Our Experience at Thavorn Beach Village Resort

Our Story

A family holiday of 9 nights that we had looked forward to for a long time.

At check-in we discovered that many of the hotel rooms are located high up the mountainside. During the buggy ride to our room we nearly had an accident, and later, on the way back down, the buggy took a very sharp turn on a steep hill and almost tipped over. With two small children on board, it was a terrifying experience.

The fencing around the hillside paths and terraces did not feel secure enough for our children. We were seriously worried that they could fall down the very steep slopes, so we could never let them out of our sight for a moment.

We asked reception to move us to a safer room. Instead of relocating us or allowing us to cancel the remainder of our stay, the staff called the police — without, in our view, any valid reason. The next day we saw the same police officers arrive for another guest family. There seemed to be no room for normal discussion or complaint.

During our stay we complained repeatedly, but nobody helped us. We asked to speak to the manager many times and were refused — until the very last day, when we disputed the bill. Only then did the manager appear. To us, that said everything: the money mattered more than our safety and comfort.

We paid €3,900 for 9 nights — a significant amount of money for facilities and service of this standard. Our long-awaited family holiday was ruined.

Our advice to other travellers — especially families with young children: think very carefully before booking this resort. We wish someone had warned us.

Main Concerns

The issues that affected us most during our stay.

🛏️Room Condition

The rooms are outdated and poorly maintained, with damaged finishes and fittings that should never appear in a hotel at this price level. Mosquitoes, bugs and even reptiles entered the room through gaps in the doors and walls.

🚿Bathroom Maintenance

The bathroom was aged, dark and discoloured, with low water pressure, a tiny shower area and water that took an hour to drain. It did not give us confidence in the cleanliness of the room.

⚠️Safety on the Hillside

Much of the resort is built on a steep mountainside. Buggy rides felt dangerous, fences were broken or too low, and the paths are genuinely hazardous for small children and elderly guests.

🦟Insects & Our Son's Hospital Visit

Gaps in the doors let in mosquitoes, cockroaches and other insects constantly. Our one-year-old son was bitten so badly that we had to take him to hospital, where he was treated for an infection.

👮How Complaints Were Handled

Instead of solving problems, management avoided us — and when we pressed our complaint, the police were called. We saw the same thing happen to another family the following day.

💶Value for Money

For almost €4,000, the quality of accommodation and service we received was, in our opinion, neither reasonable nor acceptable.

Photo Evidence

All photos below were taken by us during our stay. Click any photo to enlarge it.

🛏️ The Rooms — Gaps, Insects and Outdated Interiors

Kamala Beach is a tropical, forested area. With doors and windows that do not seal, the room was effectively open to everything outside.

Gaps and openings in the hotel room — There are gaps and openings everywhere in the rooms. Mosquitoes, cockroaches and even reptiles came in through them. Our one-year-old son was bitten so badly that we had to take him to hospital, where he was treated for an infection.

Windows without proper blinds — The windows have no proper blinds, so bright sunlight woke us very early every morning — something that would be easy and cheap to fix.

Door that does not close properly — The doors do not close properly even when locked. Insects came in constantly, and the air conditioning could not cope with all the gaps.

Large gap under the door — Large gaps in the doors — and the resort sits in the Kamala Beach area, surrounded by dense vegetation full of mosquitoes and other insects.

Gaps letting insects into the room — Phuket is tropical and Kamala Beach is in the middle of the forest. With doors sealing this badly, we spent a large part of our holiday killing mosquitoes.

Old poorly maintained door with gap — The old doors are so poorly maintained that they never close completely — the gap is wide enough for a small snake to pass through.

Outdated room interior — Outdated design with, by the look of it, no meaningful upgrades in decades. For the amount of money we paid, this is simply not fair.

Uncomfortable room furnishings — The rooms are not comfortable and lack basic modern equipment.

Outdated room with poor lighting — Outdated interiors and poor lighting throughout.

🚿 The Bathrooms

Outdated bathroom — The bathroom and toilet were not at all what you would expect at this price level.

Dark and discoloured bathroom — The bathroom was dark, discoloured and dirty throughout.

Small shower area with standing water — The shower area is tiny and the water barely drained — it stood in the shower tray for up to an hour.

Weak water pressure in the shower — The water pressure was very low — too weak for a proper shower.

Broken and dilapidated fittings — Broken, dirty and dilapidated fittings wherever we looked.

🏊 The Pool Area

Poor condition of the pool decoration — This is the "decoration" of the swimming pool area.

Pool access room with deep water — After many arguments we were given a few days in a pool-access room — but with a water depth of 1.4 m next to our children aged 1 and 4, while adult guests elsewhere enjoyed a shallow 0.3 m pool.

