whatever they maybe. The bar stools at the pool bar sit on a dirty sand base which is uneven and means they sink unevenly. Not a comfortable experience when you want to have a drink. During my stay I have found the service from the staff to be very inconsistent, some days it can be good other days the opposite, at times the staff seem to be disinterested, disengaged and bored and in some cases their responses have been quite abrupt. I have never seen staff playing table tennis with each other before, during the day, or sitting in a restaurant chair just prior to dinner having a quick nap at any other hotel I have stayed at in Thailand! Food at the hotel is okay, breakfast is the usual buffet style. I only ate lunch here which again was okay, it's quality food and beautifully presented, just a bit on the small side regarding portion size. I always went out to the nearby town for dinner as there is plenty of choice. I have been completely ignored at breakfast on two occasions and had to ask for coffee when usually you get asked what you would like when you sit at your table. I went to lunch at 1pm one day to find no staff anywhere in the restaurant and I had to go and find somebody to see if any one was serving. I also had to go and find someone to serve at the bar for the 5-6pm happy hour as again there was no one around. The Internet at the hotel is generally awful, you have to regularly log on and it never remembers you. Connection in my room was near impossible and I had to go to a public area to get a strong signal. Overall this is not a bad hotel, it's well laid out, the accommodation buildings are discrete being surrounded by trees and the gardens which are well maintained. The hotel is always spotlessly clean. The pool area is very picturesque and the views out to the Andaman Sea are completely uninterrupted. Equally the sunsets can also be spectacular as the sun drops down behind the ocean. I just feel it could be a whole lot better if there was a consistency of service standards, and when I checked out today the reception person demonstrated this perfectly by not thanking me for staying or even saying good bye! Disappointing to say the least.