Pullman Stays in Phuket

During my 9-day, 8-night trip to Phuket, I stayed at three hotels. For convenience with my return flight, I spent one night at Pullman Phuket Arcadia Naithon Beach. I'd give the public areas of this hotel a 90% – the lobby, restaurant, and pool were all quite distinctive, elegant, and comfortable. However, the room was truly disappointing. I booked a sea-view room, but it was so damp that the floor, walls, and balcony door were all covered in water. The entire bed was clammy. After checking in, I hung my pajamas in the closet, only to find them completely damp by bedtime. A staff member came to dry the floor and walls with towels, instructing us to keep the air conditioning below 23°C. The whole room was cold and damp; I had to wear a jacket. I've never stayed in such a humid room – it was incredibly uncomfortable. My mother spent the entire time in the lobby, except when sleeping. We will definitely not be returning. Regarding the service, I gave the front desk staff 200 baht as a tip during check-in, but they still assigned us two rooms on the second floor of Building 1, near the elevators. They were dark and damp – an absolute hellhole. The view outside the window was several cars parked among messy, dilapidated bushes; you could only catch a glimpse of the sea from a narrow angle. I observed that most guests assigned to this corner building were of Asian descent. I even met a Korean family who had it worse than us, being assigned to the first floor directly facing the messy bushes. Eventually, I complained to the front desk, and we were moved to the second and third floors of Building 3, directly facing the sea. The view was excellent, but the rooms were still damp. The overall experience was extremely poor. Many of the service staff in Phuket seem to have subtle biases, generally against Chinese guests. They completely disregarded our notes on Trip.com, and we had to go to great lengths ourselves to secure satisfactory rooms; otherwise, we'd be given leftover rooms. I'm very grateful to Trip.com customer service for continuously advocating for my rights. I'm writing this review seriously, hoping that Chinese visitors to Phuket will receive the treatment they deserve. Upon leaving the airport, I saw an advertisement for Trip.com on the sky bridge, indicating that Trip.com has invested in Phuket and Chinese tourists bring revenue here. I hope they can pay more attention to and treat Chinese people more kindly. I will never return to this hotel. It was a miserable experience, spending my last night in Phuket cold and damp.

This hotel's Chinese-speaking front desk staff seems to treat Chinese guests differently. Her attitude towards Chinese tourists and foreign guests is not the same. On the day I was extending my stay, I ran into her on the way back to my room. Thinking she was Chinese, I specifically greeted her, but she completely ignored me. As a hotel service staff member, shouldn't she be the one greeting us first? My wife even commented, 'You greeted her, and she still ignored you.' What's more, just yesterday, we went to the executive lounge for afternoon tea, and I saw her again. Once again, I proactively greeted her. I then observed her squatting down with a big smile, engaging in conversation with a Caucasian lady, which made me very uncomfortable. I find this hard to understand. This Chinese front desk staff has a Beijing accent. Could it be that the high number of Chinese tourists at this hotel makes her feel superior? All the other hotel staff are very polite, smiling, and greeting guests, which I'm very satisfied with.

Panwa Beach is not crowded and very quiet, unlike Patong and Karon, which are much livelier! I booked a sea-view pool villa, and the sea view was beautiful, plus the room's pool was quite large. This is my fourth time at this hotel, and the staff are all very friendly. Pullman's quality control is truly reliable! During my stay, I cut my foot. The staff immediately helped me clean the wound, and every day thereafter, they proactively asked if I needed it re-cleaned. Special thanks to Nat and Takky at the front desk, medical staff Lazis, and beachfront staff MJ! I will definitely be back next year!