Broken swimming pool fence — A broken pool fence — one of many safety issues we found around the resort.

⛰️ The Hillside — A Safety Hazard for Families

Much of the resort is built on a very steep slope. With small children, getting around was exhausting and at times genuinely frightening.

Steep hill with rooms built high up — Rooms are built high on a very steep hill — almost impossible to reach with small children or elderly relatives. A buggy runs, but we sometimes waited 15 minutes for it.

High buildings on the hillside — We found it far too dangerous to let our children walk around between the tall hillside buildings.

Steep paths up to the rooms — The hotel says its booking page mentions the resort is not ideal for children — but one small sentence does not prepare you for this. It should be shown clearly, with photos, before you book.

Steep drop with inadequate fencing — Very high drops with fences that gave us no confidence at all with two small children.

Long steep climb between facilities — Imagine climbing this to reach breakfast, back again, then to the pool, and back again. The buggies are slow and not always available — we often waited 15 minutes.

Buggy on a steep resort road — On our first day the buggy driver took a fast, sharp turn and the buggy nearly tipped over. Our children were terrified — and so were we.

Stairs leading to the cable car — When we complained about the climbs, they suggested the cable car — but reaching the cable car itself means climbing stairs with the children, and there is more climbing after it. It felt more like a punishment than a holiday.

🔧 Maintenance & the Resort Grounds

Everywhere we walked we saw neglect: broken decorations, exposed cables and unfinished work.

Neglected area of the resort — The resort is neglected all over — basic maintenance is simply not being done.

Poorly maintained common area — The common areas are poorly maintained. It looks as though money is being saved everywhere it shouldn't be.

Dated and worn resort facilities — You get the feeling this resort had its best days about 30 years ago — not today.

Exposed cables running through guest areas — Cables like these run openly through the restaurant and terrace areas.

Unfinished decoration and exposed pipes — On the climb to the rooms you pass decorations that appear to have been abandoned unfinished decades ago, alongside exposed water pipes and electrical cables.

Half-finished paintwork — Our guess: someone had the idea to paint this, but got too tired from the climb.

Cables and pipes left exposed — Cables, pipes and unfinished maintenance work all over the property.

Broken decorative feature — A lovely decoration — probably 30 years old, broken, and never repaired.

Makeshift temporary repairs — Ugly corners and temporary fixes here and there — not what a comfortable resort should look like.

Broken fittings visible from the restaurant — This is your view from the restaurant at breakfast. Broken details are visible throughout the dining areas.

Bare undecorated area — No decoration, no design — just neglect.

Service vehicles in guest walking areas — Cars and working staff constantly occupy the areas where guests are supposed to enjoy a quiet walk.

Car driving on the main walking path — This is the main walking road, yet cars regularly drive through — dangerous and unpleasant.

More broken decorations — Broken decorations wherever you look.

Exposed kitchen and work areas — Ugly service doors, with kitchen and work areas fully exposed to guests. Nothing about it feels like a five-star resort.

Broken and worn-out roads — The roads and paths are broken or worn out.

Old worn pans at the breakfast egg station — Even cooking eggs is a problem here — the breakfast station uses old, worn-out pans.

👮 How Guests Are Treated

Police called to the resort — If you complain, the police are called. If you disagree, the police are called. The next day we saw the same officers arrive for another family. There seems to be no room for discussion at this resort.

Sign listing fines for guests — Everything at this hotel seems to work through fines.

Towel cards with fine for loss — Towels must be strictly signed in and out with cards — lose one and you pay 1,000 baht per card. At times the resort felt more like a military base than a holiday destination.

🏆 About the Awards and the Legacy

Haute Grandeur award display at the resort — The resort proudly displays its Haute Grandeur award. We looked into this award ourselves: the 2025 winners list runs to roughly 52 pages with about 20 winners per page — more than 1,000 awards across hundreds of categories and locations. We will let you draw your own conclusions about how meaningful such an award is. See hautegrandeur.com and judge for yourself.

View of the resort property — The Thavorn group's own website tells the inspiring story of its hard-working founder (thavornhotels.com). In our opinion, the resort today does not live up to that legacy — and guests like us, who paid a lot of hard-earned money, are the ones who suffer for it.

Our Questions for the Management

We would genuinely like to understand the answers to these questions.

Why not invest in turning such a beautiful location into the real resort it could be?
Why not listen to your guests and treat them with respect when they raise problems?
Why charge premium prices, yet refuse to let unhappy guests cancel their stay? You cannot force customers to stay somewhere they feel unsafe.
Why not spend more on maintenance and make the property genuinely safe — especially for children?
Why call the police on your own guests instead of simply talking to them?
Why let families waste their long-awaited holidays on promises the resort does not keep?