Sheraton Grande Laguna, Phuket

[leo]

A short getaway over the weekend to the Sheraton Grande Laguna, Phuket turned out to be nothing less than bliss.

I redeemed my free weekend award for 2 nights there, flew MH ex-KUL.

Got upgraded to the Lagoon Villa, from the "lowly" Lagoon Room that was booked (I think a whopping 6 category upgrade).

Perks of staying in the villas:
Complimentary breakfast (a selection of one of the following)
- Full a la carte breakfast at Puccini Italian Restaurant (6.30 - 11.00am) or
- Full buffet breakfast at Birds of Paradise Restaurant (6.00 - 10.30am)
Complimentary lemongrass tea, iced tea and mineral water provided from 11.00am - 5.30pm around the Grande Villa Pool area
Complimentary tropical fruit and refresher towels provided around the Grande Villa pool area, twice daily at 12.00pm and 2.00pm
Complimentary hors d'oeuvres and cocktails at the Grande Villa garden from 5.00pm - 6.00pm
DVD players in your villa, plus a selection of discs are available from the Villa Host Desk
‘Essentially Yours' daily turn down service: essential oils burning for a relaxing ambience in your villa
Complimentary use of non-motorised water sports and tennis courts
Complimentary use of the 24 hour health club
Daily delivery of fresh butter croissants

All the above was nice, except for the croissants which were utter crap.. Cold croissants sent in a PLASTIC bag, hung outside your door like daily newspapers - more sizzle than beef IMHO.

Other than that, beach was nice with waves coming up to 3 metres, so no swimming but it was fine as the weather couldn't have been better (and BBC weather forecast, more inaccurate).

Lotus restaurant (off to the far right on the beach) was our hound for the 3 days that we were there.

Some pictures:


Entrance of the villa


Staircase leading up to the bedroom


View of the living area from the staircase


The bedroom upstairs


Outdoor shower on the first floor


Toiletries that smell like mosquito repellant


View from the villa

More in the next post..

[leo]

part 02

As villa guests, we had evening cocktails at the little cabana next to Puccini restaurant (Puccini was crap by any standards) from 1700hrs - 1800hrs daily.



Fully stocked bar with selection of bites (savoury and sweet) were available. The Mai Tai is a shockingly delicious one. Sparkling wine was also on offer.









View of the villa



Sea was a little too choppy to swim in, but crashing waves were beautiful nonetheless



We spent most of our day on the beach, as with most places, beaches are public but the hotel has a two areas cordoned off for its guests - no touts selling their wares in that area, similar to the Sofitel in Seminyak.





I finished this amusing book by Anthony Burgess (The Malayan Trilogy).

[Kyo]

Hmm.. can't see the pics, wonder if anyone else can see 'em?

[SQflyergirl]

I can see them

[leo]

Kyo: The images are embedded from Picasaweb...
SQfg: Greetings!

[leo]

Lotus Restaurant, located about 100m to the right of the hotel along the beach was our staple during our entire stay there.



The menu is typically Thai, with a sprinkling of panino and "western" food i.e. fish and chips, steaks and chops.



What we liked about this restaurant besides the food was the environment and architecture of the place - somewhat similar to La Lucciola in Petitenget, Bali.

A few shots of what we sampled:



A hugely spicy but delicious Pomelo salad with prawns



The customary Tom Yum Goong was sumptuous!



Soft shell crab



Seabass in lime and garlic - do note that they have the tanks of salt / fresh water fish, prawns and shell fish behind the dining area. You could follow your waiter to the thanks and select what you would like from the tanks!



Prawn salad with local celery

Food was sumptuous to say the least, and prices were about the same in high-end Thai restaurants in Kuala Lumpur.

Last but not least, the beverage of Thailand



Needless to say, it was a great break, with a great hotel, good food and plenty of much needed sun!

The End

[Gunnar Smithsen]

*drool*

[leo]

*need a mop* ??

[Gunnar Smithsen]

It's ok, I had housekeeping service my room

[MAN Flyer]

We stayed there a couple of years ago and get exactly the same upgrade as yourself. I liked the place, odd behaviour from some gawdily dressed Russians notwithstanding, but other people I know are not fond of it for some reason.

[Kyo]

Kyo: The images are embedded from Picasaweb...
SQfg: Greetings!

Lovely trip report, thanks..

Must've been the Great Firewall of China nuking Picasa pics, lol (suspected that..)

[leo]

MAN Flyer: I loved the place, and this time around there were no gaudily dressed anyone around
Kyo: Thanks! Great Firewall of China nukes everything American? LOL