Railay Bay Resort And Spa

“Excellent Beachfront Stay at Railay Bay”

We just had a 6 night stay at Railay Bay Resort and Spa, and have nothing but positive things to say. I'm not sure about the other reviewers, perhaps they didn't research Railay and how it can only be accessed by long tail, and does get busy with day trippers... the latter was a concern for us, bu… more

We just had a 6 night stay at Railay Bay Resort and Spa, and have nothing but positive things to say. I'm not sure about the other reviewers, perhaps they didn't research Railay and how it can only be accessed by long tail, and does get busy with day trippers... the latter was a concern for us, but it honestly made no difference to us. It just made the quiet evenings even more enjoyable. Re the former, the hotel staff happily arranged a private transfer when we got in touch directly, as our flight also arrived in the evening. Sure, the transfer was pricey compared to rates we saw once in Railay, but it was worth it to not have to worry about anything upon arrival and for departure. Anyhow, here's our experience in full: Pre-Arrival I ended up making two separate bookings to get the 6 nights in the room we wanted. I emailed the hotel to explain this, and to ask if the bookings could be combined so we didn't have any issues with needing to change rooms or anything, and they happily confirmed this would be fine. I also asked about the tranfser (as noted above), which they arranged very promptly, and confirmed all the details like the timings and meeting locations. Arrival Landed at Krabi airport, and were met in the meeting point as described in the transfer instructions. We were greeted by a lovely lady who showed us to the shuttle van waiting outside and explained how long the transfer would take (35 mins drive, 15 min longtail), and a bit about Railay and the surrounding area/things to do. We arrived at low tide, so had to move from the van, to a tuk tuk down the pier, to the long tail boat, then from the long tail to a tractor which drove through the low tide to the pier where the hotel reception was. It was quite an adventure in the dark! But it's clearly a system that all the hotels use as we saw other set ups the following days. Check-in was quick and easy. Wifi, breakfast, the minibar, and pool hours were explained to us, and we had a small welcome drink (very refreshing after a long travel day from Chiang Mai). A man helped us get our bags to our room via a golf cart, and that was that. They also helped with bags on check out day - just had to ring reception to request. The Room We booked a Deluxe Double Room as after doing some research it looked like those rooms were closer to the West side of Railay, which is where we wanted to be. Our room (0208) was on the 2nd floor, and was so clean and spacious. It was a 1 minute walk from the pool area at the front of the hotel (on the West beach) and the breakfast area. The bed was HUGE. The minibar was well stocked - lots of waters which were refreshed daily, a couple of soft drinks and snacks including crisps and candy bars, which were also refreshed, and some fruit. The bathroom was clean and functional. The room also had a big balcony for morning coffees or evening beers. Overall, it was a lovely room for the price we paid. I had looked at the pricier and cheaper options but think this was the best bang for our buck. The Location The resort goes all the way across the East and West sides of Railay, so if it's important to you to be on the West, have a look into which room types are that way. That said, it takes less than 5 minutes to walk from East to West through the resort. It's also about a 3 minute walk from the Walking Street with all of Railay's bars and restaurants, so quite easy to find lunch and dinner options throughout our stay. Yes, the beach can get crowded with long tail boats and day trippers, but it's still a quiet resort area - no music blaring, no rowdy crowds, just other people laying on the beach. The boat noise was easy to drown out after a while, and the boat 'parking' area is further down the beach from the resort itself. Railay is small, so it was easy to walk to the other attractions in the area like the Diamond Cave, Phra Nang Beach and the climbing area on the East side. The Resort The pool at the front on the West beach was our primary motivation for booking this hotel, as well as the breakfast restaurant. Having breakfast while looking out onto the quiet beach and stunning cliffs was incredible. We were in awe every morning. The pool was easy enough to get sunbeds, but could benefit from more umbrellas given the heat and intense sun during the day. The pool bar was easy to get a drink - we never waited more than a couple of minutes for a beer. The pool bar doesn't have soft drinks, as has been mentioned, but we took ours from the room, or you could order them from the staff that was serving guests at the pool. Breakfast had plenty of choice including both Asian options and Western, and was never too crowded. I can't comment on the spa as we didn't end up booking any treatments, but they did look pricy compared to what you might find on the walking street. Overall, I highly recommend this hotel for your stay - the rooms are nice, spacious and clean, the location is incredible, and the pool and other amentities are just right.

less